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Europe is one of the most popular postgraduate study destinations for international students from all over the world – and it’s not hard to see why.
Studying abroad in Europe will allow you to benefit from the centuries of academic prestige and expertise accumulated at the world’s oldest universities. As you do, you’ll have the chance to learn other languages, get work experience abroad and prove to future employers that you have the skills and experience necessary to succeed in an increasingly globalised world.
We’ve written guides to some of the most popular destinations for international students in Europe, from France and Germany to Sweden and Switzerland.
On this page you can also learn about some of the common features of Masters study in Europe, like the Bologna Process, the European Credit and Transfer System (ECTS), the recognition of qualifications in Europe and European visas.
Interested in studying a Masters degree in Sweden? Our guide will help you make your decision, covering essential information on postgraduate courses and university rankings through to applications and student visas.
Read moreInterested in studying a Masters degree in Norway? This guide covers what you need to know to decide, including courses, applications, funding and more.
Read moreWant to study a Masters in Germany? We have all the information about how to apply for a Masters course including the required documents.
Read moreOur guide tells you exactly what kind of German student visa you need to study a Masters and what you need to apply for it.
Read moreWhat's it like to live in Germany as a Masters student? Read a detailed guide to postgraduate accommodation, living costs and working whilst studying.
Read moreHave a question about studying in Germany? Check if we've answered it in our detailed FAQ, covering fees, funding, accommodation, applications and more.
Read moreIf you’re reading about Masters study in Europe, it may not be long before you come across references to the Bologna Process and something called the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).
These may not sound particularly exciting, but they’re actually two of the main reasons studying in Europe is so convenient and attractive. Together they help maintain a common format for higher education and enhance student mobility throughout much of Europe.
The Bologna Process is ongoing, but it began in 1999 with an agreement signed – unsurprisingly – at the University of Bologna in Italy (the oldest European university in continuous operation).
Education Ministers representing 29 countries took part in this initial 'Bologna Declaration' and formed the European Higher Education Area together. New conferences are held in European countries every two to three years and additional countries have also been admitted as signatories to the Bologna agreements and members of the European Higher Education Area.
The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is made up of the countries that have signed the Bologna Declaration and agreed to adopt a common format for their university qualifications (including Masters degrees).
As of 2022 a total of 49 countries (including the Vatican City) are part of the EHEA.
The following countries form the European Higher Education Area and follow the Bologna Process:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the Vatican City (Holy See).
The Bologna Process and the creation of the EHEA bring three key benefits to Masters students in Europe:
These are all made possible by a range of other systems that operate within and alongside the Bologna Process and the EHEA.
If you’re studying a Masters in Europe, you may find that your course is organised according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
The ECTS provides a common framework for measuring academic attainment in European higher education systems. The principle is that wherever you decide to study a Masters in Europe, the academic work you do should be internationally recognisable through its ECTS credit value.
Use of the ECTS scale offers several benefits for Masters students in Europe:
A European Masters degree is normally worth 90-120 ECTS credits, depending on how long it is (the ECTS works by assigning value to individual credits according to the number of learning hours required to earn them).
Some countries in the EHEA also use their own credit systems. For example, the UK uses a Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CATS). Each CATS credit is worth two ECTS credits, so a one-year 180 CATS credit UK Masters is equivalent to a one-year 90 ECTS credit Masters.
You will earn ECTS credits gradually as you complete individual modules of study and other course components (such as research training or academic development). These will be assigned a credit weighting depending on their duration and the amount of work expected of you.
You can find out more about the ECTS system on the European Commission website.
To study abroad as a Masters student, you need to be sure of two things:
Europe’s ENIC-NARIC centres can help you on both counts.
The European Network of Information Centres in the European Region (ENIC) is administered by the Council of Europe and UNESCO.
The National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union (NARIC) are a European Commission initiative, operating as part of the Bologna Process.
In practice, both ENIC and NARIC centres cooperate to facilitate the recognition of foreign qualifications and support student / staff mobility between European higher education systems.
