How to Get Into University in Cambodia: Requirements, Exams and Deadlines

The Bac II exam: your entry ticket

Every student who wants to enter a Cambodian university needs to pass the national Upper Secondary exam, known as Bac II, at the end of grade 12. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) administers it nationwide, and your Bac II certificate is the one document every university application asks for first.

The exam has become harder to pass, not easier, over the past decade, which makes preparation matter more than it once did. In 2025, out of nearly 145,000 candidates, more than 122,000 passed: an 84 percent pass rate , the highest on record. Grade breakdown for 2025 was 3,003 at Grade A, 9,901 at Grade B, 28,801 at Grade C, 45,859 at Grade D and 34,909 at Grade E. That marks a sharp climb from around 25 percent a decade earlier, credited to reforms MoEYS introduced from 2014 that tightened exam supervision and cut down on cheating.

Public university admission

Public universities generally weigh your Bac II results alongside their own entrance process. The Royal University of Phnom Penh, Cambodia's oldest and largest public university, bases admission on entrance examination results together with your past academic record rather than Bac II results alone. Other public universities follow similar patterns, with the exact weighting between the national exam and an entrance test set by each faculty.

Popular faculties receive far more applicants than seats, so a passing Bac II grade puts you in the applicant pool rather than guaranteeing a place. Strong Bac II grades, especially in subjects related to your intended major, improve your standing when a faculty ranks applicants against a fixed number of spots.

Private university admission

Private universities in Cambodia generally run a more open admission process. Most ask for your Bac II certificate, a completed application form, and sometimes a short interview or placement test for English-medium programs, without a separate competitive entrance exam. Because private universities compete for enrollment, admission decisions often come faster than at public institutions, sometimes within days of a completed application.

Extra requirements for competitive programs

Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering programs at public universities add their own layer on top of a Bac II pass. These fields typically run separate entrance exams or set minimum grade thresholds well above a bare pass, since the number of seats stays fixed while demand for these fields runs high every year. If you plan to apply for one of these fields, prepare for a program-specific exam in addition to Bac II, and check the admission requirements page of that specific faculty rather than the university's general page.

Application timing and the academic year

Cambodia's national academic year has typically started around November, and MoEYS confirmed the 2025-26 academic year would begin 1 November 2025. Individual universities run their own variations on top of that. The Royal University of Phnom Penh runs two semesters, from September to January and February to June, while some private universities follow a three-semester structure that starts in a different month.

Application windows open once Bac II results come out, generally in the months right after the exam. Because timing differs by university, check the admissions page of each institution on your shortlist directly rather than assuming one national deadline applies everywhere.

Documents checklist

• Bac II certificate, or an official statement of results if the certificate has not been issued yet

• Grade 12 academic transcript

• National ID card or birth certificate

• Passport-sized photos, the exact number set by each university

• Completed application form and fee, where the university charges one

• Entrance exam registration, for programs that require one

If you fail Bac II or miss a deadline

Students who do not pass Bac II resit the exam in a later sitting. MoEYS has also outlined alternative routes for students who do not pass on the first attempt, including vocational and technical training pathways through the National Training Board. If you miss a university's application window, ask the admissions office directly whether a late intake or the next semester's round is open, since private universities in particular often run more than one intake per year.