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The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher-education qualifications. The process has created the European Higher Education Area under the Lisbon Recognition Convention. It is named after the University of Bologna, where the Bologna declaration was signed by education ministers from 29 European countries in 1999. The process was opened to other countries in the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe, and government meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003), Bergen (2005), London (2007), Leuven (2009), Budapest-Vienna (2010), Bucharest (2012), Yerevan (2015), Paris (2018), and Rome (2020).
Before the signing of the Bologna declaration, the Magna Charta Universitatum was issued at a meeting of university rectors celebrating the 900th anniversary of the University of Bologna (and European universities) in 1988. One year before the declaration, education ministers Claude Allègre (France), Jürgen Rüttgers (Germany), Luigi Berlinguer (Italy) and Baroness Blackstone (UK) signed the Sorbonne declaration in Paris in 1998, committing themselves to "harmonising the architecture of the European Higher Education system". The Bologna Process has 49 participating countries.
The ESU, EUA, EURASHE, EI, ENQA, UNICE, the Council of Europe and UNESCO are part of the process' follow-up. Other groups at this level are ENIC, NARIC and EURODOC.
Israel is not a party to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe, although it has observer status. Although Israel is not geographically part of Europe, it is part of the UNESCO European Region (although not a UNESCO member). Israel has also ratified the Lisbon Recognition Convention but, under the criteria of the 2003 Berlin Communiqué, it is ineligible for the Bologna Process.
Kosovo is not a party to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe. Although Serbia is a party, Kosovo declared independence from it and has theoretically been a part of the Bologna Process since the Kosovo War. It was suggested that Kosovo could be associated with the process in a category appropriate to its situation, such as guest or special-observer status.
Kyrgyzstan is not a party to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe, although has also ratified the Lisbon Recognition Convention.
Northern Cyprus is not a party to the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe and not recognized as an independent political entity by any member of the Bologna Process except Turkey.
In most cases, it would take three to four years to earn a bachelor's degree and another one or two years for a master's degree. Doctoral degrees usually require another two to four years of specialization, primarily individual research under a mentor. Degree names may vary by country. One academic year normally corresponds to 60 ECTS credits, equivalent to 1,500–1,800 hours of study.
Although the declaration was created without a formal affiliation with EU institutions, the European Commission (which has supported European projects such as the Tuning and TEEP projects) plays an important role in implementing the process. Most countries do not fit the framework, using their traditional systems. The process, which will result in bilateral agreements between countries and institutions which recognise each other's degrees, is moving from strict convergence in time spent on qualifications towards a competency-based system which will have an undergraduate and postgraduate division (with a bachelor's degree in the former and a master's and doctorate in the latter).
In mainland Europe, five-year-plus first degrees are common. Many do not complete their studies, and many countries are introducing bachelor-level qualifications. The situation is evolving as the Bologna Process is implemented.
Some countries introduced the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and discussed their degree structures, qualifications, financing and management of higher education and mobility programmes. At the institutional level, the reform involved higher-education institutions, their faculties or departments, student and staff representatives and other factors. Priorities varied by country and institution.
Enrollment in a doctoral programme generally requires a master's degree in a related field. Although the nominal duration of doctoral programmes is two or three years, the time to graduate varies considerably and is generally longer.
The typical length of study is three years for a bachelor's degree ( baccalaureus), two years for a master's degree ( magistar) and three years for a doctor of science ( doktor znanosti). A local distinction is made between vocational and academic degrees at the baccalaureate level, and between engineering and other programs at levels below the doctoral.
There are several exceptions. The first degree in economics still takes four years, and the master's degree is obtained after an additional year at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Economics and Zagreb School of Economics and Management. The four-plus-one-year system also applies to fine arts and music. Medical and related studies replace the bachelor's degree with six-year first professional degrees and graduate Doctor of Medicine ( doktor medicine) degrees.
