06 - Lithuania - Admission requirements
A full secondary education is the standard requirement for admission to higher education institutions.
Admission is based on competition for places among all applicants. Prospective students can apply for
a place to several institutions of higher education simultaneously.
Admission rules are established by the higher education institutions themselves in coordination with
the Ministry. The principles of admission to basic and consecutive study programmes broken down in
accordance with study fields as well as the structure of admission score are coordinated under the
procedure established by the Government and must be published no later than two years before
admission is announced. The cumulative competition score in basic and consecutive study
programmes is calculated on the performance results of no more than four secondary school subjects
(out of which the results of no more than three Matura examinations). To assess applicants’ special
skills and competences, a higher education institution can organize no more than two examinations or
tests. If a learning subject Matura examination is organized and administered by an institution
authorized by the Ministry, higher education establishments do not administer an examination or a test
in this subject.
The requirements for admission to second and third stage study programmes must take into
consideration the results achieved in the lower or the same stage studies and other criteria established
by the higher education school.
The total largest permissible number of admissions to state-run higher education establishments
(universities and colleges Kolegija), broken down in accordance with the stages, forms of studies and
the modes of financing, is annually approved by the Government, with due regard to the demand of
specialists, the quality of studies in each individual establishment and the funds allocated to the
establishment from the state budget.
The number of students to be admitted to non-state financed HEI is determined and the competitionbased
selection of entrants is conducted by individual institutions themselves.
Under the procedure established by a HEI, a separate competition for admission to higher education
fee-paying positions is conducted for persons who have obtained, in a foreign country, an education
granting them the right to enroll in study programmes of respective levels. To be eligible for admission,
they are required to submit a document, issued by the Ministry of Education and Science, affirming
recognition of the education acquired abroad. The Ministry determines the admission quotas to study
programmes, fully or partially financed by the state, for persons who have acquired their education
abroad. Besides, the Ministry has established the admission procedures for such entrants, which HEI
are to follow in developing their admission rules.
The citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area member states as well as other
foreign citizens who have been granted permanent residence in the Republic of Lithuania are subject
to the same admission rules and procedures as the Lithuanian nationals.
University
The establishment of the National Examination Centre in 1996 and the introduction of the state Matura
examination system were instrumental in the development of joint admission to undergraduate and
integrated study programmes. The majority of entrance examinations could be discontinued, which
was a precondition for introducing joint admission procedures. It enabled entrants to apply for up to 20
different degree programmes. Each individual university retained the specificity of their admission
rules.
Since 2003, 16 universities (15 state-run and one private – the ISM University of Management and
Economics) of Lithuania have organized admission to undergraduate and integrated study
programmes jointly. They have established an Association of Lithuanian Universities for Joint
Admission (LAMA BPO). The university admission rules and procedures have already settled into
shape. Irrespective of the type of the higher education institution, the competition requirements for
entrants seeking admission to the same study area (competition subjects taught in secondary
education, the results of which are decisive upon admission) and the way the admission scores are
calculated do not differ. There is one application form for joint admission to higher education
institutions, common for all HEIs, in which the HEI, the study programme group or the study
programme code and the title, the study form and the mode of financing must be indicated. The joint
admission procedures, stages and terms are stipulated in the Rules of Joint Admission to Nonuniversity
Higher Education Undergraduate Studies. In 2005 the Vilnius College joined the group, the
first among Lithuanian colleges. In 2007 there are two colleges, fifteen state funded and two private
universities participating in the joint admission system.
Entrants are required to pay a registration fee, the amount of which depends on the number of HEIs
and programmes they apply for: In 2007 it was: 80 Lt (23 EUR) for up to four programmes, 130 Lt (38
EUR) for five to eight programmes, and 180 Lt (52 EUR) for nine to twenty programmes. There is no
admission fee for the entrants to the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania.
In the case of an equal number of competitive scores, priority is determined taking into account the
grade score of maturity (entrance) examinations and the place of the relevant programme on the
preference list indicated in the application.
Selection of sucessful candidates to the Master’s degree studies, specialized professional studies,
residency and doctoral study programmes as well as to postgraduate art study programmes is
conducted by individual universities themselves.
College
Admission to colleges Kolegija is organized and carried out by the admission commission and the
documentation service, appointed on the order of the principal of the college. Each college establishes
its own competition conditions.
In the case of an equal number of competitive scores, depending on the admission rules of a specific
college, priority is given to: orphans, persons raised in children’s care homes, persons with disabilities,
entrants whose Matura examinations score or end-of-the-year grade score is higher, persons who
have completed advanced vocational or vocational education with distinction, and persons who have a
record of work in a field similar to the study field selected.
Each entrant has the right to indicate in their application up to six programmes they would like to enroll
in. They take part in competition according to all the programmes indicated.
Applicants to college study programmes are also charged a registration fee, the amount of which
depends on the college chosen and the number of programmes applied for. It can range, depending
on the college, from LTL25 to 60 (7-17 EUR) for one programme, from LTL50 to 60 (14-20 EUR) for
two or three programmes, and LTL80 (23 EUR) for four or more programmes.
As two colleges are already participating, together with the universities, in the joint admission system,
the Development Plan measures provide for the development of a feasibility study
on the participation in the system of all state-funded colleges.
Institutions:
The General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania
National Examination Centre
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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