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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.

History

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 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.

Buildings

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.

Research

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.

Faculty and Alumni

Notable Lecturers & Professors

Nobel laureate

Humanities and Social Sciences

Natural Science

Notable Students

Honorary Doctorates

Academic co-operation

The 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

Others

Bibliography

See also:

External links

Universities and colleges in Estonia | 1632 establishments | Educational institutions established in the 1630s

جامعة تارتو | Universität Tartu | Tartu Ülikool | Université de Tartu | Universitatea din Tartu | Tartu universitet

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "University of Tartu".

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