Romania is a part of the EU. This means that it’s also part of the Bologna Process. The Bologna Process means that you can be assured of a world-class education, wherever you study. This also means that Romanian higher education is divided into three tiers, called cycles. Here's how the cycles work:
- First Cycle - This is the undergraduate level. A Bachelor’s degree normally takes three or four years to complete. The extra year normally comes about if you take a year abroad, undertake an internship or study a subject like engineering.
- Second Cycle - This is the postgraduate level. A Master’s degree takes one or two years to complete. The extra year comes about if you undertake an internship or study part-time. Some courses also take two years as standard.
- Third Cycle - This is the doctoral level. A PhD normally takes three years to complete. In Romania, a PhD can also mean attending classes as well as teaching them. Some students choose to teach part-time whilst studying. This can mean that a Romanian PhD can take up to five years to complete.
In recent years, Romanian higher education has gone from strength to strength. Romanian schools are increasingly rising up the world rankings. Nowadays, they’re among some of the best in Eastern Europe. It’s even possible to undertake qualifications in Romanian. If you don’t speak Romanian, don’t worry. It’s possible to take a one-year preparatory course at some schools.
As it’s part of the EU, Romania also participates in Erasmus. Erasmus allows you to take a semester, a year or even a whole qualification or internship abroad. Your nationality doesn’t matter, you just need to be studying at a school that participates in Erasmus. Most Romanian schools do. Some have set exchanges, others allow you to choose where to go as you see fit.
Overview
Get an overview of what it's like to live and study in Romania. Find out a little bit more about this exciting country and what it can offer you.
Student Visas
Want to learn about how the higher education system works in Romania? Romania offers a tiered education system. It even has opportunities for studying abroad elsewhere.
Housing & Living Costs
Romania is a very affordable country compared to other countries in Europe. We’ve detailed average living and housing costs so you can get a better idea of what you would be paying as a student in Romania.
Tuition Fees & Scholarships
If you're from outside of the EU, you'll need a visa to study in Romania. This section tells you what you need to do to get your study visa.
Language & Culture
Applications in Romania go to individual schools. This section tells you what you need to do to present in most applications to Romanian schools.
Application Process
All countries have specific admissions requirements for students to enter their universities. Romania’s system is quite centralized in that all applications go through their Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. Learn more about the ins and outs of admission to Romanian programs, and what you need to apply, depending on your citizenship.
Programs
Ready to look at education in Romania? Use our search engine to find and compare top programs in Romania!
The content of this country guide has been developed in partnership with Study in Romania.
About Study in Romania
The Study in Romania portal is developed and hosted by the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI), within the framework of the "Internationalisation, equity and institutional management for a quality higher education" (IEMU) project. The portal aims to offer a high quality data base with the existing educational offer of Romanian universities.
