Bulgaria Expands Quota for University Students from Bulgarian Diaspora

The government in Sofia has decided to increase 2.5 times the annual quota for university students from the Bulgarian diaspora living mostly in European countries.

One thousand ethnic Bulgarians from countries with large Bulgarian diaspora such as Ukraine, Serbia, Moldova, Albania and Kazakhstan will be able to apply for studying for the degrees of Bachelor and Master in Bulgarian universities, a considerable increase compared to the present annual quota of 400.

The number of seats for PhD students from the Bulgarian communities abroad will also increase, to 20 from 12 now, under a decision of the Bulgarian government adopted on Wednesday.

The decision to increase the quotas has been taken to meet a steadily rising interest in studying in Bulgarian universities shown by representatives of the Bulgarian diaspora, the cabinet said in a statement.

The Education Ministry annually subsidises the university tuition of up to 15 students from Bulgarian communities abroad who have won the first prize in national competitions in Bulgarian language and literature as well as top high-school graduates from regions with compact ethnic Bulgarian population in Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Romania and Kazakhstan.