The cost of studying medicine in RSU

Studying abroad can be quite costly, so it's useful to know how much you'd realistically be spending per year when studying in RSU. In this blog post I've summarised my spending very broadly, excluding travel costs to home because that varies based on where you live and how often you travel. I'll provide costs for both a full year and 10 months, as many people go to their home country for two months a year (summer).

University

Tuition at RSU at the moment of posting this (2026 September) is 13 500€/year. This is paid in two installments per year, a week before the new semester starts. So you will pay 6750€ 2x/year.

At the start of your studies, you will also pay an administration fee. For me this was 1 800€. This is a one-time-fee.

Housing

Housing cost depends on where you live and whether you live alone.

If you live with roommates, you might be spending 200-300€ on rent and 50-150€ on utilities. This comes up to 3 000-5 400€/year or 2 500-4 500€/10 months (if you don't pay for an apartment in Riga for the summer).

If you live at the dorms, you'll be spending somewhere around 100-600€ on rent (utilities included). The cost depends on the location and whether you have roommates. This comes up to 1 200-7 200€/year or 1 000-6 000€/10 months.

If you live alone, there's a lot more variability. It all depends on where you live. Living on the university side of the river is cheaper, but the location is less optimal (less services and social life around). Living on the centre side is more expensive but there's a lot more to do. You can expect to pay anywhere around 450-800€ for rent and 100-200€ for utilities. This comes up to 6 600-12 000€/year or 5 500-10 000€/10 months.

Summary:

With roommates: 3 000-5 400€ /year or 2 500-4 500€/10 months
At the dorms: 1 200-7 200€/year or 1 000-6 000€/10 months
Alone: 6 600-12 000€/year or 5 500-10 000€/10 months

Food

I would say that groceries in Latvia are quite costly. Some groceries might even be more expensive than they would be in an expensive country like Finland. For example milk is more expensive in Latvia than Finland.

Eating at restaurants however, is much cheaper than in more expensive countries. Obviously eating outside is still much more expensive than making your own food.

I would expect spending 250-330€/month on food, excluding eating at restaurants. This comes up to 3 000-3 960€/year or 2 500-3 300€/10 months.

Transport

Student ticket (includes tram, bus, etc. in Riga) costs 12€/month, and can be bought for up to four months at a time.

Usually I buy the ticket twice a year, so for 8 months total. This comes up to 96€

First year purchases

Laptop: 500-1 000€

Lab coat: 20-40€

Tablet (optional): 300-800€

Total

If you live in Riga for around 10 months a year:

Dorms: ~17 100–22 900€/year
With roommates: ~18 600–21 400€/year
Living alone: ~21 600–26 900€/year

If you live in Riga for 12 months a year:

Dorms: ~17 800–24 800€/year
With roommates: ~19 600–23 000€/year
Living alone: ~23 200–29 600€/year

Your first year will be more expensive, because you'll also have the 1 800€ administration fee and some one-time purchases. A laptop and lab coat add approximately 520–1 040€, and an optional tablet another 300–800€.