University of Latvia (, shortened ''LU'') is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

located in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. The university was established in 1919.

History

The University of Latvia, initially named as the Higher School of Latvia () was founded on September 28, 1919, on the basis of the former Riga Polytechnic (founded in 1862). The first rector of the university was chemist Paul Walden. In 1923, the school received its current name with the approval of its constitution, the University of Latvia (Universitas Latviensis). In the period between 1919 and 1940, the University of Latvia was the main centre of higher education, science and culture in the Republic of Latvia. The former building of the Riga Polytechnic on Raiņa bulvāris 19 serves as the university's main building. In the pre-WWII years, it was possible to gain higher academic education not only at the University of Latvia but also at the Latvian State Conservatory and

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. With the beginning of the Soviet occupation, the university was renamed as the Latvian State University (LVU, ) from 1940 to 1941 and from 1944/1945 to 1958. Under the Nazi occupation, from 1942 to 1944/1945 its name was the University of Riga (). After World War II, over time the Latvian University of Agriculture, Riga Stradiņš University, and

Riga Technical University Riga Technical University (RTU) () is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as Riga Polytechnical Institute and Riga Polytechnicum. In 1 ...

separated from the University of Latvia and became well-known centres of education and research in their own right. In 1958, the university was renamed as the

Pēteris Stučka Pēteris Stučka, sometimes spelt Pyotr Stuchka; ( – 25 January 1932), was a Latvian jurist and communist politician, leader of the pro-Bolshevik puppet government in Latvia during the 1918–1920 Latvian War of Independence, and later a stat ...

Latvian State University (), which was its official name until 1990. With Latvia regaining independence, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia reconfirmed the Constitution of the University of Latvia on September 18, 1991. It stated that the institution is "a state establishment of academic education, science and culture which serves the needs of Latvia and its people". Alongside the Constitution (the Satversme of the UoL), the flag, the anthem, the university's emblem, the rector's chain, and the official garments for the rector, vice-rector and deans were re-adopted as attributes of the University of Latvia. The EuroFaculty, created by the CBSS to support reforms at the universities in Tartu, Riga, and Vilnius, was organized with its headquarters at the University of Latvia from 1993 to 2005. The Riga Teacher Training and Educational Management Academy was merged into the university in 2017. In recent years, the university has often faced serious reputational problems. Several professors have been caught plagiarizing. The current rector and his former deputy have been charged with serious crimes. A criminal investigation into the embezzlement of European funds in the project led by the former chairman of the Constituent Assembly of the University is underway.

Enrollment

The University of Latvia offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels of study and in October 2014 more than 14,000 students, including Ph.D. and exchange students, had enrolled in various study programs. Almost one third of them studied in business and economics related programs.

Organisation

The university consists of 6 faculties: * Faculty of

Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

and Life Sciences :* Department of Plant Physiology :* Department of Botany and Ecology :* Department of Human and Animal Physiology :* Department of Hydrobiology :* Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology :* Department of Molecular Biology :* Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology :* Department of Inorganic Chemistry :* Department of Analytical Chemistry :* Department of Organic Chemistry :* Department of Physical Chemistry :* Centre of Food Chemistry :* Centre of Chemistry Didactics :* Centre of Health Management and Informatics :* Department of Anatomy and Histology :* Centre of Experimental Surgery :* Department of Pharmacology :* Department of Internal Medicine :* Department of Medical Biochemistry :* Department of Medical Pedagogy, Ethics and History :* Department of Dentistry :* Department of Oncology :* Department of Surgery :* Department of Pathology :* Department of Pediatrics :* Centre of Social Pediatrics * Faculty of Science and

Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

:* Department of Optometry and Vision Science :* Department of Mathematics :* Department of Physics :* Laser Centre of the University of Latvia :* Extramural Mathematics School of A. Liepa :* Chair of Computer Science :* Chair of Programming :* Chair of Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science :* Chair of Informatics Lifelong Learning :* Methodological Laboratory of Computer Science Studies :* Methodological Laboratory of Computing Studies – the Linux Centre :* Department of Geography :* Department of Geology :* Department of Environmental Science * Faculty of

