‘Baltic Studies’ belongs with the mind sciences and encompasses the study of Latvian, Lithuanian and Old Prussian languages and literatures. Nowadays, Baltic Studies is increasingly turning into a discipline that studies the entire Baltic region and all the people living in it, their diverse languages and subcultures as well as their social and cultural interdependence with neighbouring regions. In 2005, the University of Greifswald declared the Cultures of the Baltic Sea Region as one of its main research domains.

Research and teaching at the Department of Baltic Studies are thus primarily orientated towards contemporary modernity. ‘Modern’ here refers to the period from the 19^th to the 21^st century and means that in disciplinary terms, synchronous and analytical approaches are favoured. The Department of Baltic Studies’ portfolio covers a broad spectrum: language courses for Latvian and Lithuanian, literary translation, textual editing, empirical social research, conferences on language policy and grammar, metaphor research, classical literary analyses, cultural-historical studies and cultural events.

The Department is closely linked to the linguistic chairs of Finnish and Slavonic Studies as well as the Chair of Eastern European History. In addition, the Chair of Baltic Studies participates in the International DFG Research Training Group ‘Baltic Borderlands: Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region’.

Building on the B.A. degree course, students can take the integrative and interdisciplinary linguistic M.A. degree course ‘Language Diversity’ (LaDy) [de], which features Baltic Studies as an optional academic subject, as well as the Cultural Studies-orientated M.A. degree course ‘History and Culture of the Baltic Sea Region’, which focuses on the history, cultures and languages of the Baltic Sea region.