Riga Technical University

Riga Technical University (RTU) (previously known as Riga Polytechnical Institute andRiga Polytechnicum) is located in Riga, Latvia.

Riga Polytechnical Institute, 1862-1918
Riga Polytechnicum was first established in 1862 and was the first polytechnical institute in Imperial Russia. It offered degrees in agriculture, chemistry, engineering, mechanics, trade and architecture, with education in German language. In 1896, it was renamed Riga Polytechnical Institute and the language of instruction was changed to Russian.

When the World War I started in 1914, Riga Polytechnical Institute was evacuated to Moscow and worked there until 1918. After that, part of the faculty returned to Latvia and joined the newly established University of Latvia. Others stayed in Russia and taught at universities there.

Riga Technical University, 1958-now
Riga Polytechnical Institute was re-established in 1958 by splitting off the engineering departments from the State University of Latvia. In 1990, it was renamed to Riga Technical University. The university currently consists of 8 faculties:
 * Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning
 * Faculty of Building and Civil Engineering
 * Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
 * Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications
 * Faculty of Engineering Economics
 * Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry
 * Faculty of Power and Electrical Engineering
 * Faculty of Transport and Mechanical Engineering


 * RTU WEB site address (latvian): http://www.rtu.lv
 * RTU WEB site address (english): http://www.rtu.lv/en
 * RTU Foreign Students Department (english): http://fsd.rtu.lv