Changes to Admission Exam List Announced

The government has approved the list of bachelor's degree programs and continuous and integrated educational programs for the 2021/2022 academic year in the higher education institutions of the Republic of Armenia. According to the adopted decision, applicants in both full-time and part-time systems will primarily take two admission exams. For certain specialties, if there are vacancies in the paid education system, applicants may transfer the grade of the second exam (marked with two asterisks ** in the list of exams) from the certificate or diploma of the previous degree.

The main change in the list of admission exams for the upcoming 2021/22 academic year is that competitive optional exams have been set by universities for a number of specialties, allowing applicants to choose the relevant exam subject according to their preference. This change applies to specialties for which competitive three exams were established in previous years. Now, candidates for these specialties will take two exams instead of the previous three, one of which is defined as a mandatory subject, while the second exam is chosen by the candidate from the offered subjects.

All candidates, regardless of the university's status (state or non-state), will be subject to the same admission conditions during the knowledge verification process. It is noteworthy that usually, applicants in the bachelor's program have taken a minimum of two admission exams. An exception was made only during the organization of the admission process for the previous 2020/2021 academic year, when candidates took one exam due to the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government has also approved the distribution of free places for remote study for the admission of doctoral programs for the 2020/2021 academic year in the Republic of Armenia. According to this decision, 35 free places have been allocated in the form of study fee reimbursement considering the applications submitted by research organizations and universities. Priority has been given to specialties in the fields of natural sciences, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), and Armenian studies.

It has been established that in the 2020/2021 academic year, the remaining vacant places for remote doctoral education will be redistributed by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, considering the additional applications submitted by higher education institutions, the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, and research organizations. During the allocation, priority is given to candidates who received excellent scores from the professional examination, specifically between 18 (eighteen) and 20 (twenty) points, as well as to those who have equal points based on the competition results, according to the highest score. If necessary, the requirements of point 28 of the annex approved by the Government of the Republic of Armenia's decision No. 238-N from February 25, 2016, will also be taken into account.