What is OVA?

The OVA (Omnes Voces Acceptamus) Summer School is an alternative to the EGG (Eastern Generative Grammar) Summer School. In 2025, the organizing team of EGG split up, and four of the six board members went on to create OVA — a school defined by a transparent and fair organizational body, and one capable of standing for basic principles of safety, inclusivity and gender representation.

OVA’s goal is to offer an affordable program in generative linguistics, particularly in regions where access to generative syntax, semantics and phonology had historically been limited, for political and/or economical reasons.

Costs and student grants

Our aim is to offer a summer school accessible to everyone, providing an affordable alternative to other linguistic summer schools in Europe and North America. The registration fee is around €250-€350 and covers classes as well as accommodation in university-provided dorms for both weeks.

Depending on the financial situation in a given year, we offer grants for low-income students and those from Eastern European countries. Students can apply for financial support as part of the registration process.

What you learn at the OVA

The OVA School provides a broad range of courses in syntax, semantics, and phonology, from introductory to advanced, research-oriented classes. This structure ensures that participants with varying levels of experience can all find courses suited to their background. Teachers regularly sit in each other’s classes, contributing to a collegial environment centered on shared learning.

Courses at the introductory level require little to no previous technical training and are designed to give students a concise yet solid foundation in the core concepts of each subfield. Advanced courses, on the other hand, are closely tied to the instructors’ own research interests and expose participants to current debates and developments across syntax, semantics, and phonology, representing diverse theoretical approaches and methodologies.

Beyond the core curriculum, students are encouraged to take an active role in the academic program by organizing an open podium for presenting work in progress and receiving constructive feedback from peers. The school also offers a series of optional workshops—often initiated and led by students themselves—focused on practical research skills such as LaTeX, statistical analysis, abstract writing, and related tools relevant to linguistic research.

OVA teachers

At OVA, we really value fresh ideas and new voices in linguistic research, especially from early-career scholars. Unlike many other schools that mainly invite senior academics, we’re happy to bring in junior researchers when we think their perspectives will add something special to the program. We also host established scholars, of course, but the overall mix is intentionally different from what you might expect elsewhere.

We try to keep the distance between students and teachers as small as possible. By encouraging open conversations and easy interaction, we aim to create a welcoming atmosphere that supports curiosity, creative research, and the sharing of ideas across all career stages.

We also uphold a gender balance in selecting our instructors — not only to support the careers of young researchers equally, but also to provide students with a range of diverse and inspiring role models.

The OVA spirit

We aim to keep the barrier between students and teachers as low as possible — everyone is welcome, stays in the same dorms, and students, teachers, and organizers often spend time together outside the regular school hours. This informal atmosphere is meant to allow all participants, students and teachers, to spend time working on linguistics in a friendly and open setting.

There will be plenty of socializing outside the classroom at OVA. To ensure that everyone feels welcome and safe, OVA also has a Code of Conduct that applies to all participants.