Top European Universities

One of the longest-established aviation and transport training institutions in Latvia, accredited by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science. RAI teaches its programmes in both Latvian and English, and also runs a training centre for air traffic controllers and aircraft maintenance staff.

A small state-accredited college operating since 2017. It currently offers a single study programme — Tourism Service Organisation — as a short-cycle higher vocational qualification (EQF/LKI level 5) completed in two years, in English or Latvian. Graduates receive a diploma of professional higher education plus a professional qualification; this is not a bachelor’s degree.

One of the largest private higher education institutions in Latvia, founded in 1992, offering short-cycle, bachelor and master programmes. Its English-taught degrees are concentrated in business, tourism, finance and economics — the academy’s law, psychology and social science programmes are taught in Latvian or Russian rather than English.

A specialist college in Riga delivering first-level professional higher education in law and adjacent administrative fields. The Law programme is 132 ECTS over 2–2.5 years and awards the qualification of lawyer’s assistant — a recognised first step toward a legal career, not an LLB. Students visit the Saeima, the courts, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Land Register as part of the programme.

A private university in Riga founded in 1994 as ISMA (Information Systems Management Institute) and since rebranded as Riga Nordic University. It offers short-cycle, bachelor and master programmes in business, tourism, IT and psychology, with students from 27 countries and branches in Daugavpils and Fergana, Uzbekistan.

Founded in 1862, RTU is the oldest technical university in the Baltic states and Latvia’s largest, with around 37 English-taught programmes offered through its admissions portal. Alongside the main Riga campus it includes the Latvian Maritime Academy and academies in Liepāja and Rēzekne, plus RTU Riga Business School, which prices its BBA and MBA separately. It is the strongest research and engineering option on this list, with correspondingly higher expectations in maths and science.

Established in 1994 and previously known as SMK University of Applied Social Sciences, SMK is the largest private higher education institution in Lithuania, with campuses in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda. It awards Professional Bachelor degrees and teaches 18 programmes in English, with a strong practice-and-internship orientation.

One of the largest applied-sciences institutions in Lithuania, offering practice-focused degrees in IT, engineering, business and the creative industries. Important: VIKO states that it does not work with agents or agencies — applications are accepted only directly from the applicant through the VIKO Admission Information System, and there is a single autumn intake each year.

A state university on Lithuania’s Baltic coast and a regional leader in marine science, port technology and maritime engineering, alongside business, health and humanities programmes. Around 15% of its students are international, and Klaipėda refunds tuition in full if a student visa is refused.

A public university in Vilnius specialising in law, business, psychology and digital technologies, with a large English-taught portfolio and several double-degree and joint programmes. MRU runs a single intake a year, starting 1 September — there is no February entry.