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Study in Latvia

Baltic study with a distinctive academic and professional degree split.

Overview

Latvia runs its higher education on the Bologna three-cycle structure, but with two features worth understanding before you apply. First, degrees divide into academic and professional tracks: academic programmes centre on theory and scientific research with less practical training, while professional programmes are built around the skills a profession requires and include a mandatory practical placement. Which track a programme sits in changes both its length and what you finish with. Second, Latvia keeps its own national credit point system alongside ECTS, so a transcript may quote either.

Education system

Colleges offer short-cycle programmes of two to three years. An academic bachelor's takes three to four years; a professional bachelor's takes at least four. Master's programmes run one to two years, and a master's degree requires at least five years of university study in total. Doctoral studies take two to three years. Medicine and veterinary medicine are long-cycle programmes of five to six years. On credits: one Latvian national credit point is defined as one week of full-time study workload, one Latvian credit point equals 1.5 ECTS, and one academic year is 60 ECTS or 40 Latvian credit points.

Popular courses

BusinessComputer ScienceAviationMedicine

How tuition works

Tuition is set per programme by each institution and revised annually, so no national figure is published here. Take it from the fee information on your specific programme page.

How living costs work

Living costs depend far more on the city than on the country, and are often the larger half of the total. Build an estimate from current rent, transport and food figures for the city you are considering.

Admission requirements

You need an attested certificate or qualification appropriate to the level you are applying for, and your foreign qualification has to be formally recognised before an institution can admit you. Recognition of educational documents obtained abroad is handled by the Academic Information Centre, the body the state has delegated that function to. Individual programmes add their own requirements, and some run entrance examinations or interviews.

English-language requirements

Programmes are taught in Latvian and in English, and you need to show sufficient command of the language your programme is taught in. The accepted evidence and the level required are set by each institution for each programme, so take the requirement from the programme's own admission pages rather than from any national figure.

Main intakes

Intake timing and application windows are set by each institution rather than nationally, and they differ between programmes at the same university. Check the dates on the admissions page for the specific programme you want.

Application process

Applications go directly to each higher education institution - there is no single national portal for international applicants, and each institution's admission procedure differs. The usual sequence is: choose a programme and institution, submit the application, wait for your documents to be recognised, sit any required examination or interview, receive and sign the study agreement, and then arrange the visa or residence permit.

Scholarship options

State scholarships for international students are administered nationally and institutions run their own schemes. Availability and amounts change every year, so check the current round on the official Study in Latvia pages rather than relying on any figure quoted elsewhere.

Work rights

Whether and how much you may work while holding a student residence permit is set in national immigration law and changes over time. Confirm the current conditions attached to your own permit with the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs before taking any work.

Student-visa overview

A residence permit is required to stay in Latvia for more than 90 days within a half-year, counted from the day you first enter. For third-country nationals that means a temporary residence permit, which the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs defines as the right to reside in Latvia for a definite period. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland follow a separate registration route. Immigration requirements change, so confirm the current conditions with the authority before you travel.

⚠️ Immigration policies change frequently and vary by nationality. This is general information only — always confirm on the official government website.

Official student-visa source ↗

Post-study opportunities

Options for staying on after graduation are governed by immigration law and are revised periodically. Check the current rules with the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs rather than relying on a figure or period quoted elsewhere.

Universities in Latvia

Latvia's Higher Education Quality Agency publishes an accredited register holding 22 higher education institutions and 20 colleges. We publish all 22 institutions with their registered Latvian names, their registration codes and their official websites — including the six whose English name says University while the register records an augstskola — and no fees, entry scores or rankings, because those are set per course.

See Latvia's 22 accredited higher education institutions

Our own directory also holds 5 institution profiles for Latvia: browse them in the directory.