How Higher Education Works in Bulgaria: Degrees, Universities and the Academic Year

Institution types in Bulgaria

Bulgaria has 51 higher education institutions, according to the Eurydice national description . 37 are public and 14 are private.

The public group has 25 universities, 11 specialized higher schools and 1 self-contained college. The private group has 5 universities, 2 specialized higher schools and 7 self-contained colleges.

Universities teach across several scientific or professional fields and award degrees at all 3 Bologna cycles. Specialized higher schools concentrate on one field, such as medicine, agriculture, fine arts, music or military science, and usually carry that field's name in their title. Colleges run shorter, practice-focused programs and mainly award the professional bachelor's degree, a 3-year track built for direct entry into a trade.

At the end of 2024, the Council of Ministers designated 12 universities as official research higher education institutions, a status tied to research output and doctoral training capacity rather than teaching volume alone, as reported by Eurydice .

Well known Bulgarian universities include Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", the country's oldest and largest, founded in 1888, plus the Technical University of Sofia for engineering, the University of National and World Economy for business and economics, and the medical universities in Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. New Bulgarian University and the American University in Bulgaria are among the larger private institutions, both popular with international applicants because they teach heavily in English.

Quality assurance and accreditation

The National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency reviews and accredits Bulgarian higher education institutions and their individual programs. Accreditation status affects whether a degree counts toward professional licensing in regulated fields such as medicine or architecture, and whether your degree gets recognized smoothly if you continue study or work in another European country. Check a program's accreditation status on the university's own site before you apply, since it can vary by faculty and by specific program even within the same institution.

Degree structure and ECTS credits

Bulgaria uses the 3-cycle Bologna structure common across Europe: bachelor, master and doctor. Credit load runs on the European Credit Transfer System, with 60 ECTS credits per academic year and 30 per semester, distributed across subjects and modules according to each program's curriculum.

Medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, architecture and law combine bachelor and master level into one long integrated program instead of splitting into 2 separate degrees. Doctoral study ends with a public defense of a dissertation after 3 years of research and coursework.

The academic year

The academic year splits into 2 semesters and covers roughly 32 teaching weeks in total, according to Eurydice . Each higher school sets its own exact start and end dates, so check your target university's academic calendar directly instead of assuming one national date applies everywhere. Most programs open the autumn semester in late September or early October and the spring semester in February.

Language of instruction

Bulgarian is the main teaching language at almost every public university. If you apply for a Bulgarian-taught program without knowledge of the language, most universities require or offer a preparatory language year before your degree starts.

English-taught programs concentrate in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, business administration, computer science and international relations, at universities including Sofia University, the medical universities in Sofia and Plovdiv, New Bulgarian University and the American University in Bulgaria. Smaller German-taught and French-taught tracks exist too, mostly in technical and business fields.

Grading scale

Bulgarian universities grade on a 6-point scale. 6 is excellent, 5 is very good, 4 is good, 3 is the minimum pass mark, and anything below 3 fails. Universities convert incoming grades from partner countries using standard conversion tables when you transfer in credits from abroad.

Public vs private institutions

Public universities receive state funding and, for Bulgarian and EU/EEA students, charge tuition well below what private universities charge for comparable programs. Private universities rely mostly on tuition income, set their own fee levels, and often build their programs around business, IT, law and international relations rather than sciences that need heavy laboratory investment. Both sectors sit under the same accreditation system, so a private degree carries the same formal recognition as a public one, provided the specific program holds accreditation.

How Bulgaria fits within Europe

Because Bulgaria runs the same 3-cycle Bologna structure and ECTS credit system as the rest of the EU, your credits and degree transfer smoothly if you continue study in another European country afterward. Tuition and living costs sit well below the Western European average, which draws students from across the EU and beyond, especially into English-taught medicine and business programs.

Bulgaria joined the eurozone on 1 January 2026, following its euro changeover , so tuition, fees and living costs at Bulgarian universities are now quoted directly in euros rather than the former lev.