IB Diploma and University Admission in Latvia: Recognition, Grades and Deadlines

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Latvia accepts the IB Diploma for university entry, but there is no national table that turns IB points into a Latvian score. Each institution decides how to rank IB applicants, so the rules of your programme matter more than any general formula.

Is the IB Diploma accepted?

Yes. A diploma earned outside Latvia is treated as a foreign secondary qualification and goes through academic recognition:

The Academic Information Centre (AIC), Latvia's ENIC-NARIC centre, assesses the diploma and issues a statement saying which Latvian qualification it corresponds to. The assessment costs €54.60 and usually takes up to a month, or up to four months if more documents are needed.
On the basis of that statement, the university makes the decision on your admission. Some universities send your documents to the AIC themselves; Rīga Stradiņš University does so once you have applied and paid the application fee.

According to Rīga Stradiņš University, documents issued in the EU, the EEA, Switzerland or the UK need no legalisation, while documents from other countries need an apostille or consular legalisation, depending on the country. Details are in document recognition for Latvia.

How IB results are used in selection

Latvian school leavers are ranked on their centralised exams (CE). An IB Diploma has no CE results, and the conversion is left to the university. The University of Latvia's admission rules for 2026, for example, say that the AIC carries out the recognition, while the university itself converts the grades needed for its competition criteria.

What this means depends on your citizenship:

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens may compete for state-funded (budget) places on equal terms with Latvians, mainly in programmes taught in Latvian. Ask the admissions office early how your IB grades will be converted for the programme you want.
Other students apply for paid places, mostly in English-taught programmes, and are assessed by the institution's own rules: minimum grades, a motivation letter, sometimes a test or an interview.

Each institution must publish its admission rules for the next academic year by 30 November, so rules for autumn 2027 should be public by 30 November 2026.

Minimum requirements: three examples

Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). Its admission procedure for English-taught programmes in 2026/27 sets these minimums for the IB Diploma:

a minimum grade of 5 in the relevant subjects;
at least 24 points in total and 12 points in Higher Level subjects.

Where a school system has higher-level subjects, as the IB does, RSU gives priority to the Higher Level grades. RSU also exempts IB students from submitting a separate English test.

Stockholm School of Economics in Riga. For its BSc in Economics and Business it asks for grades of at least 6 on a 10-point scale, or the equivalent, in mathematics and English. Students who graduate in 2027 apply with their autumn semester grades or predicted grades signed by the school. Selection then continues with an online admissions test on 17 April 2027 and online interviews between 11 and 28 May 2027.

University of Latvia. It publishes no IB-specific minimums on its English pages. It asks for proof of English, such as IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL iBT 80, unless your school certificate is from the EU, the EEA or Switzerland and assesses English at B2 level or higher, or you studied in English in countries such as the UK or the US. Ask whether your IB Diploma counts; see also IELTS and TOEFL for European universities. Programmes taught in Latvian require Latvian; the university's own test needs a result of at least 4 on a 10-point scale.

Medicine and dentistry

Both are taught in English at RSU and the University of Latvia, and both programmes are long integrated degrees that start straight after school. RSU's requirements for 2026/27:

Programme	Required subjects	Minimum
Medicine	English, mathematics, and biology and/or chemistry	70% in English, biology and chemistry
Dentistry	English, mathematics, and biology and/or chemistry	70% in English, 80% in biology and chemistry

One of biology or chemistry is enough, but having both is an advantage, and for Dentistry applicants with both are prioritised. For an IB student this means choosing biology and chemistry, ideally at Higher Level, before the Diploma Programme starts. Applicants from outside the EU and EEA who do not live there also take a compulsory online motivational interview. More in study medicine in English in Europe.

Timing: May and November sessions

IB results for the May session come out in early July, after several Latvian deadlines have passed. RSU deals with this explicitly: IB graduates finishing in summer 2027 may submit their diploma after the deadline, provided all other application documents arrive by 1 July 2027. RSU's main deadlines for Medicine and Dentistry starting in September 2027 are 1 May 2027 for most non-EU applicants and 1 July 2027 for EU/EEA applicants.

If you graduate in the November session, you already hold your results in the following year. RSU also has a February intake for Medicine and Dentistry, with applications opening in September.

Where to look next

Official sources

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.