Scholarships and Part-Time Work for Students in Romania

Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.

Romania has one real government scholarship for international bachelor's students, and it is for students from outside the EU who study in Romanian. EU citizens are treated like Romanians: they can win free places and university scholarships. Fee-paying non-EU students should plan to cover their fees and living costs themselves.

Romanian government scholarships for foreign citizens

Every year the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers scholarships to citizens of countries outside the EU, through the Study in Romania platform. For the 2026/27 round:

they covered bachelor's, master's and doctoral studies;
holders paid no tuition, for the preparatory year and the degree, and no application fees, and received a monthly allowance and a dormitory place where one was available;
bachelor's and master's programmes were taught only in Romanian, so most holders first take the Romanian preparatory year;
medicine, dentistry and pharmacy were excluded;
applicants needed an average of at least 7 out of 10, or "good", in their last completed school;
applications ran from 16 February to 31 March 2026, online only, with results expected around 15 July 2026.

People of Romanian origin, and those who already hold a Romanian state scholarship for the same cycle, cannot apply. Competition is strong, so do not plan your studies on winning one. The call for 2027/28 had not been published when we checked; the 2026/27 round opened in February.

Free places for EU students

Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland compete for state-funded (budget) places at public universities on the same terms as Romanians. These places carry no tuition fee and go to the best-ranked applicants in each programme. Non-EU students on the foreign-student procedure study on paid places. See how much it costs to study in Romania.

University scholarships

Public universities pay scholarships from the state budget and from their own income, under the ministry's general criteria (Order 6463/2023) and their own rules. Those criteria say that citizenship cannot be a reason to give or refuse a state-funded scholarship, and that performance scholarships can go to full-time students whether or not they pay fees. In practice each university decides who is eligible.

Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, for example, under its rules for 2026/27:

pays scholarships from the state budget only to students on budget places, and from its own funds also to fee-paying students;
pays performance scholarships of 1,300 or 1,000 lei a month (about €244 or €188);
pays social scholarships of 925 lei a month (about €174), but not to non-EU students or ethnic Romanian students from abroad;
pays scholarships of 2,000 lei a month for outstanding research, sport, or cultural and artistic work.

Other universities set different amounts and rules, so read your faculty's scholarship regulations. Private universities set their own discounts; ask them directly.

Working while you study

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can work in Romania without a permit.

Students from outside the EU with a residence permit for studies can work on that permit, without a separate work permit, but only on a part-time contract of up to six hours a day. This rule comes from Emergency Ordinance 32/2026, in force since 27 April 2026; before that the limit was four hours. Longer hours need a work permit.

Pay, tax and insurance

The national gross minimum wage is 4,325 lei a month (about €812) from 1 July 2026, or 25.949 lei an hour, under Government Decision 146/2026. Your employer withholds income tax and social contributions from your pay. Non-EU students must also keep the health insurance and the means of support required for their residence permit; see student visa for Romania.

Part-time work at around the minimum wage helps with living costs, but it will not pay the fees for medicine in English.

Where to find work

University career centres. Babeș-Bolyai University's Centre for Career, for example, offers free counselling to its students and graduates.
The National Employment Agency (ANOFM), which lists vacancies.
Without Romanian the choice of jobs is much smaller, so a language course is worth considering.

Where to look next

Official sources

Study in Romania: Romanian state scholarships for foreign citizens: conditions and dates for 2026/27
Babeș-Bolyai University: scholarship regulations, June 2026 (in Romanian)
Emergency Ordinance 32/2026: work by foreign students, new art. 132¹ of Ordinance 194/2002 (Portal Legislativ, in Romanian)
Government Decision 146/2026: minimum gross wage from 1 July 2026 (in Romanian)

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