The University of Latvia is located in Riga, the capital of Latvia. The University is offering programs in General medicine and Dental medicine in the English language for international students. According to QS ranking, it is among the best 1000 universities in the world, as per EECA University Rankings it is in 41st position in Europe, and according to THE World Ranking it is among the best 800 universities in 2022. There are over 800 international students in 2022.
Study program General medicine at the University of Latvia
The program of General medicine takes 6 years and contains courses with 360 ECTS credits (or 240 Latvian points). Students receive a degree in Medical doctor (MD) after graduation. Classes are on working days usually 8:30 am to 6 pm. There are 60 places offered for international students.
The tuition fees are currently the following: 1st year – €11262.00 2nd year – €11,550.00 3rd year – €12,128.00 4th year – €12,128.00 5th year – €12,705.00 6th year – €13,860.00. It is possible to pay tuition fees also in 4 installments (so twice per semester), but only for the 2nd to 6th year. Students, who do not come from EA / EEA should pay also a 500€ deposit together with 1st-year tuition fees to cover possible immigration expenses and paid back upon request after graduation. Study materials or books are not included in the tuition fees. There are no scholarships offered.
Dental medicine at the University of Latvia
The program takes 5 years and contains 300 ECTS credits. The awarded degree is a Doctor of Dental medicine. The fee is 15000€ per year, the application fee is 141€. The study program has been developed according to EU Directive2005/36/EC of mutual recognition of qualifications of health care professionals, directly related to the guidelines of the Association of Dental Education in Europe. There are 12 places offered in 2021.
Living costs in Riga
You can count on a budget of 500-700€ per month in Riga. The dormitory is quite cheap (100-150€ per month), meals will cost around 150-250€ per month. Transportation for students is 16€ per month. Rest depends on the individual living standard of the student.
Study plan
The study curriculum is divided into 3 parts: A part (mandatory subjects), B part (mandatory selection), and C part (electives).
During your studies there will be A part subjects worth 333 ECTS (222 Latvian credit points) – Normal anatomy, Inorganic chemistry, Introduction to cell biology, Medical Latin, Introduction to medical studies, Psychology and basics of psychiatry, Physics, Organic chemistry, General and special histology, Basics of genetics, Basics of biochemistry, Medical embriology, Human physiology, Physical and sports medicine, Medical biochemistry, Microbiology, Parasitology, Immunology, General pathology, Molecular genetics, Pharmacology, Propaedeutics of Internal diseases, Environmental protection, Visual diagnostics, Principles of surgery, Internal diseases, Pathology of organs and systems, Obstetrics, Dermatovenerology, Public health and epidemiology, Pediatrics, Gynecology, Infectious diseases, Surgery, Neurology, Urology, Medical history and ethics, Narcology, Ophtalmology, Otorhinolaryngology, Oncology, Radiology, Forensic medicine, Specific Considerations of Surgery and Anesthesiology, Psychiatry, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics.
B-part subjects are worth 15 ECTS (10 Latvian credit points), and C-part courses – have 12 ECTS (8 Latvian credit points).
During your studies you will also have practice in different areas: Basics of Clinical care (5th semester), Clinical practice (5th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th semesters), Emergency medicine and basic life support (6th semester), Practice of Family medicine (12th semester), Practice of Internal diseases (12th semester), Practice of surgery (12th semester).
Application procedure
The selection process is based on the submission of required documents. Subsequently, the Faculty board will then decide on the selection of the most suitable candidates. Each student is required to Zoom interview before the 1st of July.
The student needs to confirm the place within a given period, otherwise, the place will be offered to someone else. There are different required documents submitted for EU / EEA students and students from other countries. In 2022/2023, there were 30 seats offered for a program of General Medicine and 12 seats for program of Dental medicine.
