scholarship programme for foreign citizens offered by Romania

Scholarships for studies in accredited higher education institutions in Romania are awarded through a competition of files based on the regulations in force, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Ministry of Education and Research.

To whom is it addressed?

Foreign citizens from all non-EU countries, with the following exceptions:

• 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.

Who qualifies?

To be eligible, the scholarship applicant must:

• submit a complete file;
• present study documents issued by accredited/recognized education institutions in the country where they were issued;
• comply with the enrolment deadline;
• have good results in education, respectively an average of the study years, for the last graduated school of at least 7 (seven) corresponding to the scoring system in Romania or the “Good” score, as the case;
• comply with the application submission methodology.

Please note that scholarships are NOT awarded in the fields of MEDICINE, DENTAL MEDICINE and PHARMACY.

What level of study does the scholarship cover?

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

• bachelor’s degree: bachelor’s degree programmes 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 programme runs for a period of 3-6 years, depending on the specialization followed and ends with a bachelor’s exam;
• master’s degree: master’s degree programmes are addressed to undergraduates, run for a period of 1 year, 1.5 years or 2 years and end with the dissertation exam;
• PhD: doctoral programmes 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 be admitted to doctoral studies and to obtain the scholarship, it is compulsory that, prior to submitting the application, the candidate should get the written agreement of the Doctoral Tutor, which must be a member of the doctoral school, and also that he/she passes the admission interview.

What is the language of study?

In order to promote the Romanian language and culture, the beneficiaries of the scholarships granted by the Romanian state for undergraduate and master`s 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.

The scholarship application can be sent ONLY through the Study in Romania platform.

Candidates can access the platform at https://studyinromania.gov.ro, via the Apply for MFA scholarships button, or directly at https://scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro. The platform can be accessed both in English and French.

REJECTED: Applications submitted directly by the applicants to the registry offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Education, or to the e-mail addresses of the MFA employees / departments of the MFA Headquarters, or to the Romanian diplomatic missions or the foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Bucharest, will not be taken into consideration.

The enrolment period begins on 29 January 2025. The deadline for submitting applications is 12 March 2025.

Documents required to complete the file

Each candidate will create an account on the Study in Romania platform, will fill in the requested data and upload the following documents:

3.1. Copies of the diplomas obtained (baccalaureate diploma or its equivalent, plus bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate degree, if applicable) and their authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
3.2. Copies of transcripts of the completed studies and their authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
3.3. Copy of the birth certificate (or equivalent document) and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
3.4. Copy of the first three pages of the passport or of the national document of identity and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
3.5. Curriculum Vitae in English or French.
3.6. For the doctoral cycle, the candidate needs to submit a letter of intent containing the list of scientific works, specialized publications, the detailed description of the proposed research project, as well as the agreement of a tutor, which must be a member of the chosen doctoral school. Both documents must be written in English, French or Romanian.

The application will also include the following documents (only for candidates who belong to the specific category mentioned for each document):

• Copy of the proof of name change (if applicable) and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
• Copy of the certificate proving the passing of the baccalaureate, bachelor’s or master’s exam, as the case may be, for graduates who do not hold yet the diploma and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
• Copy of the certificate proving that the person in the final year of studies is to take the graduation exam at the end of the school/university year and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
• Copy of the transcript attesting the academic record of the person in the final year of studies, until the moment of submitting the application file, and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.
• Copy of the certificate of completion of the Romanian language preparatory year or the certificate of linguistic competence, if applicable.
• Copy of the notarized declaration of parental consent in the case of candidates who have not reached the age of 18 by the date of commencement of the courses and the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable.

The documents must be scanned individually, after the original, in .pdf format.

For the candidate’s registration to be valid, he must express his consent to the agreement for the processing of personal data by signing the GDPR declaration.

The results of the scholarship selection process will be announced by e-mail, around 30 June 2025 to every candidate who applied for a scholarship.

For admitted students, the Ministry of Education will issue a “Letter of acceptance for studies in Romania”, which will mention the obligation (where applicable) to complete a Romanian language preparatory year and the higher education institution(s) where the studies will take place.

• The original of Letter of acceptance will be sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the university.
• The “Letter of acceptance for studies in Romania” is required in order to obtain a long-stay visa and for the enrolment. The students will be able to download a scanned copy.
• If the candidate university option cannot be honoured, the Ministry of Education reserves the right to propose to the candidate an alternative in the same field of study, subject to the availability of higher education institutions in Romania. Subsequent requests  for a change  of the field of study, respectively/or of the university, will not be taken into consideration.
• Upon receiving the letter of acceptance for studies with this alternative, the candidate is free to accept the scholarship or to give it up.

