If you are an international student studying in Romania, you have multiple options to benefit from scholarships. European students can take advantage of the Erasmus+ program (for short-term mobilities) or may choose scholarships awarded by the Romanian State. Please check out the Erasmus+ section for more information on this.

A number of scholarships provided by the Romanian state are also available for non-EU students. Check out this section and find out what oportunities are available, based on your country of origin.

Scholarships for non-EU students

If you are from a non-EU country, there are various types of scholarships you can apply for, such as:

• scholarships established through Romania’s bilateral or multilateral inter-governmental or intercultural agreements;
• scholarships offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA);
• scholarships offered by the Ministry of Education (ME), awarded for good academic results while studying in Romania;
• scholarships offered by the Ministry of Economy, aimed to promote economic and commercial cooperation actions;
• other (occasional) scholarships.

1. State scholarships

The amount and number of state scholarships granted to non-EU students is set by Government decision. Universities can decide to additionally award scholarships for international students, depending on their priorities and in line with their institutional autonomy. Potential beneficiaries should be advised that:

• scholarships are awarded in the national currency (Romanian lei);
• scholarships are suspended if students do not obtain the necessary yearly academic credits, violate Romanian legislation or the rules of  established by universities;
• scholarships do not cover personal expenses and international transport; covering the accommodation in the university student dormitories falls under the responsibility of students.

2. Scholarships offered by the Romanian State through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The beneficiaries of these scholarships are foreign citizens from all non-EU countries, with the following exceptions of persons not eligible under this program:

• citizens of Romanian origin or who are part of the Romanian historical communities in the proximity of Romania (entitled to different scholarship programmes);
• citizens who have requested or acquired a form of protection in Romania;
• stateless persons whose stay on the territory of Romania is officially recognized according to the law;
• members of the diplomatic and consular corps or family members of the diplomatic and consular corps accredited to Romania; members of the administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions and consular offices accredited to Romania;
• staff members of international organizations based in Romania or family members of staff of international organizations based in Romania;
• beneficiaries of a scholarship from the Romanian state for the same cycle of study.

The scholarship applicant can choose from any of the following three study cycles in accredited higher education institutions in Romania:

1. Bachelor’s degree: these are addressed to graduates of high school studies or pre-university studies at the end of which they obtained a baccalaureate degree or equivalent, as well as candidates applying for further university studies in Romania. The complete program runs for a period of 3-6 years, depending on the specialization followed and ends with a Bachelor's exam;
2. Master’s degree: these are addressed to undergraduates, run for a period of 1 year, 1.5 years or 2 years and end with the dissertation exam;
3. PhD: these are addressed to graduate students or equivalent and run for a period of 3-5 years, depending on the profile of the chosen faculty and end with the presentation of a PhD thesis.

In order to promote the Romanian language and culture, the beneficiaries of the scholarships granted by the Romanian state for undergraduate and Master studies study only in Romanian. The exception is doctoral scholarship holders, who can opt for studies in Romanian or in a foreign language set by the doctoral school. For candidates who do not speak Romanian, a preparatory year is granted for the study of the Romanian language prior to the actual university studies, with the exception of doctoral scholarship holders who have opted for the form of education in a foreign language set by the doctoral school.

The following categories of persons are exempted from enrolling in the Romanian language preparatory year:

1. those who present Romanian study documents (diplomas or certificates) or study documents, school records attesting at least four consecutive years of studies attended in Romanian in an educational unit/institution from the Romanian national system;
2. those who, in order to enrol in university education, pass the Romanian language test, organized according to the regulations in force;
3. those who, in order to enrol in university education, present a certificate of linguistic competence in Romanian, minimum level B1, issued according to the regulations in force.

To apply for the Scholarship programme click on the "Apply for MFA scholarships" button or click here.

3. Scholarships offered by the Ministry of Education for Romanian ethnics living abroad

The Romanian State awards scholarships for  Romanian ethnics from the Republic of Moldova, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Hungary and ethnic Romanian citizens with permanent residence abroad. These scholarships are awarded on a merit-based competition. Please consult the latest updates (for the academic year 2021-2022) on the Ministry of Education website. The specific admission methodology is available on their website, here.

For students from the Republic of Moldova, a partnership has been signed by the Ministries of Education of both countries, forseeing a comprehensive scheme of student benefits.

4. Scholarships for students from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein who can study in Romania or be part of [research] projects via EEA financed mobilities and/or projects

EEA financed mobilities