Bulgarian university fees: where the number is written
There is no single national figure for tuition at Bulgaria's state universities, and this page does not quote one. The reason is simple: fees are approved by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the higher education institutions, for each academic year, and field by field. Two programmes at the same university have different fees; the same programme taught in Bulgarian and in a foreign language has different fees; a state-subsidised place and a fee-paying place are different again. So any source stating „university in Bulgaria costs X“ is really describing one example it picked. This article does not give you the number; it gives you the official document the number lives in, and how to find it.
Education · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23
Who sets the fee
Application and tuition fees at state higher education institutions are approved by the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the institutions. A decision is issued for each academic year and carries that year's fee table as an annex. For example, application and tuition fees for the 2024/2025 academic year were approved by Council of Ministers Decision No. 486 of 5 July 2024. So the figure you are looking for is not on a news site: it is in that year's decision and on the university's own fee page built on it. This was verified on 23 August 2026 through the European Commission's Eurydice network; decisions are renewed annually, so confirm the current year from the official source.
No figure here, on purpose
Five variables that change the fee
| Variable | Effect on the fee | Where to check |
|---|---|---|
| Professional field | Funding rests on differentiated norms per student per professional field; laboratory and clinical fields sit under separate norms | Annex to the Council of Ministers decision + the fee page |
| Language of instruction | Programmes taught in a foreign language sit on a separate and usually higher tariff | The programme's own page |
| Student status | A state-subsidised place and a fee-paying place are different tariffs | Your admission decision and enrolment document |
| Foreign student or not | At state institutions a foreign student's fee may not be lower than the corresponding fee for non-foreign students | Eurydice + the university's international office |
| Second degree / mode of study | A second higher education degree or a different mode of study may fall under a separate tariff | The university's fee regulations |
How the foreign-student tariff works
At state higher education institutions foreign students pay fees which may not be lower than the corresponding fees for non-foreign students. That is a floor, not a ceiling: what a foreign student pays is equal to or higher than the domestic fee. On the funding side, transfers to state universities are calculated using differentiated norms per student per professional field, and fees are not expected to fall below what those norms require. The practical consequence: asking about the fee for a foreign student and asking about the fee for a domestic student are two different questions with two different answers.
Bulgarian, EU and third-country nationals
Are fee waivers real
Yes, but not automatic. Students enrolled on state-subsidised places in professional fields and protected specialties with the highest expected future shortage on the labour market are waived from paying semester fees for the period of their studies. Waivers and reductions on socio-economic criteria also exist. However the scope, lists and conditions change every year and not all of them cover foreign students. So „there are waivers“ is not a plan on its own — you have to check whether the list applies this year and whether you are on it.
Costs outside tuition — where budgets really diverge
- The application fee is separate from tuition and is not refunded if you are not admitted.
- Recognition of your school diploma is a separate administrative process with its own charge.
- Certified translation and legalisation: a recurring line for every document in the file.
- Health insurance: how insurance works on student status is a separate question and is not part of tuition.
- Dormitory or rent: dormitory places are limited; market rent can exceed the tuition itself.
- Residence permit: the student permit has its own state charges and renewal calendar.
- Preparatory year: the Bulgarian language preparatory programme is a separate academic year, charged separately.
Beware the „all-inclusive“ price
Where to get the real figure: four steps
Fix the university and the programme
Fees are set field by field, so „medicine in Bulgaria“ is not enough. You need the full institution name and the full programme name.Verify in the register that the programme exists and is accredited
The NACID register of higher education institutions publicly shows institutions, their main units and branches, the professional fields and specialties they have opened, and the grades and validity period from accreditation procedures.Open the university's own official fee page
The table you need is on the institution's own site, usually under „Такси“. Read which academic year and which student status the row refers to.Cross-check against the relevant Council of Ministers decision
The amount the university publishes rests on the decision for that academic year. If the two sources disagree, write to the university and ask which decision it relies on.
