Scholarships and Student Jobs in North Macedonia for Foreign Students

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Money for foreign bachelor's students in North Macedonia is limited and hard to find in advance. There is a state scholarship programme for foreigners, but the official pages we could read give no amounts or deadlines. Most university scholarships are open to citizens and, in some cases, to students from neighbouring Balkan countries only. This guide sets out what the sources do say and where to ask for the rest.

The state programme for foreign students

Eurydice, the European Commission's education information network, lists among the Ministry of Education and Science's mobility measures a National scholarship programme for foreign students, alongside CEEPUS, Erasmus Mundus, Fulbright and bilateral programmes. The page gives no eligibility rules, no amounts and no application route for the national programme, so contact the ministry or the education authority in your own country.

The call of the University of St. Clement of Ohrid in Bitola shows how it works at the university level. Foreign citizens apply in the same period as everyone else and are enrolled outside the quotas. In the application you state whether you are a scholarship holder of the Government of North Macedonia or pay the costs yourself, and the ministry sets how many government scholarship holders are admitted. Foreign students whose parents, or who themselves, work in diplomatic missions in North Macedonia can enrol without tuition if the ministry covers their costs. Goce Delcev University in Stip repeats the same diplomatic rule in its call.

University merit scholarships

Private universities use scholarships to attract strong students. Eurydice notes that some private universities offer scholarships or reduced tuition, and that private university students may apply for certain state scholarships.

International Balkan University (IBU) is the clearest example in its 2026/27 call. Scholarships are linked to your secondary-school average: the best student of the generation can receive 100% of the tuition, a 5.00 average 80%, and lower averages smaller shares, down to 40% for averages in the 3.00 to 3.99 range. Only students who finished school in the current or the immediately preceding graduating class are eligible. The decisive limit is nationality: the call awards these scholarships to candidates from North Macedonia and the Balkan countries (Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). It also lists separate price lists for Balkan and international students, so a student from elsewhere pays the higher list price. Dentistry and the Vocational Medical School have fixed numbers of scholarships.

UKIM, the largest public university, publishes scholarship pages for its own students. They mention 240 first-year scholarships, 10 per faculty, for 2024/25 and a 50% tuition reduction for students raised by a single parent. The pages do not say whether foreign citizens qualify, so ask the international office before you plan around them.

State scholarships for citizens

Eurydice describes need-based and merit-based scholarships from the ministry, including for students in priority fields, with a need-based amount of around 3,300 denars a month. It also describes subsidised canteen meals. These are for students in the national system. The page does not say that foreign students can receive them. Scholarship pages for outbound programmes, such as Fulbright, are for citizens of North Macedonia going abroad, not for foreigners coming in.

Student jobs

We did not find an official page that states whether and how many hours foreign students may work. Residence for study is granted for the purpose of study, and the university guides we read say nothing about employment. The right of a foreign citizen to work may be regulated separately from the right to study, so before you accept any job:

ask the Foreigners department of the Ministry of Interior, in writing if possible, whether your student residence allows paid work;
ask your employer whether a separate work permit is needed;
keep your study obligations first, because the residence permit depends on being enrolled.

For general advice on working while you study, see working while studying in Europe.

Planning your budget

Do not count on a scholarship when you apply. Work out the full cost from the fee in the university's call, the residence-permit costs and rent. See how much it costs to study in North Macedonia and student housing in North Macedonia. For options in other countries, see scholarships and financial aid in Europe.

Where to look next

Official sources

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