Stockholm School of Economics in Riga
BSc Programme in Economics and Business
Riga, Latvia
BSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
TUITION FEES
EUR 7,600 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* fee is fixed for all three years of study and remains the same as at the time of enrollment
Key Summary
About: The three-year full-time BSc in Economics and Business at SSE Riga combines international study with close community. Taught in English; 65% of faculty are international; the programme partners with Stockholm School of Economics. Admissions are selective: 150 students admitted annually. The programme includes two summer internships, specialisations in Economics, Finance, Retail, Entrepreneurship or International Politics; accredited by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Economics.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can work in finance, consulting, retail, economic analysis, entrepreneurship or policy. Roles include financial analyst, management consultant, economist, and business development manager.
The three-year programme in Economics and Business is a meeting point for talented young people who wish to study in an international but close-knit community.
Three-year full-time programme
Study in a programme tailored for today's job market and future opportunities.
International
65% of the faculty are international, and the programme partners with the Stockholm School of Economics.
Selective admissions
We welcome 150 students annually, ensuring a personalised learning environment.
English language instruction
All courses are taught in English, providing a globally relevant educational experience.
Practical experience
Gain real-world insights through two summer internships lasting 4-8 weeks each.
Specialisation choices
Tailor your education with specialisation options in Economics, Finance, Retail, Entrepreneurship, or International Politics.
Accredited
Our programme is accredited by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, ensuring the highest standards of quality.
Bachelor's degree
Graduate with a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Economics, a valuable credential for your future goals.
The academic curriculum of the BSc programme covers areas of both economics and business, thus allowing students to get a wider perspective and thus have more career options after graduation.
Courses
Given the student body of 450 students and the comparatively small size of the School, staff and lecturers are able to work closely with students.
The core courses combine mainstream economics with various aspects of business. The five main blocks are as follows:
- Economics Courses: Learn theory, application, and quantitative aspects, including international and European economics. Gain insight into decision-making for individuals, households, businesses, and organizations.
- Finance and Accounting Courses: Explore capital markets, finance, management accounting, and financial management.
- Business Administration Courses: Gain insights into business, organization, and strategy. Includes courses on ethics, sustainable business, and economic anthropology, addressing the growing focus on ethical business practices.
- Data Analysis and Business Intelligence Courses: Develop advanced skills in data management, visualization, storytelling, and data-driven decision-making. Learn to use digital tools like MS Excel, Power BI, and R programming for data analysis and reporting automation.
- Communication Courses: Enhance communication skills for academic and professional success, with a strong emphasis on English language proficiency and teamwork.
Specialisation Courses
At the beginning of the last academic year, students should choose two specialisation courses from the five that are offered.
- Economics: Focuses on an in-depth analysis of the role of the banking system in the economy from micro and macroeconomic perspectives.
- Finance: Starts with topics on financial markets, including market design, price discovery, liquidity, informational efficiency and bubbles. This is followed by behavioural finance and portfolio management, corporate valuations and private M&A. The course emphasises empirical finance research methods that are relevant for the various topics.
- Retail Management: Offers a general management view, covering a broad range of functional topics including strategy, online and offline marketing, operations and supply chain.
- Entrepreneurship: Designed to teach students how to think and act entrepreneurially, how to start a new venture, and how to operate a business.
- International Politics: Examines complex global political issues, including geostrategy, the arms industry, climate change, and international relations, providing students with a deep understanding of the forces shaping global governance and diplomacy.
The tuition fee for the Bachelor programme is EUR 7600 per year, but all EU/EEA/EFTA students receive a Baltic-EU Student Scholarship of EUR 2400 annually, reducing their tuition to EUR 5200 per year.
Scholarships for Baltic and European Union Students
All EU/EEA/EFTA citizens and permanent residents automatically receive a Baltic-EU Student Scholarship worth EUR 2400 per year for three years. This reduces the annual tuition fee to EUR 5200. These scholarships are supported by SSE Riga, the SSE Riga Foundation, and other generous donors.
The SSE Riga Foundation is an independent organization dedicated to supporting the school's mission, including providing financial assistance and scholarships to students.
Other Financial Aid and Scholarships
The ability to study at SSE Riga is not limited by your financial situation. Most students benefit from significant financial aid, and a range of scholarships is available, funded by SSE Riga, the SSE Riga Foundation, and the SSE Riga Alumni Association (read the detailed information below).
At SSE Riga, studies concentrate on just two or three courses at a time. An intense course usually takes from two weeks to two months. A course often has daily lectures and seminars, and the grade given consists of the exam result, practical project work and presentation.
Teamwork
The ability to work in a team is greatly valued in business nowadays. It is said that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Teamwork is the essence of the study process at SSE Riga, hence almost all the courses require project work to be written in international teams of four.
Students learn to work with diverse personalities, ranging from various nationalities and with people with various working styles and skills.
Project Work
Project work is simply called ‘reports’ among the students of SSE Riga. The papers are based on taking theoretical knowledge gained during the course and applying it to a practical issue.
Business projects might include visiting an enterprise, interviewing managers and employees for a case study, or contacting several companies to ask for information.
Meanwhile, academic research is usually based on quantitative information which is analyzed with statistical tools to reach conclusions or test hypotheses.
Presentations
At the end of each course, students present their project work in front of the class and an evaluator and defend their papers from colleagues’ opposition and critical remarks.
While the Presentations Skills course at the very beginning of studies at SSE Riga provides basic knowledge, these abilities are developed throughout the three years.
The ability to present in-depth on complicated issues and research in 5 to 7 minutes, and to use visual aids both to keep the listener interested and get the intended reaction, requires practice and is a must in business life.
Knowledge Sharing
Many seminars in SSE Riga are led by Teaching Assistants – students who performed well in the course the previous year.
Such responsibility gives pedagogical and leadership experience to the Teaching Assistants and is also a way to present complicated issues in a way that is familiar to students while emphasizing the problems from one’s own fresh experience.
Study groups are also widely promoted in SSE Riga. Students gather to discuss course material, solve exercises or distribute the workload among each other when studies are intense.
Two-way Feedback
After each course, the Administration creates a questionnaire for evaluating different aspects of the course so that all students can express their opinions and criticize any shortcomings they observe.
After that, a feedback session with representatives from the Administration, students, and lecturers takes place. The information gathered is later used to improve the quality of the course. Students, in turn, get feedback after each course, too.
Some lecturers provide detailed evaluations of project work; others are available throughout the course for support and supervision.