This week 2548 new students start their studies at RSU

2548 new students have started their studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) this academic year. They include 331 international students from 31 countries, most from Germany and Scandinavia. All 760 state-funded study places allocated to RSU were filled by the middle of the summer. 

This summer, 2273 young people applied for undergraduate studies at RSU. This is 20% higher than last year. Most applicants to RSU stated that they had chosen RSU because of its good reputation, the high quality of studies and because it offered a programme of interest to them.

‘The summer’s admission numbers show a steady growth. Our investment in the quality of studies and research as well as the modernisation of our infrastructure have contributed to these results. We have succeeded in establishing an international, dynamic and growing educational centre in Pārdaugava, where health care and social sciences are developing,’ emphasises Professor Aigars Pētersons, RSU Rector. He also added that RSU has been recognised as the Latvian university with the best reputation for three consecutive years.

The most popular undergraduate health care study programmes this year were Nutrition, Occupational Therapy, Orthotics and Prosthetics and Midwifery, but Medicine was, with 1163 applicants, unsurpassed in terms of numbers. In social sciences, the most popular undergraduate study programmes were Psychology, Law, Public Relations, International Relations – European Studies, and Multimedia Communication.

The most popular Master’s study programmes were interdisciplinary programmes such as Health Management and Health Psychology, which have successfully integrated both of RSU’s strengths - health care and social sciences.

International student admission numbers also increased considerably this year. Altogether 890 applicants applied for studies at RSU this summer, which is almost 22% more than last year. As usual, most international students applied for the Medicine and Dentistry study programmes, while others will study Health Management, International Governance and Diplomacy, Social Work Children and Youth, and Nursing. Overall the newly enrolled students represent 31 countries, the three most popular being Germany (36.8%), Sweden (22.8%) and Finland (7.3%). Currently about a quarter of RSU students and a fifth of RSU lecturers are international.