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and Social Sciences :* Department of Global Economics Interdisciplinary Studies :* Department of Economics :* Department of Finance and Accounting :* Department of Management Sciences :* Department of Information and Library Studies :* Department of Communications Studies :* Department of Political Science :* Department of Sociology :* Center for the Cognitive Sciences and Semantics * Faculty of Education Sciences and

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

:* Department of Education Sciences :* Department of Pedagogy :* Department of Psychology :* Department of Teacher Training :* Sports Centre :* Centre of Adult Pedagogical Education * Faculty of Law :* Centre for Further Legal Education and Professional Improvement :* Chair of Civil Law :* Chair of Constitutional Law :* Chair of Criminal Law :* Chair of International and European law :* Chair of Legal Theory and History :* Legal Clinic of the Faculty of Law * Faculty of

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

:* Department of Asian Studies :* Department of Contrastive Linguistics, Translation and Interpreting :* Department of Classical Philology and Anthropology Studies :* Department of English Studies :* Department of Germanic Studies :* Department of Latvian and Baltic Studies :* Department of Romance Studies :* Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies :* Department of History and Archaeology :* Department of Philosophy and Ethics :* Department of Systematic and Practical Theology :* Department of Church History and History of Religions :* Department of Biblical Theology In addition to the university's various faculties, the Student Council and its medical wing, the Riga Medical College ('' Rīgas Medicīnas koledža''), the University of Latvia offers most of the resources traditionally associated with accredited universities, including several libraries, research facilities, study centres, a language school, and a career centre. The faculties are currently undergoing restructuring and will be reduced in number.

Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science

The Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Latvia (, IMCS) was founded in 1959 as a computer research centre, now consisting of about 200 researchers, assistants, engineers, and software developers.

Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics

The Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics (GGI) of the University of Latvia () is the reestablishment of the Institute of Geodesy since 1994. The researchers of the Institute of Geodesy (1924-1944) worked successfully on the research and education in many advanced topics of that time – development and adjustment of National geodetic networks, photogrammetry, studies of vertical Earth movement and research in gravimetric and magnetic measurements. Currently, the research areas are developed in satellite geodesy and geoinformatics. The main topic is the development of satellite laser ranging systems (SLR), both the hardware and control software. Two SLR prototypes were developed until 2010 by spending low expenditures. The third most improved model is under development now. All the knowledge and experience of the staff gained since 1975 is applied. Younger colleagues are involved in the development process. The prototype digital zenith camera for studies of vertical deflection has been developed recently. The test results reach a precision of 0.1 arc second which is very promising for the improvement of the quality of the National model of Latvia gravity field modelling. The recent version of the National gravity field developed at the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics has achieved a precision of about 2 cm which is much higher than the previous model (7–8 cm) used in Latvia. The high precision gravity field model is very important for practice. It gives the possibility to achieve correspondingly high precision of normal height determination using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in geodetic measurements. There has been achieved at the Institute of Geodesy and Geoinformatics the high precision results in studies of vertical and horizontal motion of the Earth in Latvia by carrying out the analysis of the 7 year GNSS observations at the LatPos and EUPOS-RIGA permanent station networks. There are developed the GIS database for Latvia and cities of Latvia, developed digital terrain models.

Amateur Art Activities

The university has a number of amateur choirs, orchestras and dance groups, as well as a student theatre. Minjona is a women's choir based at the University of Latvia.

People

Notable professors and lecturers

* Andris Ambainis,

computer scientist A computer scientist is a scientist who specializes in the academic study of computer science. Computer scientists typically work on the theoretical side of computation. Although computer scientists can also focus their work and research on ...

* Mārcis Auziņš,

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

* Kārlis Balodis,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

* Konstantīns Čakste, legal theorist and LCP Chairman, son of Latvian President

Jānis Čakste Jānis Kristaps Čakste (; 14 September 1859 – 14 March 1927) was a Latvian politician and lawyer who served as the first head of an independent Latvian state as the Chairman of the Tautas Padome, People's Council (1918–1920), the Speaker o ...

