Why Study In Romania?

Life in the country
Though the Romanian culture and lifestyle share some similarities with other east European countries, it is largely unique and provides an enriching experience. Romanians are warm, intelligent, and passionate as people. Street violence and car crime are barely visible in everyday society and are nowhere near as significant as Western Europe, although a few cities in Romania do cities pose problems for walking late at night. Whilst one should always take basic precautions, you are unlikely to encounter any sense of feeling unsafe in populated areas. This is partly because Romanian society is still a strong and cohesive community force with deep family and faith values.

Attitude and etiquette of the local people:
The basic etiquette that is followed by Romanians include the following:

It is impolite to yawn without covering your mouth.
When a person sneezes, Romanians often respond with ‘Sanatate’ (Good health) or ‘Noroc’ (Good luck).
It is polite to not offer one’s seat to an elderly person. Romanians may offer their hand to help an elderly person get out of their seat, offer an arm for them to walk, and hold or open doors for them.
Many Romanian men are taught to show chivalry to women, this includes opening doors and allowing them to enter. Older men may also kiss a woman’s hand when offering a greeting, although this is becoming outdated.
Romanians remove their hats before entering buildings.
It is impolite to chew gum or keep your hands in your pockets while speaking to someone of a higher status.
People are expected to dress neatly within a professional setting to show respect to the person they are meeting. Older Romanians may dress more conservatively, ensuring their legs and shoulders are covered.
It is common, and even polite, to fight over who is paying the bill.

Language & Culture

Romanian culture is rich and has an interesting position as the melting pot of the culture of the Balkans, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. From the arts to cuisine, Romania has a ton to offer in terms of culture. The country also has an intriguing history which students of the humanities courses will find especially exciting. Many students will be interested in learning Romanian, which is the official language of the country, as well as Moldova, the second most commonly spoken language.

Romania is the ninth largest wine producer in the world. Romanian food consists of meat-heavy meals supported by vegetable side dishes. “Borsch” is a typical Romanian lunch, which is a hearty cabbage soup with bran.

Driving laws

Visitors riding or driving in Romania should have reached the minimum age requirement laid down for residents of Romania.

Rules of the road:
Drive on the right, overtake on the left.
Priority must always be given to ambulances, fire engines, trams, and marching columns.
The use of the horn is prohibited in towns between 22:00pm and 06:00 am. At night, flashing lights are used instead of horns.
Wearing seat belts is compulsory both in the front and back seats.
Children under 12 years of age are not allowed to travel on the front seats of cars.

Major cities with varied course options

More than just Dracula and medieval towns, Romania is a great country to consider for your study abroad experience. The qualifications provided therein are recognized around the whole of Europe, thanks to the fact that most Romanian universities align their programs with the Bologna System. Alongside a high-quality education, Romania can offer lower study and accommodation fees, the world's third-fastest Internet service, and education programs that are taught in a variety of foreign languages.

Some of the top universities in Romania are:

Transilvania University of Brasov
University of Bucharest
University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest
Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
Babes-Bolyai University
Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iași
West University of Timişoara
Politehnica University of Timişoara
Part-time and post-study work opportunities.
Part-time jobs are one form of employment that students can avail. With part-time jobs, students can work on a part-time basis of a certain number of hours a week while pursuing their studies. In Romania the working hours are less than 30 to 35 hours per week, thus students can get ample amount of time to focus on their studies. In order to join as a part-time employee, the students first have to research the appropriate jobs that cater to their needs and timings. With a workweek spanning over 10 – 30 hours, job positions can be occupied for as long as one is a student. Student jobs form an attractive option for students that wish to improve their employability skills in connection to their academic profile.

There are an ample amount of opportunities that students can avail. Romania has a large number of NGOs (non-governmental organizations/associations/foundations) with activities covering all areas of education, sustainable development, disabilities, and the environment. These organizations require volunteers to develop their activities and be useful to the community. This is a great way for students to meet friends, get some hands-on work experience, and give service back to the community.

‘Work While Study’ Option in Romania
In Romania, students are quickly hired for part-time jobs. Students are expected to submit their CV and a functional cover letter when applying for part-time vacancies. Students can search for jobs on various web portals or they can look for vacancies by taking the help of their university information center.

