The teaching profession in Romania is regulated by law. Therefore, the working conditions for teachers at a particular level of education are similar throughout the country, and any variations at a workplace compared to others are rather minor. 

According to Higher Education Law 199/2023 (Article 26), as subsequently amended and complemented, initial training for teaching positions in school education is provided by academic programmes structured across four cycles, as follows:

• the short cycle, which offers short-cycle academic programmes,
• the first cycle, which offers bachelor programmes,
• the second cycle, which offers master programmes,
• the third cycle, which offers doctorate programmes.

Bachelor programmes – with the specialisations Early Childhood Education and Care, and Pedagogy of Primary Education – certify teaching competences for the positions of ECEC teacher and teacher for primary education respectively.

For occupying a teacher position in ECEC, primary education, lower secondary education, high-school (upper secondary) education and post-secondary education, the minimum requirements in terms of educational attainment are the following: 

• for a teaching position as educator/educatoare (ECEC educator): graduation from a pedagogical high-school, the specialisation Early Childhood Education and Care, with a Baccalaureate diploma.
• for a teaching position as profesor pentru educaţie timpurie (ECEC teacher): a bachelor degree in the specialisation Early Childhood Education and Care.
• for a teaching position as învăţător/învăţătoare (primary school teacher) with a substitute beginner teacher status: graduation from a pedagogical high-school, the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary Education, with a Baccalaureate diploma.
• for a teaching position as profesor pentru învăţământ primar (teacher for primary education), at least one of the following requirements must be met:
  • (i) graduation from a pedagogical high-school, the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary Education, with a Baccalaureate diploma, and graduation from the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary Education, with a bachelor degree.
  • (ii) a bachelor degree in the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary Education, and graduation from a one-year teaching master programme.
• for teaching positions of profesor (teacher) in lower secondary, high-school (upper secondary) and post-secondary education, profesor de instruire practică (practical training teacher), profesor documentarist (documentation teacher) and profesor corepetitor (répétiteur teacher), at least one of the following requirements must be met:
  • (i) a bachelor degree in the profile of the teaching position, plus the psycho-pedagogical training module with a total of 30 ECTS credits, plus graduation from a one-year teaching master programme.
  • (ii) a bachelor degree in the field of education sciences and graduation from a one-year teaching master programme for teaching positions in the field of education sciences.
  • (iii) a bachelor degree in the profile of the teaching position, and graduation from a one-and-a-half-year teaching master programme.
  • (iv) graduation from a teaching bachelor programme with a double specialisation in the profile of the teaching position.

By way of exception from the requirements above, in order to provide the creches with the necessary education staff:

• the teaching position of educator/educatoare (ECEC educator) may also be occupied by graduates from a pedagogical high-school or an equivalent school with the specialisation învăţătoare (primary school teacher) or învăţător-educator (primary school - ECEC teacher), who completed or are expected to complete, by 1 September 2028, ECEC courses offered in the framework of some projects implemented by the Ministry of Education with other parties.
• the teaching position of profesor de educaţie timpurie (ECEC teacher) may also be occupied by graduates of a bachelor programme with the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education, who completed or are expected to complete, by 1 September 2028, ECEC courses offered in the framework of some projects implemented by the Ministry of Education with other parties.

Moreover, those who will have completed their pedagogical high-school education by 2028, with the specialisation educator-puericultor (ECEC educator-child carer) or învăţător-educator (primary school teacher - ECEC educator), are considered to meet the educational requirement for occupying a teaching position as an educator/educatoare (ECEC teacher). 

Initial training programmes for a teacher career in school education are accredited and they are subject to regular evaluation by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS) or by other quality assurance agencies, which are based in Romania or abroad and are registered in EQAR.

Pedagogical training, also called teacher traineeship, is part of the master degree in teaching and consists in delivering educational activities in application schools and other institutions and organisations, with guidance from a mentor teacher who cooperates with a practical training tutor from the higher education institution involved. 

University students enrolled on a teaching master programme accredited by the Ministry of Education and Research and offered by a public institution may receive scholarships from the state budget.

Master programmes may be offered as full-time or part-time programmes. 

Pedagogical training in the framework of initial teacher training takes place, in accordance with the Higher Education Law, based on some framework agreements between higher education institutions and application schools.

Practical activities of teaching master programmes and the psycho-pedagogical training programme may also take place during a traineeship abroad in the framework of a EU programme with an initial teacher training component, where such traineeship should be certified by a Europass mobility document. 

Teaching master programmes are developed based on the professional standards for teaching positions, they are approved by the Ministry of Education and Research and are accredited under the law. 

