‘Baltic Studies’ belongs to the humanities and encompasses the study of Latvian, Lithuanian and Old Prussian languages and literatures. Nowadays, Baltic Studies is increasingly evolving into a discipline that studies the entire Baltic region, including all its inhabitants, 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 key fields of research. The “Baltic Sea region” was named as one of the university’s three research domains in the new Research Strategy that was published in 2024.

Research and teaching at the Department of Baltic Studies are primarily orientated towards contemporary modernity. ‘Modern’ here refers to the period from the 19^th to the 21^st century, meaning that the discipline tends to favour synchronous and analytical approaches. The Department of Baltic Studies’ portfolio covers a broad spectrum: language courses in 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 pursue their studies with the integrative and interdisciplinary linguistics 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.