How to Apply to Universities in Kosovo: Requirements, Deadlines and Portals
By Muntasir • Published Mar 19, 2024 • Updated Aug 08, 2026 • Guides, Study in Europe, Country & City Guides, Admissions & Applications
You apply to each Kosovo university and faculty directly, since there is no shared national portal, and public universities screen applicants with an entrance exam while private universities mostly admit on documents alone.
📩 Apply directly on the university or faculty website, each one runs its own timeline.
Public universities require a subject-based entrance exam, usually held before each semester starts.
Private universities like AAB, UBT and RIT Kosovo mostly admit on secondary school results and documents.
Foreign diplomas need recognition through Kosovo's diploma recognition process before you enroll.
European applicants apply the same way as any other foreign applicant and usually pay the international fee tier at public universities.
Gather your diploma, transcripts, passport copy and a language plan before you start.
Decide between a public and a private university first
Your application path in Kosovo depends heavily on whether you target a public or private university. Public universities such as University of Pristina "Hasan Prishtina" run faculty-level entrance exams and a state-funded quota system built mainly for Kosovo residents. Private universities like AAB , UBT and RIT Kosovo run their own rolling or semester-based admissions and compete directly for international students, often through English-taught programs.
If you come from another European country and want a more direct entry route, a private university with an English-taught program removes both the entrance exam and the Albanian-language requirement at once.
| Route | Selection method | Language | Fee tier for foreign applicants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public university | Entrance exam per faculty | Mostly Albanian | International fee, outside the state quota |
| Private university | Documents-based admission | Albanian or English tracks | One published rate, sometimes with a regional discount |
Step 1: Collect and translate your documents
Before you apply anywhere, gather your upper-secondary school diploma, full transcripts and a valid passport or ID. If your diploma is not in Albanian or English, get it translated by a certified translator, since Kosovo institutions generally do not accept documents in other languages.
Non-Albanian applicants to public universities should also check whether their target faculty teaches in Albanian only or offers an alternative track, since this changes what language proof you need to submit.
Step 2: Get your diploma recognized
Kosovo requires foreign school diplomas to go through a recognition process before they count toward university entry. This process, run through Kosovo's education authorities, checks that your secondary education matches Kosovo's own upper-secondary standard. Start this step early, recognition often takes several weeks, and some universities want it finished before they confirm your place.
Step 3: Apply to the university or faculty directly
Kosovo does not run one shared national application portal for all universities. You submit a separate application to each university, and often to each individual faculty within a public university, through that institution's own website or admissions office. Read the specific faculty page carefully, entry requirements and required documents differ between faculties at the same university.
Completed application form from the university website
Recognized and translated diploma and transcripts
Passport copy
Passport photos, most institutions still ask for physical copies
Proof of language ability if the program is not taught in your native language
Step 4: Sit the entrance exam if you apply to a public university
Public university faculties in Kosovo select students mainly through subject-based entrance exams tied to your intended field, for example biology and chemistry for medicine, or math for engineering. Exams typically run before each semester intake. Check your target faculty's website directly for the exact exam date and syllabus, since this differs by faculty and changes each year.
Step 5: Confirm your fee tier and enroll
European applicants apply through the same process as any other foreign applicant at Kosovo public universities, but most institutions place non-Kosovo citizens in the international fee tier rather than the state-funded domestic quota. Private universities generally set one tuition rate that applies to all students regardless of nationality, sometimes with a lower rate for regional Balkan applicants. Confirm the exact fee for your program directly with the admissions office before you commit, published rates vary by faculty and change between academic years.
After you enroll: residence and registration
If you come from another European country, check Kosovo's current entry and stay rules for students before you travel, since requirements depend on your nationality and the length of your studies. Budget time after acceptance to register with local authorities, most universities give incoming international students a checklist for this once you have your acceptance letter.
Timeline: when to start each step
Start the diploma recognition process as soon as you decide on Kosovo, well before you pick a specific university, since this step runs independently of any single admissions office and moving early avoids a late scramble. Shortlist your target faculties next, and read each one's entry requirements directly from its own page rather than relying on general summaries, since public university faculties set their own subject combinations for the entrance exam.
Submit your application as soon as the faculty opens its window, spaces in popular programs fill up and some public faculties rank fee-paying and international applicants by exam score once the quota fills. Arrange your accommodation only after you hold a confirmed offer, since dorm spaces and reliable private listings move fast around the start of each semester.
Programs that need extra steps
Arts, music, architecture and design programs commonly add a portfolio review, audition or practical test on top of the standard entrance exam or document review. Medicine and other regulated health fields tend to set the highest entrance exam thresholds and the most competitive quota, plan your exam preparation for these fields well ahead of the general application timeline. Check your target faculty's page for these program-specific steps early, since they often need separate registration from the general application.
Common questions
Do you need to know Albanian to apply. Not for English-taught programs at private universities, but most public university programs teach in Albanian, confirm the program's teaching language before you apply.
Do EU and non-EU applicants follow different steps. The application steps are the same, the main difference sits in the fee tier and any entry or residence formality tied to your nationality.
Is it possible to apply to more than one university at once. Yes, nothing stops you from submitting parallel applications to several universities or faculties, each charges and processes its own application separately.