CONFERENCEDoctoral Study Programme “Language and Culture Studies”
Programme level: Doctoral Degree Programme
Language of instruction: Latvian, English
Study form and duration: full-time - 6 semesters
Credits: 216 ECTS
Obtainable degree or qualification: Doctoral Degree of Science Doctor of Science (Ph.D.) in Humanities and the Arts
Number of study places for admission in 2025/2026: State-funded study places - 10, study places for tuition fee - 3
Tuition fee per year (ac. year 2025/2026): 2800 EUR for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, EU Long-term resident permit holders and their family members. 5800 EUR for citizens of other countries
Study location: Riga, city centre
Programme Director
Professor Janīna Kursīte-Pakule
International students are welcome to the module “Linguistics” of the sub-programme “Linguistics and Literary Studies”, leading to the degree of Doctor of Science (PhD) in Linguistics and Literary Studies.
The goal of the sub-programme is to enhance the development of doctoral students’ research and academic competence, to prepare highly qualified specialists who can conduct independent and innovative research, work out and defend a PhD thesis, which makes a substantial original contribution to knowledge building in linguistics and literary studies.
Admission requirements
Applicants are expected to hold a master’s degree in the humanities, social sciences, education sciences, or a higher education qualification of equivalent standing and to participate in an entrance interview.
Applicants should indicate their branch of science and sub-branch and submit a research proposal, worked out under the guidance of a supervisor. If applicants do not have supervisors, they should contact the relevant academic department at the Faculty of Humanities. The applicant may also be allocated a supervisor corresponding to their research interests.
During the admission interview, applicants present their research proposal (about 10 min) to the Commission. The submitted documents and the presentation of the research proposal are assessed according to the admission criteria approved by the University of Latvia, namely, the average grade of master level studies or a higher education qualification of equivalent standing, a grade for the master thesis, research publications (if any), the topicality of the PhD thesis, its connection with the supervisor’s research area, the quality of the written research proposal, and the results of the admission interview.
The curriculum of the sub-programme brings together faculty with a range of research interests in general linguistics, comparative and contrastive linguistics, applied linguistics, Latvian synchronic linguistics, Latvian diachronic linguistics, Baltic linguistics, Germanic linguistics, Romance linguistics, Slavic linguistics, Finno-Ugric linguistics, Oriental studies, and Classical philology, which allows PhD students to undertake in-depth research of a topic of interest at the same time designing a focused and individualized study plan.
As a part of the admission process applicants will be asked to participate in an online interview.
UL full-time students, regardless of their citizenship, have the opportunity to apply for the ERASMUS + exchange program for studies or/and traineeship.
More information:
Programme secretary Jolanta Stauga: jolanta.stauga@lu.lv.