Scholarships | For PhD students

Doctoral school mobility grant can be applied for by all doctoral candidates enrolled in doctoral studies at the time of study visit, regardless of the form of doctoral study, i.e. early stage researchers, industrial doctoral candidates and doctoral students.
Visiting doctoral students and external students cannot apply for support from the doctoral school.

The mobility grant reimburses the travel and accommodation costs, the daily allowance and the participation fee of the conference or other event.
Travel, accommodation and daily allowances are compensated based on unit prices.
The participation fee is compensated on the basis of the cost statements.
The period supported by the doctoral school can be 1 day before and 1 day after the official dates of the event.
If the doctoral candidate wishes to combine the Doctoral School grant with another mobility grant, it is necessary to check beforehand that the conditions of the latter allow this.
Bank transfer fees and VAT are not eligible for funding from the Estonian Doctoral School. To cover ineligible costs, please contact the supervisor and/or the head of the department. For further guidance, please contact the project leader of the Estonian Doctoral School.

The unit costs for international mobility for doctoral candidates will be based on the unit costs of the National Mobility Grant Scheme "Kristjan Jaak Programme".

• The travel costs will be covered by a travel allowance, which will include all the costs related to the outward and return journey, e.g. local transport, travel insurance, etc. Travel expenses will be covered by a travel allowance. The distance will be calculated using the European Commission's online calculator.

Distance from city to city	Grant per round trip
100 – 499 km	180 euros
500 - 1999 km	275 euros
2000 - 2999 km	360 euros
3000 - 3999 km	530 euros
4000 - 4999 km	820 euros
8000 and more km	1100 euros

• Accommodation costs will be covered by the accommodation allowance, which will be paid during the event abroad and, where justified, one night before and one night after the event.

Duration of mobility	Grant per one night
2 - 6  days	80 euros
7 - 14 days	60 euros
15 - 30 days	35 euros

• Living expenses are covered by the daily allowance.
  The daily allowance is €32 per day of the mobility. The days will be counted from the official date of the event, plus, in justified cases, one day for travel before and one day after the event.

Estonian Doctoral School will not compensate costs of conferences´ social events, lunches/dinners, membership fees and excursions (except for excursions related to a doctoral candidate´s research topic) specifically mentioned in the attendance fee.

The maximum amount of the grant is € 2 000 per short-term mobility. If the calculation based on unit costs exceeds this amount, the maximum amount will be paid and the remaining costs will have to be covered from another source or from doctoral candidate’s own resources.

To apply for Doctoral School mobility grant, a doctoral candidate submits the following documents through TalTech Help Center:

• an application, which also includes a motivation letter
• in case of participation in the conference, confirmation of acceptance of the presentation
• in case of participation in an event, course, seminar or other activity, a confirmation from the host institution (e.g. registration confirmation, letter of invitation, etc.)
• when applying for reimbursement of the participation fee, confirmation of the amount of the participation fee

The supervisors should accept the application in the Help Center, thereby approving the doctoral candidate´s study visit.

When submitting applications, please observe the deadlines for the application rounds. The study visit cannot start earlier than the deadline of the application round, study visits which have already taken place will not be supported.

Doctoral candidates who also work at the university, submit the secondment order in TalTech self-service in accordance with the university's rules, after the decision to assign the mobility grant has been made.

Applications are processed based on the quota of grants allocated to each section of the doctoral school for a specific year. Within the sections, the quota is distributed among specialties.
The allocation of support is decided by the head of the specialty of the doctoral programme and the head of the section of the doctoral school, based on the following conditions:

• the applicant is a doctoral candidate at TalTech
• the applicant has not received a mobility grant from the doctoral school in the current calendar year
• all application documents have been correctly prepared
• the purpose of the study visit is clear and directly related to doctoral studies and doctoral thesis and the supervisor has accepted it

The grant can only be used for the study visit specified in the application. If the duration, destination and purpose of the study visit change after the grant decision, a new grant must be applied for.

Doctoral candidate, who is also working at the university, submits the secondment report through the TalTech self-service after returning from the study visit. The secondment order must also include:

1. a signed activity report on the Doctoral School form
2. the official confirmation letter of the conference / event organizer, which shows the date of the event
3. in case of reimbursement of the participation fee, documents proving the payment of the participation fee (invoice, payment confirmation)
4. the expense documents for travel and accommodation

A doctoral student who is not an employee of the university, after returning from study abroad, submits the following documents through the TalTech Help Center:

1. a signed activity report on the Doctoral School form
2. student travel expense report
3. the official confirmation letter of the conference / event organizer, which shows the date of the event
4. in case of reimbursement of the participation fee, documents proving the payment of the participation fee (invoice, payment confirmation)
5. the expense documents for travel and accommodation

A sentence must be added to the activity report or secondment report: "The secondment/study visit is in accordance with the University of Tartu project "Cooperation between universities to promote doctoral studies" (2021-2027.4.04.24-0003) and with goals and action plan of the project.”

If the doctoral student participates in the event with a presentation or poster presentation, these must comply with the notification requirements. In case of non-compliance with the notification requirements, mobility costs from the Estonian Doctoral School are not eligible. A logo must be placed on the opening page of the presentation or poster: see instructions for use, logo files (EST, ENG).