The old degrees are translated as follows:
In May 2008, about 5,000 students protested weak funding, imprecisely defined new rules and the poor results of the Bologna reform.
In engineering, universities only offered a -year master's program ( diplomi-insinööri). This has been replaced by a three-year bachelor's degree ( tekniikan kandidaatti) and a two-year master's degree ( diplomi-insinööri), for which the English names are Bachelor of Science (Technology) and Master of Science (Technology). A corresponding change has been made in military higher education, where the officer's degree was divided between bachelor's and master's programmes. Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, which have offered bachelor's-equivalent engineering programmes, began offering master's-degree programs in 2005. Finnish governmental decree 423/2005 on degrees at Universities of Applied Sciences Accessed: 21 June 2009 Some Master of Engineering ( insinööri (ylempi AMK)) programmes are taught in English. Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences – Master's Degrees Accessed: 21 June 2009
Only medicine and dentistry retain their non-standard degree structure, where the Licentiate (higher than a master's degree, but less extensive than Doctor of Medicine or Dentistry degrees) is the basic degree. A six-year program of at least 360 ECTS credits leads to the Licentiate of Medicine ( lääketieteen lisensiaatti) degree. There is an intermediate title (but not an academic degree) of lääketieteen kandidaatti, and no master's degree.
Polytechnic degrees are considered bachelor's degrees in international use. In domestic use, bachelors transferring from polytechnics to universities may be required to amass a maximum of 60 ECTS credits of additional studies before beginning master's-level studies. In conjunction with the Bologna Process, polytechnics have the right to award master's degrees.
Students could then pursue a Maîtrise, a one-year research degree which could be followed by a one-year vocational degree (the Diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées or DESS) or research degree (the Diplôme d'études approfondies, or DEA). The DEA, preparation for a doctorate, was equivalent to the M. Phil. Students could then pursue a doctorat (PhD), which took at least three years.
The DESS was created in 1975 for students who completed four-year degrees. Intended as a doctorate with a more practical approach than research, it included the production of a 120-page paper which was defended to a jury of three international specialists in the field. The mini-thesis was kept in the libraries of the university issuing the DESS, unlike a PhD dissertation (distributed by its author to every French university library).
Higher education in France is also provided by non-university institutions dedicated to specific subjects. The Diplôme d'ingénieur (engineering diploma) is awarded to students after five years of study in state-recognized Écoles d'ingénieurs, particularly the Grandes Écoles such as Mines, Centrale and ENAC.
Although the baccalauréat and doctorat are unchanged in the Bologna system (known in France as LMD reform), the DEUG and licence have been merged into a three-year Licence. The Maîtrise, DESS and DEA have been combined into a two-year master's degree, which can be work- ( master professionnel) or research-oriented ( master recherche). The Diplôme d'ingénieur degree is still separate from a university degree, but holders may legally claim a master's degree as well.
Strikes occurred in 2002 and 2003 and 2007 protesting LMD reform, focusing more on under-funding of French universities since May 1968 than on the Bologna Process. Although the two major student organisations object to some aspects of its application to the French system, they generally welcome the European process.
Cycles of higher education are divided into first (bachelor's degree with 240 Course credit), second (master's degree, 120 credits) and third (doctorate, 180 credits). Human and veterinary medicine and dentistry (300–360 credits) are integrated programs with a qualification equal to a master's degree.
According to an online poll by the National Tertiary Education Information Centre, 65 percent of respondents thought it unnecessary to adopt the system. The new system provides less of a guarantee that students will obtain a master's degree, because many will complete their education after the three-year bachelor's degree. Students are expected to study more unrelated subjects during the first three years, due to the smaller number of majors.
