Study Process

The academic year starts in September and ends in mid-June and is divided into two semesters – spring and autumn. Students can opt to study full-time or part-time.
Each study programme is evaluated according to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), with each year of study being awarded 60 ECTS credits.

Non-university studies are undergraduate studies and they come under what we call the first cycle. University degrees are offered in three cycles: the first cycle is Undergraduate (Bachelor), the second cycle is graduate (Master, and/or specialized professional studies), and the third one is postgraduate (Doctoral; residency; postgraduate in the Arts).

During the first cycle, you can choose to study for a Bachelor’s degree and/or a professional qualification for which you will need to have obtained 180 – 240 ECTS. When you successfully complete the course, with or without a professional qualification you receive a Bachelor’s Diploma. If you only want to study for the professional qualification, then you will receive a Higher Educational Diploma.Bachelor degrees and professional qualifications are offered at universities; professional qualifications, but not degrees, can be taken at colleges.

You are at the second cycle stage (or aim to be there) and you want to study for a Master’s degree and/or a specialized professional qualification one of the options open to you is the integrated study programmes. These programmes combine university studies of the first and second cycles. The successful graduates are awarded a Master’s Diploma which testifies to their Master’s degree status. You can also attain a professional qualification. If you are studying for the Master’s Diploma (which is only offered at universities) you have to obtain 90 – 120 ECTS credits.

If you study for the professional qualification at this level you will be awarded a Higher Education Diploma. The purpose of the specialised professional studies at this level is to acquire a qualification in a specific field.

The third cycle, students study for a postgraduate qualification. This could be for a Doctorate, a Residency (for example, those studying medicine or veterinary science) or a postgraduate qualification in the Arts. Postgraduate studies are offered by a university or a university and science institution collectively. The duration of the different postgraduate studies is determined by the Government.