University of Tartu
The
University of Tartu (Estonian:
Tartu Ülikool, German:
Universität Dorpat) is the "national university" of
Estonia, and the one classical university in Estonia, located in the city of
Tartu. The university is a member of the
Coimbra Group and was established by King
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in
1632.
At different times during its history the University of Tartu was known as
Academia Gustaviana,
University of Dorpat,
(Kaiserliche) Universität (zu) Dorpat, and
University of Yuryev.
Founded by Sweden as part of colonial policy in just-conquered
Livonia, the
Academia Gustaviana was the second
university founded in the
Swedish Empire, following
Uppsala University and preceding the
Academy of Åbo. A precursor to the academy had been a
Jesuit grammar school, existing between
1583 and
1601, when Tartu (Dorpat) was under
Polish rule. Struggling until
1710, after being relocated from Tartu to
Pärnu for some years, the university was reopened only in
1802 by order of the reform-minded
Emperor Alexander I of
Russia to which
Livonia then belonged.
The language of instruction at Dorpat was
German between
1802 and
1893. During that time, Dorpat had a dual nature in that it belonged both to the set of German(-language) and Russian universities. Financially and administratively, the latter was more important; intellectually and regarding the professoriate, the former (over half the professors came from
Germany, at least another third were
Baltic Germans). In fact, among the 30 German-language universities, of which 23 were inside the
German Empire, Dorpat was the 11th in size. In teaching, the university educated the local Baltic German leadership and professional classes as well as staff especially for the administration and health system of the entire Russian Empire. In scholarship, it was an international university; the time between
1860 and
1880 was its
"golden age".
The freedom to be a half-German university ceased with the rise of nationalist tendencies in Russia, which held homogenization more important than retaining one university at the international level within the Empire. Between
1882 and
1898,
Russification in language, appointments, etc., was imposed, with some exceptions (such as the Divinity School, which was feared to teach dangerous
Protestant views by the
Orthodox clergy and thus was allowed to continue in German until
1916). By
1898, when both the town and the university were renamed Yuryev, virtually all distinguished scholars from Germany had left. The University of Yuryev existed until
1918, when during part of the fall term, it was reopened, under German occupation, as Dorpat. Russian academic staff and students took refuge in
Voronezh in Russia, giving rise to the foundation of
Voronezh State University, which traces its own history back to the foundation of the University of Tartu and still holds several physical properties of the latter.
In
1919, the University of Tartu was established as an Estonian institution; it stayed open until
1940. In 1940, it became Soviet, and 1941-44, it was again under German occupation and again called Dorpat. Since
1944, it has been the University of Tartu (1940-1941 and 1944-
1989 "Tartu State University"). During the second period of Russian (Soviet) occupation (1944-
1991), Estonian was the principal language of instruction, although some courses were taught in Russian, and there were several Russian curricula. To a lesser degree, this is still true today, after regaining of Estonian national independence. The full recovery of academic autonomy of the University can be dated to
1992.
|
The university's main building (2006) |
The Past of the last decade has been marked by organizational and structural changes, as well as adaptations to various university models (American, Scandinavian, German) against the background of the Soviet and Baltic German past. Most recently, the University has been and is still being marked by the peculiar adaptation of the
Bologna declaration in Estonia generally and Tartu specifically, leading to major changes in curricula and studies, as well as by strong organizational centralization attempts. Recent plans also include the abolition of the Chair system (an Americanization) and of the Faculties, which is supposed to lead to four large divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Medicine) under briefly serving deans and Rector-appointed financial administrators.
The University's four museums, its Botanical Gardens, and sports facilities are, by and large, open to the general public. The University possesses some 150 buildings, 30 of which are outside of Tartu. 31 of its buildings decorate the city as architectural monuments. However, the current reforms include attempts to sell, or have the state co-sponsor, several of these buildings and monuments, as well as sports facilities, as they are not seen as part of the university's mission proper.
At the same time, there are numerous recently constructed/renovated university buildings and student dormitories, such as the Technology Institute and the Biomedical Center.
At the University of Tartu, currently more than 3,300 scientific publications are produced every year. About half of all publications by Estonian scientists in journals (those covered by citation indexes like "SCI Expanded", "SSCI" or "A&HCI") are written by Tartu authors.
According to the university administration, the most remarkable recent research achievements have been in the fields of
molecular and
cell biology,
gene technology,
immunology,
pharmacology,
laser medicine,
materials science,
laser spectroscopy,
biochemistry,
environment technology,
computational linguistics,
psychology and
semiotics.
The university has begun to cooperate with private enterprises, and has started to be the nucleus of the development of spin-off firms.
