Most guides to studying abroad without IELTS describe a system that carves out an exception for you — an MOI letter, an alternative test, a waiver buried in fine print. Romania’s flagship scholarship does something genuinely different: for the large majority of its funded programmes, there’s no exception to find, because there’s no English test built into the structure at all. Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees under the Romanian Government Scholarship for non-EU citizens are taught in Romanian, not English, and every non-Romanian-speaking recipient receives a fully funded one-year preparatory language course before their actual degree studies even begin.

That single structural fact reshapes how you should think about international student financial aid planning for Romania specifically. Instead of comparing IELTS band scores or hunting for an accepted alternative test, the real preparation question becomes whether you’re genuinely ready to commit a full year to reaching B1-level Romanian proficiency before your degree formally starts — a very different kind of commitment than the English-medium scholarship route most of this series has covered. Combined with Romania’s comparatively low student visa financial proof requirement and one of the more affordable costs of living inside the European Union, it’s a genuinely distinct proposition among Tier-1 European study destinations, not simply a cheaper version of the same model.

This guide walks through exactly which Romania scholarships for international students without IELTS exist for 2027, what the government scheme’s Romanian-language structure actually means for your preparation timeline, and where individual universities and doctoral programmes add English-medium flexibility on top of the national baseline.

Why “Without IELTS” Means Something Different Here

In most countries covered in this series, “without IELTS” describes a workaround — a letter, an alternative test, a waiver. In Romania’s case, for the government scholarship’s Bachelor’s and Master’s tracks specifically, IELTS simply isn’t the relevant document at all, because the degree itself isn’t taught in English. The genuine flexibility shows up instead at the PhD level, where doctoral candidates may, with their host doctoral school’s agreement, conduct research and defend their thesis in English or another foreign language — meaning IELTS becomes potentially relevant again only once you’re operating at that research level.

The Scholarships

1. Romanian Government Scholarship for Non-EU Citizens
Full tuition fees, university accommodation, and a monthly stipend, for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD study at accredited Romanian public universities, jointly administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Research.
🔗 scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro
Bachelor’s and Master’s applicants who don’t speak Romanian receive a fully funded one-year preparatory language course, at the end of which they must demonstrate at least B1-level competence before beginning their actual degree — students who don’t pass this preparatory year aren’t permitted to continue into the programme itself, so this isn’t a formality to treat lightly. Medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy are explicitly excluded from this scholarship regardless of degree level.

2. Romanian Government Scholarship — Doctoral Track
The same funding package as above, extended across the full duration of PhD study, with the added flexibility of conducting research and thesis defense in English or another foreign language.
🔗 scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro
PhD applicants must secure the written agreement of a thesis supervisor who is a member of their chosen doctoral school, and pass an admission interview, before their online application is even considered complete — treat securing that supervisor relationship as your actual first step, not a formality to handle after submitting your application.

3. University of Bucharest International Scholarships
Tuition support and merit-based awards for international students across Romania’s oldest and most internationally recognized university.
🔗 unibuc.ro/en/prospective-students
As Romania’s largest host institution for government scholarship recipients, the University of Bucharest maintains a dedicated international office that can clarify which of its programmes are Romanian-medium versus the smaller number taught in English.

4. Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca International Scholarships
Merit-based funding for international students at Romania’s largest university by enrollment, based in the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.
🔗 ubbcluj.ro/en
Babeș-Bolyai has built a genuinely strong reputation for its English-taught business and social science programmes specifically, making it worth checking directly if you’re aiming for an English-medium route rather than the Romanian-language preparatory track.

5. Politehnica University of Bucharest International Scholarships
Tuition and stipend support for international students in Romania’s leading technical and engineering university.
🔗 upb.ro/en
A strong option specifically for engineering and technical fields, with a growing number of English-taught Master’s programmes that sit outside the Romanian-language structure most of the government scholarship’s Bachelor’s tracks follow.

6. Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy Scholarships
Institutional scholarships and tuition arrangements for international medical students, taught in English at this Cluj-Napoca medical school — one of Romania’s most established destinations for English-medium medical education.
🔗 umfcluj.ro/en
Because medicine is explicitly excluded from the national government scholarship, funding here works through the university’s own institutional arrangements rather than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs scheme — confirm current scholarship or tuition-reduction terms directly with the admissions office.

7. Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy Scholarships
Institutional funding and tuition support for international students in Bucharest’s flagship English-medium medical programme.
🔗 umfcd.ro/en
Romania has become a genuinely popular destination for English-medium medical education specifically because programmes like this one accept international applicants directly in English from day one — worth knowing about even though it sits entirely outside the government scholarship’s coverage.

8. Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași International Scholarships
Merit-based tuition and living cost support for international students at one of Romania’s oldest universities, based in the eastern city of Iași.
🔗 uaic.ro/en
A genuinely underrated option among Romania’s university cities — Iași offers a noticeably lower cost of living than Bucharest or Cluj-Napoca, making its own institutional scholarships stretch further for students managing a tight budget.

9. West University of Timișoara International Scholarships
Funding for international students at this western Romanian university, known for its strong sciences and technology programmes.
🔗 uvt.ro/en
Timișoara’s proximity to Hungary and Serbia gives this university a genuinely international character worth considering if you’re weighing Central European destinations more broadly across this series.

10. Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees
A stipend of approximately €1,400 per month, full tuition, and a travel allowance, for joint Master’s degrees delivered across two or more European countries, with several consortia including Romanian partner universities.
🔗 eacea.ec.europa.eu/scholarships/erasmus-mundus-catalogue_en
Several consortia explicitly exempt applicants from English-speaking countries or graduates of English-medium institutions from a formal test entirely — check the specific programme’s page in the catalogue, since this exemption varies consortium by consortium rather than applying across every Romanian-linked programme.

The Preparatory Year, Explained Honestly

Committing to the Romanian Government Scholarship’s Bachelor’s or Master’s track means genuinely committing to a full academic year of intensive language study before your actual degree begins — this isn’t a light orientation course. Students are expected to reach B1-level Romanian competence by the end of that year, and failing to demonstrate it means you don’t progress into your degree programme at all. If a full year of language preparation doesn’t fit your timeline or goals, the English-medium routes through Politehnica University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University, or Romania’s medical schools are worth prioritizing instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need IELTS for the Romanian Government Scholarship?
Not for Bachelor’s or Master’s study — these programmes are taught in Romanian, and the scholarship provides a free one-year Romanian preparatory course instead of requiring any English test. IELTS becomes potentially relevant only at the PhD level, where research and thesis defense in English is possible with your doctoral school’s agreement.

Can I skip the Romanian language preparatory year if I already speak some Romanian?
The published programme structure requires demonstrating B1-level competence at the end of the preparatory year regardless of your starting point, though the intensity and pacing of your specific preparatory course may vary based on your existing language background — confirm directly with your host university’s language centre.

Why are medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy excluded from the government scholarship?
This isn’t explained in the programme’s public documentation, but in practice, English-medium medical education in Romania already operates through separate, well-established institutional pathways at universities like Carol Davila and Iuliu Hațieganu, which run their own tuition and scholarship arrangements outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs scheme entirely.

Does Romania’s student visa process check my English proficiency separately?
No. Romania’s long-stay student visa process focuses on your acceptance letter, proof of financial means, and health insurance coverage — for government scholarship recipients, the language question is already built into the programme structure itself well before the visa application stage.

What the Scholarship Doesn’t Cover

Even Romania’s genuinely comprehensive government package leaves some gaps. Budget separately for Romania’s long-stay student visa financial proof requirement, health insurance beyond what the scholarship’s basic coverage includes, and initial settling-in costs before your first stipend payment arrives. A service like Wise is worth using specifically for moving remaining funds or family support into a Romanian leu or euro account without the markup a traditional international bank transfer typically carries.

Timing Worth Knowing

The Romanian Government Scholarship’s application deadline for the 2026-2027 academic year fell on March 31, 2026, with the online platform available in both English and French — expect a similar late-March window for the 2027-2028 cycle, though always confirm the exact current-year date directly on the official portal. University-level institutional scholarships at Politehnica University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University, and the medical schools generally follow each institution’s own separate admissions calendar rather than the government scheme’s fixed deadline.

Before You Apply

  • Decide honestly whether you’re prepared for a full year of Romanian-language preparation before committing to the government scholarship’s Bachelor’s or Master’s track
  • If you’re aiming for an English-medium route instead, prioritize Politehnica University of Bucharest, Babeș-Bolyai University, or Romania’s established medical schools
  • Secure a PhD thesis supervisor’s written agreement well before applying if you’re pursuing the doctoral track — an incomplete application file without it won’t be considered
  • Confirm current GPA and age-limit eligibility criteria directly on the official portal before investing time in your application
  • Budget separately for Romania’s visa financial proof requirement and additional health insurance beyond the scholarship’s basic coverage
  • Re-verify the current year’s exact deadline and required documents directly on scholarships.studyinromania.gov.ro before applying
Scholarships Without IELTS