According to the Higher Education Law no. 199 / July 5, 2023, universities and other higher education institutions are autonomous and have the right to establish and implement their own development policies, within the general provisions of the in-force legislation.

The Ministry of Education coordinates the activity of the universities and other higher education institutions, complying with their autonomy.

The university autonomy is correlated with the principle of personal and public accountability for the quality of the entire teaching and scientific research activity accomplished by the higher education institution. The university autonomy encompasses the domains of management, structuring and functioning of the higher education institutions, teaching and scientific research activities, administration and financing.

From the financing point of view, the university autonomy is accomplished through the right to manage the funds from the state-budget and other sources, according to the provisions of the law and personal accountability. Public higher education is financed from the state budget based on financing contracts signed between the Ministry of Education and the higher education institutions.

The entire material basis of higher education is the property of and administrated by the higher education institutions.

The fundamental aspects of university autonomy are expressed in the University Charter, approved by the university senate and then approved by the Ministry of Education, for compliance with the legislation in force.

In Romania the national education system has an open character.

At the higher education level, the open character is ensured through the University Charter. 

Higher education is accomplished through:

• universities
• academies of study institutions, and
• post-university studies institutions.

The mission of the higher education institutions is:

• either education and research, or
• only education.

The nomenclature of fields and programs of university studies, the fields and programs of university studies accredited or authorized to operate provisionally, the administrative-territorial unit of implementation, the number of transferable study credits for each program of university studies, form of education and the language or languages of teaching, as well as the maximum number of students that can be educated, proposed by the quality assessment agencies that evaluated each program/field, are established annually, by Government Decision, for short-term university study programs, undergraduate university studies and for the fields of master's/doctorate university studies.

The Government Decision is initiated by the Ministry of Education before March 31 of each year, with the consultation of the National Council of the Rectors (CNR) and with the approval of ARACIS and the National Qualifications Authority.

The fields of study in the nomenclature are correlated with the fields of the International Standard Classification of Education ISCED-F 2013.

Higher education institutions usually include:

•  faculties,
• departments,
• departments for teaching staff training,
• doctoral schools,
• institutes, centers or laboratories,
• design units, consulting centers,
• clinics or university hospitals and/or other medical structures/units, such as ambulatory medical units, including dental, and specialist offices, including dental, dental technical laboratories, residency training institutes, university pharmacies,
• artistic studios and workshops, performing arts,
• museums, audiovisual studios and workshops, cinematography and photography, botanical gardens, theatres, museums, radio and television,
• printing houses, publishing houses, publications,
• centers for continuous training of human resources,
• micro-production and service units, accommodation and catering units,
• teaching stations/teaching bases for applications and performance in sports,
• experimental stations or other entities for production activities and transfer of knowledge and technology,
• centers of competence, university sports clubs, as well as
• pre-university education units.

The faculty is the functional unit that develops and manages the study programs. The faculty corresponds to one or more fields of sciences, arts or sports.

Depending on the specifics of each higher education institution, study programs can also be developed and managed at the department level. The department is the functional academic unit that ensures the production, transmission and exploitation of knowledge in one or more specialized fields. A department may consist of postgraduate schools, research centers or laboratories, artistic workshops, performance halls, concerts, studios and audiovisual workshops: radio, television, cinematography and photography. The department may organize research centers or laboratories that function as revenue and expenditure units within the institution of higher education. 

The university branch is an organizational structure of the higher education institution, which is established with the approval of the senate, at the proposal of the board of directors, in a different geographical location than the one in which the higher education institution in which it operates is based and which benefits from autonomy under the conditions established by the university charter. 

The university extension is the academic unit that ensures the production, transmission and valorization of knowledge in one or more specialized fields, in a different geographical space than the one in which the higher education institution in which it operates is based.

Higher education for national minorities is achieved: 

• in higher education institutions in which faculties/lines/study programs operate with teaching in the mother tongue
• in multicultural and multilingual higher education institutions. In this case, lines of studies are established with teaching in the languages of national minorities
• within higher education institutions, groups, sections or lines of teaching in the languages of national minorities may be organized, under the conditions of the law.

The enrolment quota financed from the state/local budget(s) for all education levels is established yearly through Decisions of the Government.

According to the Higher Education Law (no. 199/July 5, 2023), only high school graduates holding a diploma de bacalaureat or equivalent degree can be admitted in higher education. The higher education institutions establish the admission methodology, according to the general criteria established by the Ministry of Education.

The selection and admission procedure can rely on:

• the average mark obtained by the candidates at the national exam – examenul de bacalaureat and at various subjects studied during high school, as well as
• the mark obtained at an entrance examination entirely organised by the higher education institution.

High school graduates from international systems accredited and recognized by the Ministry of Education have the right to participate in the admission process in Romanian higher education, including from the year of graduation, through a conditional acceptance procedure. 

The admitted candidate have to bring within a maximum of 6 months from admission to the equivalent international baccalaureate diploma.

Higher education institutions are authorized to accept a number of students exceeding the number of placements financed from the state-budget, subject to students’ agreement to support the costs for the education provided (Law 441/2001).