Notable Lecturers & Professors
Nobel laureate
*
Wilhelm Ostwald,
Nobel Prize in ChemistryHumanities and Social Sciences
*
Jüri Allik, psychologist
*
Walter Anderson, folklorist
*
Karl Bücher, economist and anthropologist
*
Vladimir Dahl, lexicographer
*
Gustav von Ewers, legal historian
*
Lazar Gulkowitsch, Jewish Studies scholar, supported by Albert Einstein
*
Theodosius Harnack,
Lutheran theologian
*
Siim Kallas, economist and politician (EU Commissioner; former Prime Minister)
*
Emil Kraepelin, psychologist
*
Jaan Kross, writer
*
Etienne Laspeyres, economist and statistician
*
Wilhelm Lexis, economist, insurance scholar
*
Yuri Lotman, semiotician
*
Alexander von Oettingen,
Lutheran theologian, famous as statistics theoretician
*
Ludwig Preller, philologist and antiquarian
*
Konstantin Ramul, psychologist
*
Leonid Stolovich, philosopher (aesthetic)
*
Rein Taagepera, political scientist
*
Grigol Tsereteli, classicist and papyrologist
*
Adolph Wagner, economist and social policy scholar
*
Alexander Vasiliev, Byzantinist and Arabist
Natural Science
*
Alexander Andrejewitsch von Bunge, botanist
*
Jaan Einasto, astrophysicist
*
Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, biologist and explorer
*
Germain Henri Hess, chemist
*
Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (professor of natural sciences, 1811-1836), botanist
*
Carl Anton von Meyer, botanist
*
Arthur von Oettingen, physicist
*
Georg von Oettingen, physician
*
Matthias Jakob Schleiden, botanist
*
Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve, astronomer
*
Eduard Toll, polar explorer
*
Ernst Rudolf von Trautvetter, botanist
Notable Students
*
Karl Ernst von Baer, zoologist and "father" of embryology
*
Anton Hansen Tammsaare, eminent Estonian writer
*
Adolf von Harnack,
Protestant theologian and science administrator
*
Nicolai Hartmann, philosopher
*
Germain Henri Hess, physician and chemist
*
Paul Keres, chess player
*
Alberts Kviesis,
Latvian statesman
*
Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz, physicist
*
Lennart Meri, Estonian President
*
Leo Michelson, painter
*
Juhan Parts, Estonian
Prime Minister *
Grigol Robakidze,
Georgian writer
*
Leopold von Schrenck, zoologist, geographer and ethnographer
*
Otto Strandman,
Estonian Prime Minister and Head of State
*
Khachatur Abovian,
Armenian writer
*
Valentin Tomberg, "mystic" and "magician"
*
Ilmar Koppel, chemist.
Honorary Doctorates
*
Umberto Eco, semiotician and novelist
*
Otto Kaiser,
Protestant theologian
*
Arvo Pärt, classical composer
*
Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai LamaThe University has signed cooperation agreements with 30 universities and research institutions abroad, and 140 contracts for international student and teacher exchange projects within the framework of the
EU's "
Erasmus programme".
At present, nearly 400 foreign exchange students from 27 countries study at the University. The vast majority comes from Finland, Sweden, Latvia, Russia, the United States of America, and Germany.
The University of Tartu has co-operation agreements with the following universities at the time of writing. These cooperation agreements can include student exchange programmes.
European Union*
University of Amsterdam,
Amsterdam,
Netherlands*
University of Giessen,
Giessen,
Germany*
University of Gothenburg,
Gothenburg,
Sweden*
University of Granada,
Spain*
Georg August University of Göttingen,
Göttingen,
Germany*
Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald,
Greifswald,
Germany*
University of Hamburg,
Hamburg,
Germany*
University of Helsinki,
Helsinki,
Finland*
University of Latvia,
Riga,
Latvia*
University of Leuven,
Leuven,
Belgium*
Lund University,
Lund,
Sweden*
University of Maastricht,
Maastricht,
Netherlands*
University of Marburg,
Marburg,
Germany*
University of Münster,
Münster,
Germany*
University of Turku,
Turku,
Finland*
Uppsala University,
Uppsala,
Sweden*
Vaasa University,
Vaasa,
Finland*
University of Vilnius,
Vilnius,
LithuaniaOthers*
University of Toronto,
Toronto,
Canada*
Waseda University,
Japan*
University of Saint Petersburg,
Saint Petersburg,
Russia*
University of Georgia,
USA*
University of North Carolina at Greensboro,
Greensboro,
USA*
*
Estonia*
Tallinn University of Technology* City of
Tartu*
University of Tartu *
City of Tartu*
Coimbra Group
