Study in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, institutions are classified as leading state and private higher education institutions, which excel in research and rank high in country ranking lists. The second group of institutions are known for good quality education but do not give a heavyweight on research.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are typified as one-tier institutions if they provide Bachelor degrees only (institutes, conservatories and higher colleges). Two-tier universities are those offering Master and Doctoral studies in addition to Bachelor's degrees.

Baku State University (BSU) is an example of a two-tier HEI providing higher education in all three levels, while Mingechevir Polytechnic provided Bachelor degrees only. In line with the Law, both private and public universities were exempted from taxation and were independent in student recruitment and granting degrees. The Law did not include major changes to Doctoral studies, leaving the post-graduate landscape rather intact.

There are around 170 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Azerbaijan and around 75 of them are private and the rest are state Universities. There are close to 26.000 international students and 5.000 Erasmus students studying in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is becoming one of the most attractive countries in the region as far as the University Education for foreign students is concerned.

Azerbaijan currently has 13 private universities functioning without government interference. The financing of private higher education institutions is partially independent from the state. The main source of income for most if not all private higher education institutions are tuition fees.

At some private HEİs students with par excellent admission performances are funded by the government. All students at private HEIs are expected to pay tuition fees that are slightly expensive than those at public universities. The largest share of income is obtained through tuition fees, which range from 1.500 to 2.300 EUR per academic year. The highest tuition fees at private universities are those at the Western University (2.300 EUR).

Educational programs in Azerbaijan’s HEIs are offered in three languages: the official language, Azerbaijani, as well as Russian and English, although there are no programs taught completely in English. Admission to HEIs, however, is carried out in Azerbaijani and Russian. In 2013, the majority of students (89%) were admitted to Azerbaijani language programs, with 11% opting for Russian language programs. The majority of public universities (32) and a few private universities (4) provide programs in the Russian language.

There are four types of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Azerbaijan, namely: University, Institute, Academy, and Conservatoire. The table below gives an explanation of the four distinct types of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Azerbaijan:

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University: A leading multi-profile higher educational institution, which carries out a broad range of specialist training at all levels of higher education, in-service training programs, and conducts fundamental and applied scientific research.

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Institute: A higher education institution, either independent or a structural unit of the universities, which carries out the training of specialists with higher education on specific specialties, as well as provide in-service training programs.

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Academy: A higher educational institution that implements higher and in-service training programs, and conducts fundamental and applied scientific research.

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Conservatoire: A higher educational institution that trains highly specialized experts on the field of music.

Finding the right study in a foreign country can be a daunting task considering the various requirements you have to put into focus. RocApply has some distinct reasons why pursuing a degree in the Republic of Azerbaijan might be a brilliant idea

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About Azerbaijan

The country is affectionately known across the world as the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası). Iranian Azerbaijan is the land originally and historically called Azerbaijan; the Azerbaijani populated Republic of Azerbaijan appropriated the name of the neighboring Azerbaijani populated region in Iran during the 20th century.

Azerbaijan is located in the junction of Europe and Asia and south-east part of the South Caucasus. The capital city of Azerbaijan is Baku, which is also the largest city. There are three large cities in Azerbaijan and these are: Baku, Ganja, Sumgait, and Nakhchivan.

It borders on Russian Federation in the north, the Islamic Republic of Iran in the South, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia in the West and through the Caspian Sea on Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the East. Azerbaijan is in latitudes 39° 24' and 41° 54' North and at longitudes 44° 46' and 50° 45' East. 

Azerbaijan was established in 1918, it was the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union only two years later. The country regained independence in 1991 into being known as the Second Republic following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Azerbaijan is one of the six modern independent Turkic states, inclusive of the following countries:  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. 95% of the population are Muslims, 85% being Shia Muslims and 15% are Sunni Muslims, making Azerbaijan a country with the second-highest Shia population percentage in the world after Iran.

Despite a 1994 cease-fire, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region that Russia recognized as part of Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s after Armenia and Azerbaijan disputed the status of the territory.

According to the 1995 Constitution, Azerbaijan is a Republic with a Presidential government system and the head of government is the Prime Minister. Contrary to the definition of the country’s political system, the political system of Azerbaijan has been characterized since 1992 by the authoritarian leadership of Azerbaijan's President and undermined by corruption.

The country’s territory covers close to 86.600 km2 and accommodating a population of 9 million 593 thousand according to the statistics for 2015. Azerbaijan’s religion comprises of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. The state language of Republic of Azerbaijan is Azerbaijani language.