Part-time Jobs in Romania for International Students
There are various part-time opportunities for International students studying in Romania. The most common jobs include working in a call center. Students also work at gas stations, malls, IT offices, restaurants, and English tutors. The chances of getting well-paid jobs are high for those who fluently speak Romanian.

Internships in Romania
Various organizations in Romania offer effective internships to eligible students. The internship will help students in getting work experience and acquiring contacts within the industry. Some of these are paid internships while others are training-based unpaid internships.

Volunteering
A number of international students also prefer to work voluntarily in their free time. In Romania, NGOs are set up in every field covering education, environment, health, and disabilities. Students can gain hands-on work experience as well as community interaction through volunteer work.

Work Permit
Once a student completes a degree course from a Romanian University, he/she can look for a career-oriented job provided he/she possesses a valid work permit. To obtain a work permit the student will have to first look for a relevant job. If the employer is content with the students qualification and skills, and if no other EU employee suits the job requirement then the employer can recommend the student for the. Moreover, it is not easy to switch jobs for an international applicant, if they do so the applicant has to apply for a different work permit.

Top المعاهد

There are over 27,000 international students enrolled within educational institutes in Romania. People from around the world choose to study in Romania because of its academic flexibility, rich cultural history, and affordable cost of living. Romania uses the Bologna System, which means it has three academic cycles: a 3 year Bachelor's Degree, a 2 year Masters Degree and a 3-year Doctorate Degree. There might be some course variations depending on the program studied. EU-regulated professions like medicine and dentistry can have a longer duration of the study.

The higher education institutions in Romania can set their own academic schedules, but the majority of courses start during the first week of October and continue for 14 weeks a semester. Exams are at the end of each semester. Romania participates in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which means that you can transfer credit easily between Romanian universities and foreign institutions.

Structure of university education in Romania
Education in Romania is made up of public and private institutions and is organized in levels for the coherence and continuity of education.

Currently, in Romania there are more than:

56 accredited higher education institutions
26 accredited private institutions of higher education
6 graduate schools.
Degrees in the university system of education in Romania:
The various qualifications of the higher education system in Romania include diplomas, certificates, degrees, and other official documents of state, special diet, confirming the higher education program, and graduate professional qualifications.

Fee range in local currency (AUD):
Student tuition fees in Romania

University tuition fees in Romania for most programs vary from 2000 to 10000 Euro/ year, depending on the faculty, the origin of international students, and can change every year for new students.

Students who need a visa must pay the tuition fee in one installment before visa application for the first year, and every year from the second year onwards. Students who do not need a Romanian student visa can pay in one, two or three instalments.

If you are looking for a study abroad niche country that is comparatively free from the footprints of masses of American students, and yet rich in exotic heritage and promising academic opportunities, you may find Romania has exactly what you are searching for within its borders. Any degree in international relations, finance, and marketing, or language and politics would be greatly enhanced by delving into the first-hand Eastern European perspective and immersing yourself in Romania for a fresh look at things.

Romania is a wide-open invitation for students of business, international and foreign affairs, and the next generation of world economic market gurus. Many scholarships are fairly substantial incentives in your desire to travel to Romania, provided your academic merit is high and your course of study once in the country is well-planned.

Some of these scholarships include:

Romania Government Scholarship
Global Contest Scholarships for International Students
Privilege Scholarship
ICM Commonwealth MBA Scholarship
MER Consortium Grants for EU Students
Many other awards may be found through Eastern European ambassadorial organizations, study abroad associations, and notably at your college or university. The Romanian Cultural Institute of New York, for instance, provides financial support to art and cultural exhibitions involving the country and has a library of 22,000 books in both English and Romanian that are available for research. Even if your school does not have a partnership in place with a Romanian college, they may allow you to plan out a detailed course of action and essentially create your own study abroad program to Romania, provided that you have a good idea of the research and academia you want to delve into while you are there.

EU/EEA and Swiss country nationals, as well as citizens of Japan, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Canada, Moldavia, USA, Croatia, and South Korea, are exempt from any visa requisites. Students coming from these countries can enter the Romanian territory with a simple custom stamp and can live in the country for up to 90 days. After the completion of 90 days, the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs can extend the residence permit, for a duration that does not go beyond 1 year.

All other international citizens are required to apply for a student visa before their arrival. A student visa is issued for 30-90 days within which the pupil has to finish the registration process at the university and apply for the student residence permit, which is valid for one year.