• After receiving the letter of acceptance, the students will send electronically, through the platform, within the indicated term, a response regarding the acceptance/refusal of the scholarship, and in case of acceptance, will request a long study visa.
• Also, in case of accepting the scholarship, the student has the obligation to contact the university to find out about the specific enrolment conditions (additional documents required, aptitude test, registration deadline etc.)

Scholarship beneficiaries are provided with the following facilities:

a) exemption from the payment of registration fees or any other fees required by application processing, testing for the Romanian language skills, taking the admission contest for doctoral studies and the specific aptitude tests;
b) financing the tuition expenses for the Romanian language preparatory year;
c) financing the tuition expenses for the actual studies, but not more than the duration of a university cycle, corresponding to the study programme followed;
d) granting a monthly scholarship, for students enrolled in the Romanian language preparatory year;
e) granting a monthly scholarship, for students enrolled in bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral studies, but not more than the duration of a university cycle;
f) financing the accommodation expenses in the student dormitories, within the allocated subsidy granted through the budget of the Ministry of Education (accommodation will be provided to the extent of available places, scholarship holders having the obligation to contact the host university to find out the accommodation conditions);
g) local public, ground, naval and underground transport, as well as domestic car, railway and naval transport, in the same conditions as those offered to Romanian students, according to the legal provisions.

These facilities are granted throughout the study period, as follows:

• for students enrolled in the Romanian language preparatory year, during its courses;
• for students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s studies, during the academic year and during the legal holidays, but not during the summer vacation. If students have to stay at the faculty during the summer vacation for curricular activities or if there are specific legal provisions, the rights are maintained during the summer vacation;
• for doctoral students enrolled in full-time learning, throughout the calendar year;
• another 30 days after completing university studies lasting at least 1 year.

Foreign citizens have the following obligations:

a) to respect the Romanian Constitution and the laws of the Romanian state;
b) to comply with the internal regulations of the educational institution in which they study;
c) to comply with the provisions of this methodology;
d) to present at the time of enrolment at the university where they were accepted a medical certificate stating that he/she is fit for studies and free of contagious diseases, and its authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if appropriate.
e) to carry out the necessary steps inherent to lodging a visa application for Romania and to bear all costs inherent to a visa application.

In Romania, the academic year usually begins on October 1. Universities establish their own calendar, in accordance with the principle of university autonomy. Host universities may also decide on specific measures regarding the teaching and learning process, in accordance with the public health guidelines. Romanian authorities may impose additional public health requirements.

The scholarship obtained, including the preparatory year where applicable, consists of:

• financing tuition fees;
• financing the accommodation expenses in the dormitories, through the budget of the Ministry of Education, within the limit of the subsidy allocated for this purpose (accommodation will be provided to the extent of available places, scholarship holders having the obligation to contact the host university to find out the accommodation conditions);
• granting a monthly financial aid, in accordance with the legislation in force.

In order to be granted the monthly financial aid, students in the Romanian preparatory year, as well as those in the undergraduate and master’s university programs, must obtain at the end of each academic year a number of 60 transferable credits.

Students in the preparatory year who did not obtain, at the end of the academic year, a number of 60 transferable credits, will be granted the opportunity of repeating upon request, only once, the preparatory year. During the repeat year, students will be granted tuition funding, but their monthly financial aid will be suspended.

According to the law and to the rules of the host university, students in university bachelor’s and master’s programs who did not obtain, at the end of the academic year, a number of 60 transferable credits, but the number of transferable credits they’ve got is enough for allowing them to progress to the next year of study, will no longer be granted the monthly financial aid. Nevertheless this can be reacquired during the following academic year, after getting all 60 transferable credits related to each completed academic year, provided that the number of years during which these rights are granted does not exceed the duration of the whole academic cycle.

According to the law and the rules of the host university, the financing of tuition expenses, the financing of accommodation expenses and the monthly financial aid shall not be provided anymore, if the students in the undergraduate and master’s university programs did not get at the end of the academic year a number of transferable credits enough for ensuring them the progress into the next academic year, while scholarship and the financing of accommodation expenses are not provided, scholarship holders admitted to studies according to this  methodology will pay for their studies a fee in foreign currency, in the amount established in accordance with the provisions of Government Ordinance no. 22/2009, approved with amendments by Law no. 1/2010.

• a complete file with the original documents from the application file; the host universities may request that all registration documents be accompanied by authenticated copies and legalized translations into Romanian;
• a copy of the letter of acceptance for studies;
• passport (original and copy) with a valid visa (long stay visa for studies) or a residence permit;
• the medical certificate attesting that the student is free from contagious diseases or other diseases incompatible with the requested studies, as well as the authorized translation into English, French, Spanish or Romanian, if applicable;
• other documents required by universities.