During the practical training period, a teaching position may be occupied for one school year as follows: 

• based on a competition for vacant/reserved posts, or
• by assignment by the County/Bucharest School Inspectorate to posts which remain unfilled after a competition.

Those on practical training for a school year are subject to all the provisions of the legislation in force applicable to their temporary teaching position. 

Only those who meet the requirements set out above are considered qualified for their respective teaching position.

Under special circumstances, teaching positions in school education may be occupied by unqualified staff for limited periods of time. 

Institutions, level and models of training

The mission of higher education is to generate and transfer knowledge to society by:  

• initial and in-service academic training, for personal development, for the employability of individuals and for meeting the socioeconomic need for competence.
• research, development, innovation and technological transfer, through individual and collective creation in the fields of science, engineering, arts, humanities, and by ensuring physical and sports achievement and development, as well as by harnessing and disseminating the outcomes of such.

The Ministry of Education and Research is a public authority and is authorised to monitor and to verify the application of and compliance with regulations in the area of higher education and to apply, if necessary, any sanctions. Moreover, the Ministry of Education and Research verifies how universities exercise their autonomy, assume their overall and specific mission and exercise their public liability. 

The autonomy of universities is granted by the Constitution. Academic freedom is granted by law. Higher education institutions are organised and function independently of any ideological, political or religious interferences. The autonomy of universities entitles the academic community to determine its own mission, institutional strategy, structure, activities, organisation and functioning, and how they manage their assets and their human resources strictly in compliance with the legislation in force. The fundamental aspects of autonomy are set out in the University Charter, which is approved by each University Senate strictly in accordance with the legislation in force.

In order to fulfil the objectives derived from its mission, a higher education institution may include the following organisational components:

• faculties
• departments
• institutes, centers or laboratories
• desig units
• consultancy centers
• university clinics
• studios and art workshops  
• theatres, museums
• in-service training centres for their human resources
• microproduction and services units
• experimental stations, and
• other entities for production activities and transfer of knowledge and technology. 

A faculty is a functional unit that develops and manages educational programmes. A faculty offers programmes in one or several fields of science, arts or sports.

Initial training for all teaching positions in Romania is based on a parallel (concurrent) model, which means that education and training in a specialty is combined with specific training for a teaching career within the same educational sequence.

For teachers in school education, the Ministry of Education and Research may equalise, based on a specific methodology, short cycle education, provided by the three-year college or the three-year pedagogical institute, with the first cycle (bachelor programmes), in compliance with the law.

Admission requirements

Only high-school graduates with a baccalaureate diploma or an equivalent diploma may be admitted to higher education (first cycle – bachelor programmes).

For the second cycle (master programmes), admission is open only to graduates with a bachelor degree or an equivalent diploma.

Doctorate programmes stand for the third cycle of academic studies and lead to a qualification at Level 8 of EQF and in the National Qualifications Framework. Admission requirements for this cycle are a master degree or an equivalent diploma.

Higher education institutions determine their admission methodology for each cycle of studies in accordance with the general criteria set out by the Ministry of Education and Research.

The selection and admission procedure for the first cycle may be based on:

• the average grade of the candidates at the baccalaureate examination and at various subjects studied during high-school,
• the grade at the admission examination organised by the higher education institution. If they have an admission examination, higher education institutions should take into account the high-school curricula for the subjects of the admission, as well as the alternative textbooks approved to be used in high-schools for those particular subjects.

Candidates can take the admission examination in the language in which they studied the examination subjects.

In public higher education institutions, education is: 

• free of charge for the enrolment plan approved by the Government on an annual basis, and
• with tuition fees, where the amount of the fee is set by each University Senate in compliance with the law.

Private higher education institutions have tuition fees. The amount of the tuition fee is set by the board of the higher education institution in compliance with the law. 

Higher education institutions are autonomous as far as the amount of fees is concerned and they have the obligation to communicate the fees to all those who are interested in the matter, including on their websites.

Every year, the Ministry of Education and Research sets the general criteria for admission on subsidised places for students with outstanding results at national and/or international school competitions during their high-school years.

