RSU Establishes Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme in Social Sciences

Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) launches an interdisciplinary doctoral programme in social sciences. The Social Sciences programme corresponds to the new doctoral studies model established by the Ministry of Education and Science. The doctoral programme’s duration is 4 years of full-time regular studies or 4.5 years of part-time distance learning in Latvian or English.

The programme puts forward various fields of social sciences with a focus on issues important to Latvian society. ‘The new programme at RSU offers an opportunity for students to address issues that require a multi-faceted approach. This expands the traditional boundaries of social sciences and takes advantage of approaches used in the fields of law, political science, business, health management, communication, sociology, social anthropology, and social work. Our approach is based on learning the fundamentals of science and choosing the appropriate methods for particular research questions,’ stresses Agrita Kiopa, Vice-Rector for Science.

Doctoral students will have the opportunity to engage in international research projects, learn and develop new research approaches and methods, and generate new transdisciplinary knowledge. During the drafting stage, doctoral students will be offered an opportunity to collaborate with several scientific supervisors who will ensure that different disciplines are represented in line with the dissertation topic. The new doctoral programme offers stronger collaboration and scientific mentoring between the doctoral student and the thesis supervisor.

The programme is supported by both Latvian and international partners.

Steven Blockmans, Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies (Belgium), has expressed his support for the new doctoral programme, pointing out that merging several disciplines will contribute to modernising the study process. Mr Blockmans also appreciated the inclusion of transversal skills in the programme's courses.

Professor Karl Harald Søvig (Norway), President of the European Association of Health Law, pointed out that the programme provides a unique opportunity to strengthen transdisciplinary research, which is currently the most sought-after skill in the market. He went on to say that it emphasises involving doctoral students in preparing and implementing international projects, at the same time facilitating the faster integration of future researchers into the international research community.

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia has expressed its support for the interdisciplinary doctoral programme stating that it is in line with the spirit and nature of the reforms currently being implemented by the Ministry, as well as with the policy for the implementation of the new model of doctoral studies.

The quality of the study programme was assessed as high in the joint report by the experts who evaluated the study programme. The experts have also rated the programme as "excellent" in terms of its relevance to trends in the field in the European Union and worldwide, as well as in terms of the information and methodological base and facilities. The promotion and provision of research activities of the teaching staff, as well as the study programme delivery mechanism have also been assessed as "excellent".

The programme was developed with the participation of leading experts in their field from the USA, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. This made it possible to develop a programme oriented towards international cooperation and internationalisation.

A powerful team consisting of RSU lecturers and researchers was involved in developing the programme. The following people made special contributions to creating the interdisciplinary programme: Karina Palkova, PhD, the Head of the programme, Attorney-at-law, Leading Researcher at RSU, Una Aleksandra Bērziņa-Čerenkova, PhD in Political Science, political science and international relations opinion and research leader, Assistant Professor at RSU, Gunda Reire, PhD in Political Science, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Visiting Lecturer at RSU, Klāvs Sedlenieks, PhD, co-founder of the Latvian Association of Anthropologists, Associate Professor at RSU, Māris Andžāns, PhD in Political Science, Director of the Centre for Geopolitical Studies, Associate Professor at RSU,  Dr Rico Isaacs, Associate Professor at the University of Lincoln (UK), Visiting Researcher at RSU, Inga Kudeikina, PhD in Law, Assistant Professor at RSU, Sergejs Kruks, PhD, Professor at RSU, and Tatjana Muravska, PhD in Economics,  Professor at RSU, as well as the staff of the RSU Department of Doctoral Studies.

Studiju programma izstrādāta projekta nr. 8.2.1.0/18/A/014 Studiju programmu fragmentācijas mazināšana un studiju internacionalizācijas veicināšana Rīgas Stradiņa universitātē ietvaros.