About Tertiary Education in Bolivia
Universities offer courses of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhDs (Doctorado). There is a wide range of courses available. Usually, a Bachelor’s program will last between three to four years, a Master’s program between one to two, and a Ph.D. between two to four.
Courses like Medicine, Architecture, or Theology might be structured as Integrated Master’s, where the first both cycles are merged into a single program. There are also technical degrees, designed to allow students to start working sooner.
The academic year runs for two semesters from the middle of February until the beginning of July and from the end of July until the end of November. Institutions in Bolivia use the CLAR credit system, used by most of the Latin American countries, where every academic year is awarded 60 credits.
Contrary to the majority of other countries, getting into a private university here is easier than into a public university. This is because the entrance exams to public institutions are rather more difficult.
The application period begins on the 20th of January and ends on the 17th of February of every academic year. Apart from that, entrance to institutions of higher education is based on previous relevant academic qualifications and/or credits.
Below is a list of some top universities by rank that you may want to explore and select from;
Rank |
University |
Town |
1 |
Greater University of San Simon |
Cochabamba |
2 |
University of San Andres |
La Paz |
3 |
Bolivian Catholic University |
La Paz |
4 |
San Francisco Xavier University |
Sucre |
5 |
Private University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
6 |
Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University |
Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
7 |
Bolivian Private University |
Cochabamba |
8 |
Valle Private University |
Cochabamba |
9 |
University of Aquino Bolivia |
La Paz |
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Living in this country is also considerably affordable. The cost of living in Bolivia is 48.68% lower than in the UK and renting a place is 63.43% less expensive. Students can choose to live in the city center at $332 per month. Therefore, Bolivia is often regarded as one of the cheapest countries in the Latin American region.
Altogether, students in Bolivia have the following benefits: virtually no tuition fees, low living costs, effortless entry to university, and opportunity to grow in a multicultural space.