According to Order No 3850/2017 of 2 May 2017 for the approval of the Framework Methodology for the organisation of psycho-pedagogical training programmes for the certification of teaching competences in accredited higher education institutions: 

• Graduates of bachelor programmes who did not attend the psycho-pedagogical training programme during their first or second cycle of academic studies may enrol for this programme as a postgraduate course. Enrolment on a Level 1 psycho-pedagogical training programme offered as a postgraduate course is subject to graduation from a bachelor programme. Enrolment on a Level 2 psycho-pedagogical training programme offered as a postgraduate course is subject to graduation from a master programme in the field of the bachelor degree and completion of the Level 1 psycho-pedagogical training programme, or the compliance with the Level 1 psycho-pedagogical training requirement in accordance with the legislation in force. (Article 4)
• Admission to psycho-pedagogical training programmes is based on an examination / interview according to the methodology of the institution concerned. The admission examination / interview takes place in the tuition language, which must be the same as the that for which the psycho-pedagogical training programme was accredited. 

Curriculum, level of specialisation and learning outcomes

Curricula are determined independently by higher education institutions in accordance with the national strategies for the development of higher education and national academic standards. 

The themes of the initial training courses for the teaching profession, the allocated time, the number of credits and the form of examination are set out by Order No 3850/2017.

The curriculum of psycho-pedagogical training programmes is structured across three components: 

• a core curriculum,
• an extended curriculum and
• an optional curriculum. 

The core curriculum is made up of compulsory subjects and teaching activities for Levels 1 and 2 of certification in the teaching profession. The core curriculum includes the following clusters of subjects:

• subjects for basic psycho-pedagogical training - 18 credits, and.
• subjects for specialty-specific education and training - 12 credits.

The extended curriculum includes the following clusters of subjects:

• subjects for extended psycho-pedagogical training - 10 credits, and
• subjects for extended specialty-specific education and training - 10 credits.

Therefore, the compulsory subjects of Module 1 are: 

• Psychology of Education
• Basics of Pedagogy
• Curriculum Theory and Methodology Theory and Methodology of Instruction
• Theory and Methodology of Assessment
• Class Management
• Specialty Didactics
• Computer-Assisted Instruction
• Pedagogical training in school education.

In Module 2, the compulsory subjects are:

• The Psycho-Pedagogy of Teenagers, Youth and Adults
• Design and Management of Educational Programmes
• Domain Didactics and Developments in the Specialty Didactics
• Pedagogical training in high-school, post-secondary and higher education. 

Besides the compulsory subjects, there are two clusters of optional subjects, and one subject will be chosen from each cluster (e.g. Sociology of Education, Intercultural Education, Counselling and Guidance, Educational Communication etc.).

For teachers in preschool and primary education, initial training is provided by faculties of education sciences, within the specialisation Pedagogy of Primary and Preschool Education.

With regard to curriculum development for initial teacher training, the following may be added. 

The subject curricula for training preschool and primary school teachers are defined at department level by faculties of education sciences.

Initial training provided by these departments include:

• general courses, and
• courses and practical activities for pedagogical training. 

The curriculum for the initial training of teachers in secondary and post-secondary education is developed by each teacher training department of universities based on the provisions of the Order of the Education, Research and Youth Minister No 4316/2008.

For each subject of study, a subject form is completed, describing the objectives and the competences to be developed by that particular subject, the topics of the course and applications, the allocated time, the type of examination, and the recommended references.

Teacher educators

Those who provide teaching and training activities in initial and in-service teacher training are higher education teachers. 

Qualifications, evaluation and certificates

At present, the initial training for the teaching staff in secondary education is provided by specialised structures in universities, namely the teacher training departments (TTDs).

In this context, the acquisition of teaching competences has a modular structure, with both theoretical and practical training throughout the academic years and is based on a parallel (concurrent) model.  

The completion of professional training so provided is attested by a certificate issued by the higher education institution.

Alternatively, higher education graduates who opt for a teaching career may attend the courses provided by TTDs after signing an employment contract.

Therefore, initial training for a teaching career takes place at the same time with scientific training in a specialty throughout the years at a university.

The evaluation of higher education students is done through regular (summative) examinations at each subject of a course of study. Assessments are in the form of:

• oral tests
• written tests
• practical tests, or
• project presentations (in some cases).

The criteria for the evaluation of the academic and professional performance of university students are determined by higher education institutions in accordance with their autonomy.

The actual requirements and assessment criteria for each subject are laid down in the curriculum (in the introduction part for each subject).

The assessment of students’ performance in higher education is done with marks from 1 to 10. The examination at each subject is carried out by a board composed of the teacher who teaches that particular subject and at least one specialist in the same cluster of subjects or from the same department.

After every examination, the marks gained by students are recorded in their student notebooks and in the official documents of the institution.

Alternative training pathways

The initial training of teachers can be done through two routes:

• concurrent model, through the psycho-pedagogical mode - realizes in parallel with the specialized studies.
• consecutive model - through a 2-year didactic master's degree - after the bachelor's degree studies (pilot stage).