Latvian State Scholarship for Studies

Unlike many bilateral scholarship schemes that only support one degree level, the Latvian State Scholarship covers a wide span of academic study: Bachelor's degree students (from their second year of study onward), Master's students, and PhD candidates. Applicants do not need to already be enrolled in Latvia to apply - the scholarship can support a full degree program if the applicant has separately secured (or is in the process of securing) admission to a Latvian institution, or it can support a defined study or research period as a visiting/exchange student. Because the stipend does not include a tuition waiver, most successful applicants are self-funding tuition through personal, institutional, or third-party means while relying on the stipend to cover living costs.

The scholarship value is tiered by study level. Bachelor's and second-level professional higher education students receive EUR 500 per month, Master's students receive EUR 600 per month, and PhD/doctoral candidates receive EUR 700 per month. Payments are disbursed for the duration of a defined study period (typically up to 10 months per academic year for Bachelor's and Master's students, and up to 11 months for doctoral researchers), and can be renewed for a second consecutive academic year through reapplication, subject to satisfactory academic progress. To trigger a given month's payment, recipients must document physical presence and active study in Latvia for a minimum number of days that month, since the scholarship is meant to support students actually living and studying in the country rather than distance learners.

Latvian universities lean heavily English-taught at Master's and PhD level, and Riga Stradins University in particular runs large English-medium Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy programs that draw thousands of international students each year, many of whom separately hold or apply for this state scholarship to offset living costs. The University of Latvia and Riga Technical University similarly host English-taught programs across sciences, engineering, IT, and social sciences that qualify for the scholarship. Because eligibility is nationality-based (tied to Latvia's bilateral cooperation agreements) rather than tied to a single field or university, applicants should always check the current partner-country list published by VIAA before applying, since it is periodically updated.

The application cycle runs annually through VIAA's dedicated online portal, scholarships.viaa.gov.lv, with applications typically opening on 1 February and closing on 1 April for the following academic year (for example, the 2026/2027 cycle ran 1 February - 1 April 2026). Applicants are strongly advised to secure an admission or invitation letter from their chosen Latvian institution in parallel, since evidence of enrollment eligibility is central to a competitive application. The scholarship cannot be held concurrently with certain other Latvian or foreign scholarships covering the same costs, so applicants should check for double-funding restrictions before submitting parallel applications.