University of Latvia


The University of Latvia is a state-run university located in Riga, Latvia. It was established in 1919.
The university is ranked 801st-1000th in the world in 2019 and have had the highest place as 651st–700th in 2017 as well as 7th in the Baltic states after the University of Tartu, Vilnius University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Tallinn University of Technology, Kaunas University of Technology and Riga Technical University and 50th in EECA rating.

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. 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.
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.
With the beginning of the Soviet occupation, the university was renamed as the Latvian State University 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 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 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 flag, the hymn, 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.

Enrollment

The University of Latvia offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels of study and in October 2014 more than 14,000 students, including PhD 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 13 faculties:
In addition to the university's various faculties and its medical wing, the Riga Medical College, 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.

Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science

The Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Latvia 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 of the University of Latvia is the reestablishment of the Institute of Geodesy since 1994. The researchers of the Institute of Geodesy 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, both the hardware and control software. Two SLR prototypes were developed till 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 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 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