The marks are evaluated in the following way: secondary education Chemistry (40%), Biology (40%) and English (20%) grade OR your Natural Sciences (80%) and English (20%) grade if you haven’t studied Chemistry or Biology. The application will be considered only if the final grade in each of the subjects mentioned (Chemistry, Biology (or Natural sciences) and English) will be equivalent to 60% or more.
Students from the EU / EEA should submit the following documents:
1. Passport or national ID
2. A scanned copy of the LU medical report filled out and signed by your physician
3. Transcript of final grades and state examinations – both in English and the original language (need to be verified with a notary stamp)
4. Your high school diploma if it’s issued separately – both in English and the original language (needs to be verified with a notary stamp).
5. Proof of English language proficiency (apart from students of Ireland and the UK or applicants who studied in EU/EEA have English mark comparable to B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)). If the applicant does not have an English certificate, the University will conduct English test.
6. Payment receipt after paying for your application, uploaded along with other documents
Students from other countries
1. Passport
2. A scanned copy of the LU medical report filled out and signed by your physician
3. Transcript of final grades and state examinations – both in English and the original language. Both copies need to be verified with a notary stamp and signature, and apostilled or verified by the Foreign Affairs ministry or relevant of your country and the Embassy of Latvia closest to you!
4. High school diploma if it’s issued separately – both in English and the original language. Both copies need to be verified with a notary stamp and signature, and apostilled or verified by the Foreign Affairs ministry or relevant of your country and the Embassy of Latvia closest to you!
5. Proof of English language proficiency (this is not required for applicants that studied in Australia, The Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand, St Vincent and the Grenadines and United States of America). If you do not have language certificate, you need to take English test.
6. Payment receipt after paying for your application, uploaded along with other documents
The application fee is 148,48€ for students and is not refundable even if a student does not get accepted.
Students need to prove their knowledge of English by certificates (TOEFL, IELTS, FCE, CPE, CAE, PTE) or take English tests done by UL. Students from countries, where English is the official language, do not need to provide a language certificate. Language certificate also does not need to be provided by European citizens, who obtained their secondary English classes in a level comparable to the B2 level.
The results of the selection will be announced by mid-July.
Application deadlines
- Citizens of non-EU/EEA countries and students who need RP or visas to come to Latvia have to apply till 15.05.
- EU and EEA citizens have to apply till 22.06.
- Citizens of Visa-free countries have to apply till 15.06.
Applicants will get final results on admission approximately around mid of July.
Accommodation for international students of the University of Latvia
The University of Latvia offers two student hotels for International students: “Prima” and ”Reznas” student hotel (Reznas is offered only for exchange students however). There is well-developed public transportation and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the city center, the main building of the University of Latvia as well as the Old Town.
“Prima” student hotel is located in a 9-floor building. The price depends on the number of beds and tenants living in the room. All over the rooms are combined by 2 with shared WC and shower. Namely, WC and shower are shared by 3 tenants on the 6th-8th floor or by 5 tenants on the 2nd-5th floor. Rent is 100-150€ per month with long-term contracts, the single room is 270€. University cooperates with the agency GlobalHome which offers private flats to students.
Transfer from another university to University of Latvia
To be able to transfer from another university:
- You have to be a student of Medicine at your current university;
- You have to have acquired at least 60 ECTS and a whole year in your current studies;
- Your current subjects must coincide (overlap) with the LU subjects in contents at least 70%. Meaning – most of the subjects you have already done or are studying need to be similar and containing the same or larger amount of credit points than the ones envisioned by the LU study plan. 1 Latvian credit point = 1.5 ECTS.
- You can only transfer up to the 3rd year of studies.
The application deadlines are the same for full-time first-year and transfer students. Students from other universities in Latvia can apply for transfer until the registration week of the following semester (until the last week of August usually). The documents needed to apply for transferring are the same as for full-time first-year students + the following documents from your current university:
- A statement that proves your status as a student;
- Your study transcript containing all subjects taken up to this point, the grades and credit points acquired;
- Course descriptions for the subjects taken up to this point.
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