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OVERVIEW

In Bulgaria, all students are required to pay tuition fees in first and second cycle.
There are no short-cycle programmes.
There is fee differentiation depending on the field of study (specific discipline) and programme (taught in foreign language, studying for a second degree etc.).
Waivers or reductions are available and subject to socio-economic criteria applied.
Direct financial support is provided by need-based, merit-based and universal grants. Loans are available and can be combined with grants.
Indirect financial support is not available.

Academic year
Type of support

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Minimum, maximum, and most common annual fee amounts (in EUR)

Cycle
Type of Students
Status of Students

FEES

Students pay tuition fees. Tuition fees at state higher education institutions (HEIs) are set by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Higher Education Institutions. For certain categories of students, the Academic Council may set fees at a reduced rate than those approved by the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers may approve lower tuition fees for students studying in priority professional fields and protected specialisations at individual public higher education institutions.
Students from EU/EEA/EFTA countries pay fees for their studies under the conditions and in accordance with the regulations established for home students.
International students pay tuition fees at state higher education institutions, which may not be lower than the differentiated norms for maintenance of tuition. They pay higher fees compared to home students.
Students have the right to interrupt their studies and to continue thereafter in accordance with the conditions and procedures laid down in the regulations of the university.
Students of different educational qualifications - Professional Bachelor and Bachelor or Master and Master after Bachelor - may pay different fees for the same degree programme.
The fees for specialties within the same professional field may be different depending on the amount of maintenance funds required.
The tuition fees for some fields of study are higher than for others, for example, the tuition fees for medicine or for theatre acting are higher than for economics or pedagogy.
Students enrolled in state-subsidised places, studying in professional fields and protected specialties with the highest expected future shortage on the labor market, are waived from paying semester fees for the period of their studies. The list of fields and specialties is adopted by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of Education and Science

Annual grant amounts (in EUR)

Cycle
Type of Students
Status of Students
Type of Grants

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - GRANTS

Need-based, merit-based and univerisal grants are awarded to home and EU/EEA full-time students and to international students who permanently reside in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Grants cannot be awarded to part-time students, to students on non-state subsidised places, and to students with extended length of studies.

The share of full time students who received grants was 31% (proportion to the total number of full-time students for whom the state provides funds for the maintenance of their studies, enrolled for the academic year 2023/2024). It includes Bulgarian and international students (admitted under the procedure for Bulgarian citizens, in places subsidised by the state) from first and second cycle who received need-based, merit - based and universal scholarships during the summer semester of the academic year 2023/2024.
There is no age limit for accessing grant support.

Annual loan amounts (in EUR)

DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT - LOANS

Loans are available to home EU/EEA/EFTA full-time students in first and second cycle at public or private higher education institutions who are under 35 years' at the following conditions.
Students with extended length of studies or students studying for a second degree with the same educational qualification are not eligible.

Further readings

Bulgaria | Eurydice (europa.eu)

Ministry of Education. Budget report, Bulgaria