All documentation is carried out only in the state language. Widely used languages are English, Turkish and Russian. Presently Azerbaijani alphabet is used in Azerbaijan established basing on Latin scripts.

The currency that is used in Azerbaijan is the Azerbaijan Manat. According to the currency rankings, it is evident that the most popular Azerbaijan Manat exchange rate is the United States Dollar (USD) to AZN rate. The currency code for the Azerbaijan Manat is AZN, and the currency symbol is ₼.

 

About Azerbaijan Economy

Azerbaijan's high economic growth has been attributable to large and growing oil and gas exports, but some non-export sectors also featured double-digit growth, including construction, banking, and real estate.

Oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Pipeline, the Baku-Novorossiysk, and the Baku-Supsa pipelines remain the main economic driver, efforts to boost Azerbaijan's gas production are underway.

Azerbaijan’s economic freedom score is 69.3, which makes its economy the 44th freest in the 2020 Index. Its overall score has increased by 3.9 points because of big gains in scores for business freedom, investment freedom, and fiscal health. Azerbaijan is ranked 24th among 45 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is just below the regional average and well above the world average.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Azerbaijan's government debt grew slightly to 19.7% of GDP in 2019 and is expected to decrease to 18.6% in 2020 and 16.9% in 2021. IMF also registered a stable inflation at 2.6% in 2019, with an increase projected for 2020 (3.3%) and 2021 (3.2%), according to the latest World Economic Outlook of the IMF (April 2020).

As for the budget surplus, it closed at 5.3% of GDP in 2019 and is expected to decrease to 3.2% in 2020 and 2.6% in 2021. The public investment focuses essentially on projects such as the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian and the Trans Anatolian TANAP pipeline, although economic diversification is also promoted in industries such as cotton, tourism, fruit and vegetables, and vehicles.

Updated IMF forecasts of the14th of April 2020 state that in the year 2019, Azerbaijan's GDP grew 2.3% and is expected to fall to -2.2% in the year 2020 due to the COVID-19 induced pullback and increase to 0.7% in 2021.

Azerbaijan has benefited from high oil prices and increased gas production, although its non-oil and gas sectors have also shown improvement. Other strengths include a strong sovereign fund, gas abundance in the Caspian Sea, an increase in exports to Turkey and Europe, serving as a geographic liaison between China and Europe, and a positive general business environment.

Why Study in Azerbaijan

Affordable Tuition Fees in Azerbaijan
Academic excellence
The education system in Azerbaijan offers degrees on three levels; Bachelor's, Master's and PhD which is similar to the system that is currently used in the United States of America and Europe. Educational diplomas from Azerbaijan are internationally recognized in more than 50 countries. 
Affordable Accomodation in Azerbaijan
Universities and Programs
Due to the high quality of education that is on offer in Azerbaijan, students who have graduated from these higher tertiary institutions are able to be employed not only in the country but also around the globe at large.
International Environment in Azerbaijan
Internationalization & Safety
Each year more than 5500 international students travel to Azerbaijan to study, enriching the multicultural environment of the country. Safety: Azerbaijan is one of the safest countries in the world as one is able to walk at night without fear of being mugged. The country has close to minimal crime rates, on 26.2%, and is considered as low.
Great Weather in Azerbaijan
Affordable prices & scholarships
Education in Azerbaijan can be an affordable way of getting high-quality degrees taught in English. While there is no compromise in academic excellence, both tuition and living expenses remain considerably lower than most of the traditional education destinations. Azerbaijan is well known for hospitality, tolerance, and multiculturalism, as these constituent elements of a lifestyle in the country.

Scholarships

The Government of Azerbaijan gives stipends to the academically astute students during their education at both public and private HEIs. In the first semester of the first academic year, these stipends are given to the students who get the highest grades (500 and more out of 700) from the admission examinations to the HEIs.

These students’ tuition fees are funded also from the state budget. In the next semester's stipends from the state budget are given to those (for both state-funded and self-funded students) whose grades are highest in semester examinations.

Azerbaijan Student Visa

Visit the Embassy of Azerbaijan's website for the most current visa information. An E-Visa is typically issued within 3 (three) working days of the online application and is valid for 30 days.

Keep in mind that if your stay in Azerbaijan exceeds 10 days, you are also required to register your visit at the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan. However, you can ask about this at the front desk of your hotel, and you will be informed of what you need to do.