Doctoral Studies

There are currently over 200 doctoral students at our university. All doctoral studies are full-time.

Invitation by the Rector: RSU is an open and modern European university, with people at its heart. By evolving with the times, we have shown that the quality of our university education is outstanding. We have always emphasised the fundamental role of research in the life of a university.
RSU actively supports its doctoral students, for example by providing grants for reagents, funding internationally cited publications and helping purchase educational literature. RSU also has a Doctoral School, which aims to ensure the circulation of information, a high-quality doctoral experience and to develop professional competences in an interdisciplinary environment. Our university also provides other support services for excellent and internationally relevant research. We are interested in your research, which is why more and more young PhD students are choosing to continue their careers at RSU.
We invite you to join our research team and become an RSU PhD student! We look forward to welcoming you!
Prof. Aigars Pētersons, Rector
Invitation by the Vice-Rector for Science: Doctoral studies at RSU provide an opportunity for all those who want to be involved in the development of health and social sciences to do so together with our lecturers and researchers - to learn from their knowledge and experience, as well as to explore and develop new ideas together.
Why study for a PhD? Many of our doctoral students chose to do so because they want to pursue an academic career. Some also do it because the doctorate and the competences they acquire will broaden their professional opportunities. Many of our PhD students are experienced professionals who want to deepen their knowledge related to their practice or, on the contrary, to change their academic and professional direction. Whatever the motivation of each of our PhD students, they all share a passion and deep interest in their field of research, perseverance and commitment. These qualities and their passion for research form the basis for success in the doctoral studies during which we build our competence to create knowledge.
Doctoral programmes at RSU are designed to provide our students with a broad set of knowledge and understanding in their academic or professional field. They also learn how to conceptualise issues, acquire and interpret knowledge, develop new theories, and design and implement international projects.
All doctoral students at RSU have the opportunity to conduct research, participate in international conferences and, most importantly, to publish their research results in internationally recognised scientific journals. For socialising with colleagues, we organise events such as the Doctoral School and the Research Breakfast.
Together we will succeed!
Dr. phil. Agrita Kiopa, Vice-Rector for Science
Invitation by the Dean: Riga Stradiņš University offers doctoral study opportunities in a wide variety of fields - medicine and pharmacy, law, politics and management, psychology, sociology, communication culture and multimedia. Such different and necessary fields! We are proud of this diversity and the many opportunities we provide. Each leader of an RSU doctoral programme has a wealth of experience and the teaching process is constantly being improved with new ideas and activities.
When you begin your higher education studies in Europe, you join the ranks of peers who are active not only in research but also in academia. New doctoral students and young researchers in any field are a sign that the field is evolving, that new discoveries and ideas are being made and that there is progress. RSU recognises future assistant professors and professors in its institutes and laboratories, as well as employees working in other organisations, but above all its sees new doctoral students as important contributors to society and determinants of our country's future growth.
The journey you are about to embark on will be complex, motivating and demanding, so I wish all PhD students the best of luck and a good collaboration with your supervisors and peers! Good luck on your PhD journey!
Prof. Sandra Lejniece, Dean of the Department of Doctoral Studies

Study Programmes

Programme	Head of Programme	Study type	Duration	State funded study places
Health Care (sub-programmes: Medicine, Pharmacy, Psychology)	Ilze Konrāde	Full time on-site	4 years
Social Sciences	Karina Palkova	Part time distance learning	4 years / 4,5 years	0

Doctoral studies academic calendar for the 2022/2023 academic year

1st semester (23 weeks)
3 October 2022 – 28 February 2023	Studies
2nd semester (27 weeks)
1 March – 31 July 2023	Studies
1 – 31 August 2023	Break (summer holidays)
3 - 29 September 2023	Studies

The RSU Alumni Association in cooperation with the RSU Student Council has created a research platform, which we invite you to use to foster more collaboration between students and researchers. The research supervisor can submit their research by filling in this questionnaire.