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University of Latvia
Riga, Latvia
(pop. 798,000)
Student Enrollment: 22,000
Language of instruction: Latvian, Russian, German, English
www.lu.lv/
Courses in English
PROGRAM TYPE
Semester exchanges
ISEP-Exchange for US students.
Chance of Placement
ISEP-Exchange chance of placement for US students is Good.
Courses
Biology; Business Administration; Chemistry; Commerce; Computer Science; Economics; Education; Environmental Science; Geography; Geology; History; Law; Library Science and Information; Mathematics; Medicine; Optometry; Latvian, Russian, English, French, German and Finno-Ugric Philology; Philosophy; Physics; Political Science; Psychology; Sinology; Sociology; Theology.
Academic Notes
The field especially recommended for ISEP students is the Baltic/Latvian Studies Program. It is taught in English and includes a Latvian language course. It covers Latvian literature and anthropology/cultural studies (focusing on Latvia); other topics include history and ecology of Latvia and the Baltic region, as well as possible theater studies. There is also a Russian Studies Program, taught in Russian (with some courses in English) and requiring Russian language proficiency. Both of these programs involve field trips in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia.
Program Dates
Semester exchanges only. Semester 1: September to January; Semester 2: February to June.
Housing and Meals
ISEP students are housed in a student hostel and receive a stipend for their meals.
Profile
Under Russian rule in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Tsar's offer to establish a university in Latvia was repeatedly rejected by the rulers in Riga, who feared that such an institution could become a breeding ground for opposition to the established order. The Latvian intelligentsia was educated mainly at the universities of Tartu (Estonia) and St. Petersburg. The first institution of higher education in Latvia, the Riga Polytechnic, was founded in 1862. The University of Latvia was established in 1919, when Latvia first become independent from Russia; it used the facilities and staff of the Riga Polytechnic. Total enrollment: 22,000 students in 68 study programs.
Location
Latvia, on the Baltic Sea, shares borders with Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, and Russia and Belarus to the east. In territory it exceeds Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland. It is the central and strategically most significant part of the Baltic States, with a population of 2.5 million people. As a result of the intense Russification during the Soviet occupation from 1945 to 1991, ethnic Latvians make up only 56 percent of the population. Riga, its capital, was founded in 1201 and is by far its largest city; it is also one of Latvia's major ice-free seaports that handles considerable shipping to and from Russia.
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