The Laurea corresponds to a bachelor's degree; the Laurea Magistrale, corresponding to a master's degree, grants access to third-cycle programmes (post-MA degrees, doctorates or specialized schools) lasting two to five years (completing a PhD usually takes three years). A five-year degree, Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico (Single-cycle Master's Degree) is awarded in law (Giurisprudenza), in Primary teacher education (Scienze della Formazione Primaria), in Architecture (Architettura), in Pharmacy (Farmacia) and Pharmaceutical Sciences (Chimica e Tecnologia Farmaceutiche), as well as in visual arts (Accademia di Belle Arti) and music (Conservatorio di Musica). A six-year degree, Laurea Magistrale a Ciclo Unico (Single-cycle Master's Degree) is awarded in medicine (Medicina) and dentistry (Odontoiatria). The title for BA and BS undergraduate students is Dottore and for MA, MFA, MSc, MD and MEd graduate students Dottore magistrale (abbreviated Dott., Dott.ssa or Dr.). This should not be confused with PhD and post-MA graduates, whose title is Dottore di Ricerca (Research Doctor).
The Italian system has two types of postgraduate degree (called "Master", not to be confused with the master's degree). Laurea Magistrale (120 ECTS) allows access to third-cycle programmes, and Master universitario (at least 60 ECTS) may be divided into first- (second cycle) and second-level master's degrees (third cycle). A first-level master's degree is accessible by a first-cycle degree and "does not allow access to PhD and to 3rd cycle programmes, since this type of course does not belong to the general requirements established at national level, but it is offered under the autonomous responsibility of each university".
The licenciatura degree (a four- to six-year course) was required for applicants who wished to undertake the old master's and doctoral programmes, but admission was reserved for those with a licenciatura degree with a grade above 14 (out of 20). After the changes introduced by the Bologna Process, the master's degree is conferred at the end of a programme roughly equivalent in time to many old licenciatura programmes. The process was developed to improve the education system to one based on the development of competency rather than the transmission of knowledge. Its goal was the development of a system of easily comparable degrees to simplify the comparison of qualifications across Europe. Its flexibility and transparency is intended to enable wider recognition of student qualifications, facilitating movement around a European Higher Education Area based on two main cycles (undergraduate and graduate) and providing third-cycle degrees for doctoral candidates.
After accession to the Bologna process happened in 2003, in October 2007, Russia moved to two-tier education in line with the Bologna Process. Universities inserted a BSc diploma in the middle of their standard specialist programmes, but the transition to MS qualification has not been completed.
Although Specialists and masters are eligible for doctoral programmes ( Aspirantura), bachelors are not; the Specialist degree is being discontinued. In most universities bachelor's- and master's-degree education is free of charge, although some state and private universities charge for one or both. The labour market does not yet understand BSc diplomas, but some universities made the program similar to classical education and the MS stage remains mandatory for most graduates.
On April 11, 2022, against the backdrop of deteriorating relations between Russia and Western countries due to Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Bologna Group decided to suspend the representation of Russia and Belarus in the structures of the Bologna Process.
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| Kandidatexamen + 1 year |
| Kandidatexamen + 2 years or Magisterexamen + 1 year |
| Magisterexamen or higher + 2 years |
| Magisterexamen or higher + 4 years |
Students may not always be offered all the combinations above to obtain a degree. The högskoleexamen is usually not offered, and many schools require students to obtain the kandidatexamen before obtaining a magisterexamen or masterexamen. Most third-cycle programmes require at least a magisterexamen, although the legal minimal requirement is either a degree from the second cycle or four years of finished courses, where at least one year is second cycle.
In July 2007 a new system of credits, compatible with the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, was introduced in which one credit ( högskolepoäng) in the new system corresponds to one ECTS credit and two-thirds of a credit in the old system ( poäng).
Some Swedish universities have introduced the ECTS standard grading scale for all students, and others will use it only for international students. Since criterion-referenced grading is used instead of relative grading in the Swedish educational system, the 10-, 25-, 30-, 25- and 10-percent distribution of students among A, B, C, D and E will not be done. Some universities only give Fail or Pass grades (F or P) for certain courses (such as internship and thesis projects) or assignments, such as laboratory exercises.
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