Latvia

In Latvia there are two universities and three academies providing psychology courses. The University of Latvia, the University of Daugavpils, and Riga Teacher Training and Education Management Academy are state institutions; the Academy of Psychology and International Academy of Applied Psychology are privately owned. There are very little differences in psychology curriculum between state universities and private academies.
To study psychology an annual fee of €1440 is required.
The full course takes up to 6 years and can be studied in two ways: 3+3 or 4+2. After the first 3 years students earn an academic Bachelor’s degree without the right to practice, after the additional 3 years they gain a Master’s degree with the right to practice. In turn they can choose to study for 4 years to gain a professional qualification that will allow them to practice on the lower level (psychology assistants), and then go on to study for 2 more years and earn a Master’s degree which will enable them to work on higher positions (psychologists).
All psychology study programmes need to meet European regulations and have to be accredited by the international board of experts in psychology.
There are two professional Psychology Associations in Latvia. They provide expertise in the accreditations process. There have always been good job prospects for professional psychologist in Latvia. Due to the financial crisis those prospects became limited as some organisations and schools have decided to halt contacts with psychologists. Hopefully as we move away from the crisis those contacts will resume.