Study in Belarus

Belarusian education practices coupled with comprehensive development, modern approaches and attractive tuition prices contribute to the popularity of Belarusian education among foreigners.

Regular surveys reveal that foreigners are also attracted by a high level of security in the country, friendliness of Belarusians, and a possibility to work in their specialty areas while studying.

In the 2019/2020 academic year, there were 26,280 foreign students from 102 countries in Belarus, including 25,120 university students and 1,160 students of secondary and post-secondary vocational schools. Besides, over 2,000 foreigners studied at joint university departments or received professional training as part of the programs of Belarusian institutions of higher learning abroad.

The majority of foreign students are nationals of Turkmenistan, China, Uzbekistan, Russia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Lebanon, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan.

In 2019, the Education Ministry signed international agreements with China, Turkey, Syria, the UAE, Egypt, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Serbia; an interdepartmental program to develop cooperation in higher education in 2019-2021 with Cuba. International agreements with Brazil and Moldova entered into force. Educational institutions concluded 628 direct agreements with universities and colleges of 44 countries.

Belarusian educational institutions joined efforts with foreign partners to set up joint educational facilities and develop joint programs. In 2019, two joint university departments were established in Uzbekistan, one department in Tajikistan; the Center of Belarusian Education was opened in Syria.

New academic programs in the English language also help promote Belarusian educational services on the international market. Thus, in the 2019/2020 academic year 27 institutions of higher learning preparing specialists in 181 professions, including 72 first-degree majors and 109 second-degree majors, offered English as the language of instruction.

The authorities are doing their best to raise the competitiveness of the national education system and improve positions of Belarusian universities in international rankings.

As of 1 February 2020, Belarusian State University held the 763^rd position in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities featuring the world’s top 5,000 universities (an initiative of the Cybermetrics Lab, a research group belonging to the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain). Belarusian National Technical University was ranked 2,536^th, Yanka Kupala Grodno State University – 3,326^th, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics – 3,719^th.

The QS World University Rankings of the British company Quacquarelli Symonds featured Belarusian State University (354^th position) and Belarusian National Technical University (position 801^st – 1000^th). In the QS rankings of universities of developing countries in Europe and Central Asia, Belarusian State University held the 23^rd position, Belarusian National Technical University - the 95^th position, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics - the 137^th position, Yanka Kupala Grodno State University - position 151^st-160^th.

In the Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR) of the Spanish Scimago Lab Belarusian State University was ranked 684^th, Belarusian National Technical University – 824^th.

The inclusion of at least ten Belarusian institutions of higher learning in the world’s top 4,000 universities according to Webometrics and/or the world’s top 1,000 universities according to QS or SIR in 2020 is one of the key targets of the state program in education and youth policy for 2016-2020.