* Jānis Endzelīns,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

* Karlis Kaufmanis,

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

* Augusts Kirhenšteins,

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

* Eižens Laube,

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

* Jānis Maizītis, lawyer and second Prosecutor General of Latvia *

Valdis Muktupāvels Valdis Muktupāvels (9 November 1958 in Līvāni) is a Latvian people, Latvian ethnomusicologist, composer, musician, teacher and doctor of art criticism. Muktupāvels graduated 1980 from the University of Latvia and acquired a specialty in chemi ...

, ethnomusicologist and doctor of

art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...

* Velta Ruke-Dravina linguist, folklorist

Notable alumni

* Māris Čaklais, Latvian poet * Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian politician,

European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

, former

Prime Minister of Latvia The prime minister of Latvia () is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia, who presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers. The officeholder is nominated by the president of Latvia, but must be able to obtain the support of a p ...

* Klāvs Elsbergs, Latvian poet * Ivars Godmanis, Latvian politician, former

, MeP *

Uldis Ģērmanis Uldis Ģērmanis () was a Latvian historian, writer and publicist born in Novaya Ladoga, Russian Empire. His father was Jānis Ģermanis, and his family returned to the newly independent Latvia in 1919. He taught history at the University o ...

, Latvian historian and writer *

Ivars Kalviņš Ivars Kalviņš (born 2 June 1947) is a Latvian (and former Soviet Union) chemist who invented the prescription drug meldonium, trade-named Mildronate.chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

, has worked on the foundation of mildronate * Valdemārs Klētnieks, Latvian writer and national Scout Commissioner * Guntars Krasts, Latvian politician, former

, MeP * Hugo Teodors Krūmiņš, Latvian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

* Kirovs Lipmans, Latvian business person and ice hockey executive * Zenta Mauriņa, Latvian writer * George Nagobads, Latvian-born American physician * Artis Pabriks, Latvian politician, former Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs *

Andris Piebalgs Andris Piebalgs (born 17 September 1957) is a Latvian politician and diplomat who served as European Commissioner for Development at the European Commission from 2010 until 2014. Between 2004 and 2009 he served as Commissioner for Energy. Betw ...

, Latvian politician and diplomat, former European Commissioner for Energy *

Ilmārs Poikāns Ilmārs Poikāns (born November 4, 1978) is a Latvian AI researcher at the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Latvia. He has used the pseudonym Neo (of The Matrix), and is also known in the press as Latvia's "Rob ...

, Latvian AI researcher, hacker * Einars Repše, Latvian politician, former

Eliyahu Rips Eliyahu Rips (; ; ; 12 December 1948 – 19 July 2024) was an Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin known for his research in geometric group theory. He became known to the general public following his co-authoring a paper on what is popularl ...

, Israeli

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...

, race theorist and an influential ideologue of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

. * Aminata Savadogo, Latvian singer, songwriter, finalist in

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

* Evika Siliņa,

* Knuts Skujenieks, Latvian poet, journalist *

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...

, Soviet-Latvian chess grandmaster and eighth

World Chess Champion The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Gukesh Dommaraju, who defeated the previous champion Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship 2024, 2024 World Chess Championship. ...

, nicknamed "The Magician from Riga" * Daina Taimiņa, Latvian mathematician * Kristīne Ulberga, novelist, winner of the Raimonds Gerkens Prize. * Guntis Ulmanis, Latvian politician, former

President of Latvia The president of Latvia ( ) is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Latvian National Armed Forces, National Armed Forces of the Latvia, Republic of Latvia. The term of this office is four years. Before 1999, it was three years. The presi ...

* Jānis Vanags, archbishop of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (, or LELB) is a Lutheranism, Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Protestant Reformation, Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes persecuted the c ...

* Raimonds Vējonis, the 9th

* Antonija Vilcāne, Latvian medieval archaeologist

References

External links

*
University of Latvia Riga Medical College

University of Latvia Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latvia, University of Law schools in Latvia Universities and colleges established in 1919 Public universities Universities and colleges formed by merger in Latvia 1919 establishments in Latvia