As a Masters student in Europe, you can generally treat ENIC and NARIC as the same network.
As a postgraduate looking to study abroad, you are likely to encounter one of two general scenarios regarding your existing qualifications:
In most cases your undergraduate degree will be automatically recognised by the foreign university you apply to. This is particularly likely for degrees awarded in Europe, where the Bologna Process and the ECTS credit system make the equivalence of degree programmes easy to determine.
Here, ENIC-NARIC should be able to confirm the fact that your qualification is recognised.
Where a qualification is less familiar, it may need to be subjected to an assessment or accreditation process. Your university will investigate the structure and content of your undergraduate degree to confirm that it provides a satisfactory pre-requisite for admission to the postgraduate programme you have chosen.
In such cases, ENIC-NARIC may be able to help by providing information on the necessary process and by contacting the ENIC-NARIC centre (or its equivalent) in the country that awarded your degree.
In both cases the primary function of the ENIC-NARIC network is to provide accurate and reliable information to yourself and your prospective institution.
While ENIC-NARIC centres can provide an important information resource, their role is primarily advisory. The final acceptance of your existing qualifications will be up to the university you apply to.
Each European country maintains its own ENIC-NARIC branch. Usually this is organised by its ministry of education.
You can find details of individual ENIC-NARIC centres via the main web portal of the ENIC-NARIC network.
EU and EEA nationals (as well as citizens of Switzerland) are usually subject to the same immigration and education rights as domestic students when studying in other EU and EEA member countries.
If you are an EU national you may normally enter another EU country without a visa and reside there for up to three months (90 days). In effect, this right is often also granted to EEA nationals and Swiss citizens.
As a Masters student you will almost certainly wish to live and study in Europe for longer than this. You still won't require a visa to do so, but will need to formally register as a foreign student and receive a Registration Certificate (this will be given different names in different countries).
In order to apply for a Registration Certificate you will need to present the following documents at a police station or other local authority in addition to your passport or identity card:
EU and EEA nationals usually have the right to seek work freely in other EU or EEA countries.
There is no overarching agreement covering the right of non-EU / EEA nationals to work in the EU and EEA (this now includes UK students).
In many cases you will still be permitted to work, but this will be subject to restrictions on hours and may require the sponsorship of your university. Check our guides to studying a Masters in individual European countries for more specific information.
If you are studying abroad in Europe, you may qualify for (or already effectively possess) a Schengen visa. This will allow you to move freely across European countries in the Schengen Area, spending up to 90 days in a 180-day period in fellow Schengen countries.
The Schengen Area is a free travel zone within Europe. It comprises 22 of the 27 EU member states (all except Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland and Romania) as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. These countries are referred to by the EU as ‘Schengen States’.
If you are an EU or EEA national, you are already entitled to live and study in any of the Schengen States. You are also entitled to enter other Schengen States for up to 90 days without needing to apply for formal registration of residence.
Students from outside the EU or EEA may benefit from free movement within the Schengen Area for specified periods, either as a right accorded to citizens of certain countries or by acquiring a ‘Schengen Visa’.
There are two situations in which you may wish to do this as an international Masters student in Europe:
In most cases you should apply for a Schengen Visa at the embassy of the country most directly concerned with your intended travel. This will either be the country you intend to visit, the country in which you expect to spend most of your journey or the first country you will enter. For example:
In order to apply for a Schengen Visa you will usually need to submit the following documents along with your passport or identity card and a completed visa application form:
From 1 January 2021, UK students are no longer EU citizens. This means that you won't automatically benefit from the right to study in the EU without a visa. However, the UK is still a member of the EHEA and most UK and EU qualifications will be mutually recognised as part of the Bologna Process (some exceptions may apply to professional Masters which need to specifically accredited in different countries). The UK also remains part of ENIC-NARIC.
There are a few other ways Brexit changes things for postgraduate study in Europe, including fees and funding for UK students in the EU and EU students in the UK.