Courses and Internships

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.

Core Courses

The core courses combine mainstream economics with various aspects of business. The four main blocks are as follows:

• Economics courses - include courses that cover the main areas of theoretical, applied and quantitative aspects of the subject, including also international and European aspects of economics. These courses advance understanding of the choices and behaviour of individuals, households, firms, and other organizations.
• Finance and Accounting courses -  focus upon capital markets, finance, management accounting, financial accounting and financial management.
• Business Administration courses - provide an understanding of business, organisation, and strategy including common functionally based business courses and the courses in Ethics and Sustainable Business and Economic Anthropology that have become especially significant in recent years alongside a growing concern with the ethical practices of business and a more profound understanding of the nature of business.
• Research Methods courses - aim to help undergraduates understand research methods, and look at research in academic and applied contexts. These courses also aim to provide practical skills in finding and using sources of research information, research management, and basic data analysis techniques.
• Communication courses - teach powerful communication skills that enable undergraduates to bridge the gap between the everyday life and the university, be more effective in academic and professional situations and give professional training in team building and team dynamics. Given that the language of instruction is English, there is a strong emphasis on upgrading the knowledge and skills in communicating in English at an advanced level.

Core Courses Schedule 2011/2012 > 

Elective Courses

A range of elective courses is offered.

• Humanities electives - offer language courses (French, German, Latvian for Foreigners, Russian, Spanish, Swedish), philosophy, etc.
• Social Sciences electives - allow for broadening the scope of studies; and students can choose to study topics such as globalization issues and development, audit and taxation in Baltics (sponsored by KPMG Latvia), publice finance, entrepreneurship and creativity, and branding communication.

Elective Courses Schedule 2011/2012 > 

Specialisation Courses

In the beginning of the last study year students should choose two from the four specialisation courses 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.
• Marketing - focuses on learning from success stories of aligned brands, as well as considering current market and consumer trendsacross the globe. This is followed by tasks to explore how  unique brand concepts are created and what opportunities there are for reposition an existing Baltic brand for the world market.
• Entrepreneurship – the course is targeted towards the ability to develop appropriate business strategies, manage financial and human resources, generate sales, implement marketing and promotion strategies, understand micro and macro processes in the economy and communicate within a group that are the skills which can potentially add to the competitiveness of any business company. During the course students polish the ability to spot business opportunities and come up with an in-depth market analysis, plans and forecasts for their new business.

Each specialisation course aims to make every student a specialist within the area.

Bachelor's Thesis

To incorporate all the knowledge acquired during studies and to fulfill final degree requirements, students should undertake a major research task by writing a  Bachelor’s Thesis. A student can complete the Bachelor’s Thesis individually or together with another student. Each student or pair of students developing a Thesis is entitled to a supervisor who advises regarding the planning and execution of the Thesis work. Additionally, SSE Riga provides a number of experts in selected fields who can give advise on the methodology and other parts of the Bachelor’s Thesis.

Evaluation

When evaluating student performance, SSE Riga applies a 200 point grading system (0 – 99/fail; 100 – 139/pass; 140 – 159/pass with merit; 160 – 200/excellent). In the Diploma Supplement students receive an academic transcript with the SSE Riga grades and ECTS grades that make the academic grade transcript compatible with international standards.

In total, to qualify for the BSc degree, students should earn 125 credit points (187.5 ECTS) and present a Bachelor's Thesis.

Internships

Internships are an important supplement for the academic side of the programme. Students should have two internships during the summer breaks after the first and the second year of studies. Internships are obligatory, and based on the employer’s evaluation and student self-evaluation reports, credit points are granted, verifying professional learning experience.

Internships take place during summer, when the study period is over, and usually last from 4 to 8 weeks. In total, all students must obtain at least 10 weeks of internship experience in order to graduate. The search process for internship placements is fully under student control. This process simulates a real job search, as students are actively looking for information about companies offering internships and participating in various career events.

Due to the fact that SSE Riga maintains close relationships with its alumni, quite a lot of job advertisements arrive via e-mail straight to students’ inboxes. Furthermore, many get in touch with their future employers during the SSE Riga career fair, Days of Opportunities, which takes place every April and attracts more than 40 companies from the Baltics. 

Internships serve as a good starting point for students to develop their professional network. Very often, students receive full-time job offers from their internship companies upon graduation.

The most popular companies for summer internships among SSE Riga students include the Central Bank of Latvia, KPMG, L’Oreal, Omnitel, Procter & Gamble, SEB Group, Swedbank, and various others.

Further opportunities

The BSc programme gives students the skills and knowledge needed to be successful in their workplaces after graduation. Further opportunities for an SSE Riga graduate are broad even during an economic downturn – students are appreciated by the top companies in the Baltics, and are welcome to pursue their academic interests in top-notch universities all over the world.

About one-fourth of SSE Riga recent graduates have found employment in accountancy, auditing and banking. During the last five years there has been a growing interest in IT and marketing related jobs as well as in positions in public institutions. A number of students start their own businesses. A few students undertake further study for a Master’s degree right after graduation, but the majority prefer working for a few years and then pursuing graduate studies. 

International faculty, frequent guest lectures, pan-European events and close cooperation with the business community significantly widens the perspective of SSE Riga students. It enables them to see more opportunities in both the corporate and academic world.

The SSE Riga Placement Report 2011 presents key facts about BSc graduates >
 

•  Alumni Stories