How to Get Into a University in Croatia as an International Student

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Croatia has a single national application system for first-cycle studies. Every bachelor's and integrated programme, including those taught in English, is listed on Postani student, run by the Central Applications Office of the Agency for Science and Higher Education (AZVO). Our catalogue lists 648 such programmes. This guide explains how the system treats applicants who finished school abroad, using the rules and the calendar published for the 2026 intake.

How the system works

You register on postani-student.hr and choose up to 10 programmes, in order of priority. Applying is free, except for any additional aptitude tests a faculty sets. Places are fixed in advance, and the faculty's call splits them into quotas: Croatian and EU citizens, foreign citizens and, at some institutions, Croats living abroad.

Candidates are ranked by points. Institutions decide what counts, but the usual elements are school grades, the results of the state matura (the national school-leaving exam), additional tests for some programmes and special achievements. Ranking lists are published by AZVO, and you enrol at the institution where you receive a place.

Do you have to take the Croatian state matura?

Not necessarily. The calls of the University of Zagreb and the University of Rijeka for 2026/27 say that applicants who finished school abroad are not obliged to take it. There is one exception: if a faculty names a state matura exam as an entry condition, or sets a minimum overall score that includes matura results, you have to pass the exams it asks for.

Where your own country has an externally assessed final exam, the results in subjects that correspond to state matura subjects are counted in the ranking. AZVO publishes a list of qualifications that qualify, with the exam that replaces the matura. See recognition of foreign school certificates in Croatia.

Step by step for applicants from abroad

1. Register on Postani student using the option for people who finished secondary education outside Croatia. You receive a user profile.
2. Send your documents by post to the Central Applications Office in Zagreb: a certified copy of your passport (if you have no Croatian personal identification number, the OIB), your report cards for the last four school years (three where secondary school lasts three years) and the final certificate. Documents issued in another language need a translation into Croatian or English by a court interpreter. Documents from EU countries are not translated but need a notarised copy.
3. Submit the request for recognition from your profile, after all documents have been sent. Applicants who finished school outside the EU must complete it.
4. Choose your programmes in the tab "Moj odabir". Delete any you no longer want before the final ranking, because a programme that places you but is not enrolled can lead to a charge of up to two thirds of a year's tuition, and unpaid charges block you from the system.
5. Wait for the ranking lists and enrol at the institution where you are placed.

Programmes taught in English add faculty steps, such as an e-mail application or an entrance exam, but you still register and select the programme on Postani student. See bachelor's degrees in English in Croatia.

The 2026 calendar

AZVO has not published dates for 2027. In 2026 the pattern was:

• From 1 February: applications and changes to the priority list opened.
• 22 May: last day to send documents for applicants who finished school abroad by the end of 2025.
• 1 July: last day to send documents for those finishing abroad in 2026 who do not register matura exams, last day to send the recognition request and last day to register for the summer round.
• 15 July: final ranking lists; enrolment began on 16 July.
• Autumn round: registration from 20 July, documents until 4 September, final lists on 16 September. It covers only programmes that still had places.

Institutions may set earlier deadlines, and medical programmes in English use their own calendars. See admission calendars across Europe for the wider picture.

Language

Programmes taught in Croatian need Croatian. Some faculties require a B2 certificate from the National Centre for External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO), and the University of Zagreb names B1 for two of its faculties. For English-taught programmes, faculties set their own proof of English, usually B2.

If you need a visa

Admission comes first. Applicants from outside the EU then apply for temporary stay for study; see the student visa for Croatia.

Where to look next

• How much it costs to study in Croatia
• Student housing in Croatia
• Studying medicine in English in Croatia
• All 648 programmes in Croatia by city and field

Official sources

• Postani student: national application system
• Studij.hr: application calendar and recognition of foreign secondary qualifications
• Study in Croatia: how to apply
• University of Rijeka: 2026/27 call for undergraduate and integrated studies
• University of Zagreb: 2026/27 call

Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.