Sofia, Nov 14 (BTA/GNA) – Over the last ten years, the share of foreign students in Bulgaria has doubled, exceeding 8% in 2022 from some 4% back in 2013. This transpired at a presentation of the latest edition of the rating system of higher education establishments in Bulgaria, elaborated for the Ministry of Education and Science by Open Society Institute and Sirma Solutions.
The head of the team updating the data in the rating system, Open Society Institute Executive Director Georgi Stoychev, said that in 2022 the share of foreign students is the highest in the fields of medicine (59%), dental medicine (46%), and veterinary medicine (31%). Bulgaria has the highest share in the EU of foreign students studying medicine, he added.
Foreign students are more than 10% of those studying education theory and management (16%), pharmaceutics (13%), transport, navigation and aviation (12%), and music and dance art (11%).
Nearly 13% of students in Bulgaria are enrolled in private higher education establishments, the biggest share of them studying theatre and film art (over 69%), art theory (54%), fine arts (nearly 43%), and administration and management (close to 42%).
The rating system compares the performance of 52 higher education establishments within 52 professional fields based on a dozen of indicators that evaluate various aspects of the teaching process, scientific activity, teaching environment, social and administrative services, prestige and regional significance of the establishments, as well as the students’ realization on the job market.
Sofia University has the highest number of current students, 19,999, followed by Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv with 16,934 and the University of National and World Economy with 14,610. Thirteen higher education establishments have under 1,000 students, and three of these are teaching under 100 students.
BTA/GNA