Why education agency sites are not a source
On this topic the most visible sources are also the most misleading — and the reason need not be bad faith. Agencies' business model is to route students to particular institutions; the figure they publish may be an offer, marketing copy, or an archive from a previous year. The table below shows how to test the claim in front of you.
| Claim you will meet | What is left unsaid | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| „University in Bulgaria costs X per year“ | Which institution, which programme, which language, which status | Ask for those four variables; without them the figure measures nothing |
| „Guaranteed admission“ | The admission decision belongs to the university, not the agency | Confirm the offer letter comes directly from the institution |
| „All-inclusive package“ | The split between tuition, dormitory, agency fee and state charges | Ask for a written line-by-line breakdown |
| „Your diploma will be recognised“ | Recognition depends on another authority's decision | Check the competent authority's current list yourself |
| No date on the page | Which academic year the figure belongs to | An undated figure is not usable |
| Official-looking logos | Displaying a logo is not authorisation | Confirm from the institution's own website |
How to build the budget
Tuition alone is not a budget. A proper budget is a table covering the whole programme and includes, alongside tuition, housing, living costs, insurance, residence renewal and the journey home. Write in one more assumption: tuition can change. A decision is issued for each academic year, so there is no rule that the figure in your first year holds until graduation.
What we deliberately did not write
- Annual fee amounts or ranges. The tables are annexes to the decision; an „average“ would create false precision.
- The application fee amount. Same reason — take it from the university's page.
- Dormitory charges. Institution-specific and not centrally published.
- University rankings or recommendations. This page recommends no institution.
- Recognition outcomes. Diploma recognition is another authority's decision.
- Scholarship amounts. A separate topic with conditions that change annually.
Frequently asked questions
How much are university fees in Bulgaria?
There is no single national figure. At state universities the fee is approved by the Council of Ministers on the institution's proposal, for each academic year and field by field, and it varies with the language of instruction, the student's status and whether you are a foreign national. The correct amount is on your chosen university's official fee page and in the relevant Council of Ministers decision.
Do foreign students pay more?
At state higher education institutions the fee for foreign students may not be lower than the corresponding fee for non-foreign students on the same programme. That is a floor; the exact amount is in that academic year's tariff.
Are there fee waivers?
Students on state-subsidised places in professional fields and protected specialties with the highest expected labour-market shortage are waived from semester fees for the duration of their studies. Waivers and reductions on socio-economic criteria also exist. Lists change every year, so confirm the scope with the university.
Why is there no figure on this page?
Because there is no single verified figure. Fee tables are annexes to the Council of Ministers decision and run to hundreds of rows; deriving an average would produce a precise-looking but wrong number. Instead the page shows which official document holds the amount and how to find it.
Can I trust the price an agency gives me?
Not until you make it comparable. Ask which institution, which programme, which language of instruction, which student status and which academic year the figure refers to, then check it against the university's own official fee page.
Sources
The information on this page is based on the official sources listed below. Legislation changes — open the links and verify the current position.
- Министерство на образованието и науката (МОН) — https://www.mon.bg/ · 2026-08-23
- Eurydice — Bulgaristan: ulusal öğrenci harcı — https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/countries/bulgaria/national-student-fee · 2026-08-23
- Eurydice — Bulgaristan: yükseköğretimin finansmanı — https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/bulgaria/higher-education-funding · 2026-08-23
- Eurydice — uluslararası öğrencilere uygulanan harç politikaları — https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/data-and-visuals/student-fees/fee-policies-applied-international-students · 2026-08-23
- Avrupa Eğitim Alanı — Bulgaristan'da öğrenim: kurumlar, maliyetler, başvuru — https://education.ec.europa.eu/study-in-europe/country-profiles/bulgaria · 2026-08-23
- НАЦИД — Регистър на висшите училища (yükseköğretim kurumları sicili) — https://rvu.nacid.bg/ · 2026-08-23
- НАЦИД — sicil hakkında kurum sayfası — https://nacid.bg/bg/register_rvu/ · 2026-08-23
Related topics
Applying to a Bulgarian university
Two different routes for EU and non-EU applicants, the diploma recognition step, the language requirement and the real order of the application file.
Higher education in Bulgaria
State and private universities, the Bologna cycles, English-taught programmes and diploma recognition through НАЦИД, Bulgaria's ENIC/NARIC centre.
Studying in Bulgaria without a national entrance exam
What "no entrance exam" really means at Bulgarian universities, which criteria decide the ranking and where the genuine difficulty appears.
English-taught programmes at Bulgarian universities
Which fields offer English-taught study, how to verify accreditation, when a language certificate is required and what the label quietly leaves out.
Bulgaria student visa: the actual sequence
The student visa chain starts before the acceptance letter. Who decides what, which document unlocks the next step, and where the academic year is lost.
Student residence permits in Bulgaria
A university offer is not a residence permit. How the visa, enrolment and permit chain works, and what each yearly renewal asks for.
Recognition of foreign diplomas in Bulgaria
How a foreign diploma is recognised in Bulgaria, the difference between academic and professional recognition, and which authority handles which case.