The graduate received her first diploma in Vilnius in early June, and her second in Riga in early July. At the University of Latvia’s graduation ceremony, the master’s student gave a speech in Latvian, expressing her gratitude for the opportunity to study at two universities. In her view, it was a very valuable experience that allowed her to become a well-rounded specialist in Baltic studies.
During her studies, she defended her master’s thesis on the manipulative and causative constructions in Lithuanian, Latvian, Livonian, and Estonian at the morphosyntactic level. Her thesis advisor was Prof. Dr. Jurgis Pakerys from the Department of Baltic Studies at VU, and her academic consultant was Prof. Dr. Ilze Lokmane from the Department of Latvian and Baltic Studies at FH UL.
When asked about her studies in Baltic linguistics and her decision to participate in the dual-degree program, the graduate admitted that she has never regretted this choice for a moment.
About the Double Degree MA Programme:
The programme was launched in 2025. It is based on two existing master’s degree programs:
How does the study process work?
Students enroll and spend their first academic year in one of the programmes – the master’s program in “Latvian Language, Literature and Culture Studies” at the FH UL, or the master’s program in “Baltic Linguistics” at the Faculty of Philology VU. During the third semester, students travel to the other university and select the required number of courses offered there. At VU these are primarily linguistics courses, while at the FFH UL there are courses in linguistics, literary studies, or cultural studies.
To successfully complete courses at the partner institution, students must have proficiency in Lithuanian or Latvian at least at the B1 level. Another requirement is that the chosen master’s thesis topic must be related to Baltic studies.
How to apply?
Information on the admission process for master’s programs at the UL is available here.
More detailed information about the program and the admission process at Vilnius University here.
If you have any questions, please contact Associate Professor Inta Urbanoviča, director of the master’s program “Latvian Language, Literature and Cultural Studies,” at inta.urbanovica@lu.lv.
 at the University of Latvia (UL) and the Faculty of Philology at Vilnius University (VU) congratulate Dovilė Gavelytė, the first graduate of the joint double degree MA programme. Congratulations!){kind=link}