Daugavpils University

About Daugavpils University

Daugavpils University (Daugavpils Universitāte - DU), founded in 1921 as the Daugavpils Teachers’ Institute (Daugavpils Skolotāju institūts) and accredited as a full public research university, is the largest public institution of higher education and regional scientific research in Latvia outside the capital city of Riga. Located in Daugavpils—Latvia’s second-largest city and the historic cultural heart of the Latgale region along the scenic Daugava River—the university is organized into two large consolidated academic faculties: the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Healthcare (Dabaszinātņu un veselības aprūpes fakultāte) and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Humanitāro un sociālo zinātņu fakultāte). Nationally and internationally celebrated for its research in biodiversity, taxonomy, ecology, environmental chemistry, and educational sciences, DU is home to the world-renowned Institute of Life Sciences and Technologies (DZTI) and the Coleopterological Research Center, which houses millions of insect and fauna specimens. Educating over 2,200 students, including a growing international community from Europe, Central Asia, and bilateral partner nations, Daugavpils University delivers fully accredited European Higher Education Area (EHEA) degree programmes under the Bologna Process (ECTS credits), complemented by Latvian State Scholarships, active Erasmus+ mobility, and membership in the European University Alliance (OpenEU).