Ways of applying for a Visa

Students can apply for a student visa once the Ministry of Education in Romania has issued the acceptance letter/admission letter. To apply for the student visa for Romania, students must fill out an application form and submit it along with the required documents to their nearest Romanian embassy or consulate.

Pupils who have come to Romania to study can apply for a long-stay visa. They can also apply for an extension if they already possess the long-stay visa and receive a residence permit. The request for the residence permit and extension must be addressed to the Romanian Office for Immigration within the Romanian Ministry of Administration and Interior.

Documentation for Long Stay Visa for Studies
Following documents are required:

Acceptance letter from Romanian Ministry of education;
Proof of tuition fees payment for 1 year
Proof of financial resources
Criminal record certificate or another document of the same legal value;
Medical insurance for the entire duration of the visa validity;
Approval of the parents or the foster parents for a stay in Romania for study purposes, if student is a minor
Requirements of Documents for Arrival in Romania
In Students must carry the following documents with them:

Passport with a valid visa
A copy of the official admission letter
Evidence of approximately 2500 US dollars to indicate that the student has sufficient funds for living and studying in Romania.
Temporary Residence Permit
Students arriving in Romanian and taking admission in a university must apply for a residence permit. The residence permit is valid for one year and must be renewed every year. However, for pupils on scholarship from their respective countries or from the Romanian Government, the residence permit is generally issued for the entire duration of their studies.

The following documents are required for a residence permit:

Application form from the immigration office.
Evidence of tuition fee payment issued by the respective University in Romania
Copy of acceptance letter for studies issued by the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports
Medical certificate: a public or private medical institution in Romania can issue it, stating that the student does not suffer from any contagious disease.
Evidence of Medical Insurance for those who are above 26 years old
Accommodation proof: House contract must be submitted
A valid passport bio-data page and the page showing the entry date at the Romanian border
Proof of sufficient funds: Can be a bank statement (minimum of 2500 USD or its equivalent)
Two recent passport photographs
Romania Family Reunification Visa
The Romania Family Reunification Visa (D/VF) is issued to non-EU nationals who wish to join their family members in Romania.

In order to bring their family members with them, the person living in Romania, who is considered as the sponsor, has to be:

A Romanian or EU citizen
A Romanian residence permit holder, EU Blue Card holder, of an ICT permit holder
Sponsors can bring the following family members through a Romanian family reunification visa:

Their spouse
Their unmarried, minor children (biological or adopted), including the spouse’s children.
Their parents, if they are dependent on the sponsor.

Selections of student housing options are available in Romania, including student residence in student campuses or residence halls, private student residences, private apartments, rooms, or personal apartments at affordable prices. The monthly rent depends on the lifestyle of each student. It is possible to find state-of-the-art student accommodation as student housing on a student campus.

For most international students accommodation in different Romanian cities is affordable and easily accessible. The cheapest is the student housing within a University campus or in a hostel. Shared private apartments are also a good option for students who want to minimize their expenses and stay with flatmates.

As a rule, it is easier to get affordable and well-located accommodation in the summer than in autumn, when all students are back from vacation. Cities such as Bucharest, Cluj Napoca, Iasi, Timișoara, Arad, Oradea, Constanta, and Craiova, offer competitive student accommodation owing to the number of Universities located therein.

In Romania, the best way to get a private apartment is to contact real estate agencies. They provide information about the most interesting offers of accommodation on the market and help students get an apartment within a week, taking into account student requirements.

Prices for rooms in student campuses vary from university to university and range between 20 to 30 euros/month/ bed for a three-bedroom place. For a two-bedroom place, the monthly rent is around 50 Euros and can vary from different student residence halls. Even if a priority is given to local students, International ERASMUS students, and international with Romanian scholarship students, self-financing students still get a place in most student residence halls.

To reduce the rent expense for private housing, students have 3 options:

• Shared apartments: This is the best way to cut down the housing expense and avoid staying alone in a foreign country.

• Accommodation payment in advance: In Romanian students that pay an advance rent of 3 - 6 months or even longer can negotiate and get a drastic reduction on their monthly rent.

• Buy an apartment: Some parents prefer to buy apartments for their children instead of paying monthly rent. This is common for parents of medical students who have come for a course of at least 6 years.