At the Estonian Academy of Arts graduation ceremony on 19 June 2026, the Faculty of Architecture’s Best Graduation Thesis Scholarships were awarded.
The graduation thesis scholarship competition is open to all graduates of the EKA Faculty of Architecture’s master’s programmes and is awarded annually at the graduation ceremony. The scholarship aims to recognise outstanding graduates, support them in further developing their research topics, and encourage the application of their results in independent creative practice.
According to Sille Pihlak, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, these scholarships are highly important: “We established the Faculty of Architecture Student Scholarship Fund to encourage our students and enable them to focus on their master’s studies, so that they can later contribute to the development of a higher-quality spatial culture. We award three types of scholarships: semester scholarships, ‘Study and Shine’ scholarships, and Best Graduation Thesis awards. My heartfelt thanks go to everyone who has contributed to the fund!”
The Best Graduation Thesis Scholarship Committee consists of members of the master’s thesis defence committees. The committee reviewed all master’s theses across the faculty that had received the grade “A” and assessed their compliance with the scholarship requirements.
The committee awarded the Faculty of Architecture Best Graduation Thesis Scholarships 2026 (€500 each) to:
- Joosep Pärn (Architecture and Urban Design)
- Gert Christianson (Interior Architecture)
- Yiğithan Akcay (Urban Studies)
We congratulate the recipients and wish them every success in the future!
Since 2025, the Best Graduation Thesis Scholarship has been awarded by the Estonian Academy of Arts Foundation through the Architecture Student Scholarship Fund. The number and value of scholarships awarded each year depend on the financial resources available in the Foundation’s fund during that year.
We would like to thank Liven AS for its support.