All students and doctoral students benefit of:

• free medical and psychological assistance in universities’ or other public medical and psychological units.
• Students enrolled in full-time education in accredited higher education institutions benefit from a 90% reduced rate on shared local transport, internal car transport, with the metro, as well as for internal railway transport in all categories of trains, class II and naval, throughout the calendar year, until reaching the age of 30.
• Students with one or both deceased parents, as well as students from placement centers or who were placed with the extended family, surrogate or foster care, according to the provisions of art. 64 para. (1) from Law no. 272/2004 on the protection and promotion of children's rights, republished, with subsequent amendments and additions, benefit from free of charge for the above categories of transport.
• Romanian citizen students enrolled at educational institutions abroad in the form of full-time education benefit from a 50% reduced rate on the territory of Romania for rail transport in all categories of trains, 2nd class, and naval, throughout the calendar year, until to the age of 30, with the presentation of a student card/card valid for that academic year.
• Students benefit from 75% reduced rates for access to museums, concerts, theater performances, opera, film, public sports facilities, as well as other cultural and sports events organized by public institutions, within the limits of approved budgets.
• Ethnic Romanian students from outside the country's borders, enrolled in places dedicated to Romanian candidates from everywhere at higher education institutions in Romania as scholarship holders of the Romanian state, benefit from free admission to all the above events, which take place on the territory of Romania.

The state higher education institutions grant at least 25 budgeted places in both bachelor's and master's university study programs, within the approved tuition figure, to graduates with a baccalaureate degree from:

• national minorities, for study programs that do not exist in state higher education in the language of the respective minority
• the social protection system
• persons with disabilities.

The initial training, in higher education, is carried out through university study programs organized in 4 cycles: 

1. the short cycle, in which short-term university study programs are organized
2. cycle I — within which bachelor's degree programs are organized
3. cycle II — within which university master's degree programs are organized
4. cycle III — within which doctoral university study programs are organized.

Special norms concerning the study conditions applicable to regulated professions adopted at European level have been established within the Romanian higher education system:

Short-term university studies correspond, as a rule, to a number of 120 transferable study credits, according to ECTS/SECT, and are completed through level 5 of the CNC.

The specific duration of short-term university studies is 2 years and corresponds to a minimum number of 60 transferable study credits for one study year.

In the framework of short-term university studies, it is mandatory to carry out internships. Higher education institutions have the obligation to provide a minimum of 50% of the necessary practice places, of which at least 75% outside higher education institutions.

The first (Bachelor’s) cycle includes a minimum of 180 and a maximum of 240 transferable study credits, according to ECTS/SECT, depending on the field and specialization, or between a minimum of 240 and a maximum of 300 credits, in the case of double specialization, and is completed through level 6 of the NQF.

In full-time education, the specific duration of undergraduate university studies is 3-4 years, as the case may be, and corresponds to a minimum number of 60 transferable study credits for one year of study.

The second, Master includes a minimum of 60 and a maximum of 120 transferable study credits (in exceptional cases and depending on the length of the first cycle) and lasts one to two years.

Master's degree programs are completed through level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, hereinafter referred to as EQF/CEC, and of the NQF.

They usually last 1-2 years.

Both cycles should enable the accumulation of at least 300 transferable study credits.

University master's study programs can be: 

• professional master's degree, mainly oriented towards the training of professional skills
• research master's degree, mainly oriented towards the training of scientific research skills. The research master's degree programs are organized exclusively in the form of full-time education.
• didactic master's degree, organized exclusively as part-time education.

The category of professional master's degree programs also includes: 

• the professional master's degree in inter-armed leadership, exclusively focused on the evolution of officers in the military career, organized by the military higher education institutions within the Ministry of National Defense
• Master's MBA/Executive MBA, which offers managerial education, in accordance with market trends and practices
• the professional master's degree for the initial training of officers/police officers in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The in-force legislation consents to and provides the general framework for the establishment of private education institutions of all levels, including universities and other higher education institutions.

In order to be recognised as part of the national education system, private education institutions have to be accredited through specific procedures established by the law. Diplomas and certificates emitted by the accredited private education institutions produce the same effects as the ones emitted by the public education institutions. 

The persons belonging to the national minorities have the right to study and be instructed in their mother tongue at all levels and forms of education as well as in all types of education – providing there is a sufficient demand.

Study lines in Hungarian and German for students belonging to these national minorities are organised in several higher education institutions.

Certain higher education institutions organise departments for initial teacher training for teaching the languages of national minorities in Pre-tertiary education.

At the same time, the Law of National Education (Law 1/2011) states that learning of Romanian, as the official language, is compulsory for all Romanian citizens, irrespective of their nationality.

State higher education institutions with teaching activities in the language of national minorities, which retain their status as multicultural and multilingual higher education institutions, according to the Higher Education Law no. 199 / July 2023, are:

• "Babeș-Bolyai" University from Cluj-Napoca — in Romanian, Hungarian and German languages
• University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology "George Emil Palade" from Târgu Mureș — in Romanian and Hungarian languages
• University of Arts in Târgu Mureș — in Romanian and Hungarian.