Last updated: October 2026
In 1581, a Jesuit college opened its doors in Cluj. More than 440 years later, that spark is Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB), named after a Romanian scientist and a Hungarian mathematician, and one of the most exciting places to study in Romania, with roughly 55,000 people and teaching in five languages.
Now the surprising part: an English-taught degree from €2,500 a year and a QS ranking that only one other Romanian university beats. The catch? Seats are limited for each country and handed out first-come, first-served, and once you start your application you have just 24 hours to finish it.
We have packed the ranking, fees, deadline, master’s programmes, portal, scholarship and acceptance rate into one page. If you want to study in Romania from Pakistan with the rules already in your pocket, this is your map. Ready? Let’s go.
Can Pakistani Students Apply to Babeș-Bolyai University?
Yes. UBB lists Pakistan in its eligibility table and recognises the FSc (Secondary School Certificate plus a Higher Secondary or Intermediate certificate recognised by the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen). Here is the short version of how to study in Romania from Pakistan at UBB: meet the four rules below, apply on the portal, wait for the Ministry’s letter of acceptance and then apply for your Romania study visa.
Which English test should you take? UBB’s 2026 list of accepted certificates asks for B2 level or higher. That includes IELTS (B2 usually starts around 5.5), TOEFL iBT, TOEIC, Cambridge English exams, Trinity ISE and the Oxford Test of English. PTE Academic does not appear on the list, so check with UBB before you book it. Certificates issued by your own school or university are not accepted.
Babeș-Bolyai University Ranking
In the QS World University Rankings 2027, UBB sits in the 851–900 band, which makes it the second-highest Romanian university after the University of Bucharest (801–850). Most other Romanian universities, including the big technical ones, sit in or below the 1201–1400 band.
A rank is a starting point, not a verdict. Compare the programme you want, its fee and the seats left for your country before you decide.
See how Romania’s leading universities compare.
Rankings are only one part of choosing a university. Many students find that the real decision comes down to two cities, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara, because both offer English-taught programmes and both have a lively student scene. If that is your shortlist, a direct side-by-side comparison will settle it faster than any ranking table, so use the guide below before you start filling in forms.
Not sure between Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara? Compare them here.
Babeș-Bolyai University Tuition Fees
UBB sets tuition per programme, per year, and it is decided again for every academic year, so always confirm the figure for your intake. If you want to study in Romania at UBB, here are the 2026/27 numbers for English-taught bachelor’s programmes for non-EU students, and the good news is that the entry level is surprisingly gentle: €2,500 a year covers Finance and Banking, Management, Accounting and Management Information Systems, and International Business and Economics, all over 6 semesters.
Think of the fees as a ladder. Step up to €2,700 and you reach Political Sciences, Journalism and Public Health Services and Policies. At €3,000 you will find International Relations and European Studies, Security Studies and Psychology – Cognitive Sciences (6 semesters), along with Environmental Engineering, which runs for 8 semesters. Business Administration and Business Administration in Hospitality Services sit higher at €5,000, and the top rung is Mathematics for Computer Science at €7,000.
The real picture appears when you add up the whole degree. Three years of Finance and Banking comes to about €7,500 in tuition, Political Sciences to €8,100, International Relations to €9,000 and Business Administration to €15,000, while four-year Environmental Engineering lands at €12,000. Living costs, insurance and your visa come on top of that.
Tuition is only part of the picture. The application processing fee is €50 and non-refundable. UBB’s own estimate for renting a two-room flat in Cluj-Napoca is €200 to €350 a month before utilities, and agencies usually charge a commission of about one month’s rent plus a refundable deposit. On-campus accommodation is the alternative, with limited places. Graduation and document fees may also apply later in your studies, so check UBB’s current fee regulation for the exact amounts.
Wondering whether you can earn while you learn? Students on a study permit can take part-time work under an individual employment contract, and our guide to jobs in Romania for students shows what that looks like in practice.
Curious how UBB’s business degrees stack up against the rest of Romania? Business is one of the most popular fields for international students, and the fee gap between programmes can be large, so it is worth reading a proper comparison before you commit to a specialisation.
Compare UBB’s business programmes with other Romanian options.
Babeș-Bolyai University Application Deadline
For the 2026/27 intake, non-EU candidates could register from 1 April to 31 July 2026, for both bachelor’s and master’s programmes. UBB has not published 2027/28 dates yet, so treat this window as the pattern and watch UBB’s official admission page.
Do not wait for July. Seats are allocated per country on a first-come, first-served basis, and a seat only reopens if another candidate is rejected, withdraws or fails to pay tuition. Applying early also gets you an earlier letter of acceptance from the Ministry of Education and a better chance at on-campus accommodation.
Babeș-Bolyai University Master’s Programmes
UBB offers a long list of master’s degrees for international students, and the English-taught ones are clustered below with their 2026/27 yearly fees. Most last four semesters. Your bachelor’s must be in a related field: a hard-science bachelor’s opens every specialisation, a humanities bachelor’s does not open engineering, chemistry, physics, mathematics, informatics, economic sciences or business, chemical engineering masters require a chemical engineering bachelor’s, and the law master’s requires a four-year law degree.
This is where your budget stretches the furthest. Management of Business Development, International Business Management, Accounting and Organizations, Business Modeling and Distributed Computing, and International and Comparative Business Law (which lasts just two semesters) all sit at €2,500 a year.
Public Administration, Conflict Analysis and Management, International Development, Media Communication, Public Relations and Advertising, Digital Media and Games Studies, and Research Design and Data Analysis in Social Sciences make up this popular bracket.
Solid State Physics, Computational Physics, High Energy Physics and Advanced Process Chemical Engineering cost €2,700. Advanced Chemistry, taught in Romanian and English, is also €2,700, while British Cultural Studies is the priciest of the group at €3,800.
Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations, International Relations, Foreign Policy and Crisis Management, Global Security and Human Rights Policies, Sustainable Development and Environment Management, and Product Design Engineering at the Reșița centre.
International Business Administration, and Business Administration in Hospitality and International Tourism.
Artificial Intelligence for Connected Industries, Applied Computational Intelligence, High Performance Computing and Big Data Analysis, and Advanced Mathematics. These are UBB’s most expensive English-taught master’s degrees.
Not sure that a master’s in these fields is the right path for you? If health sciences are on your mind, it helps to see how other Romanian universities compare before you shortlist.
Looking for pharmacy instead? See which Romanian universities offer it.
Babeș-Bolyai University Application Portal
The portal in one breath
Every non-EU candidate applies online through UBB’s admission platform at admission.cci.ubbcluj.ro, and it is strict about order. Take the eligibility test first (no account, no payment), then create one account only, because duplicates are deleted. Once you start the form you have 24 hours to finish, and the specialisation cannot be changed afterwards.
Only then pay the non-refundable €50 fee, sign the form and upload every document as one single PDF in the required order. UBB reviews your file, then the Ministry of Education, and the whole process takes about 40 working days. After your letter of acceptance you have 21 calendar days to pay tuition, then apply at the Romanian Embassy for your Romania study visa, checking the financial requirements first. Upload the visa to unlock on-campus accommodation requests, enrol at your faculty and apply for your residence permit.
Documents you will need
The signed application form, a passport copy valid for at least 8 months, your certified diploma and transcript with translations, an accepted English certificate, a motivation letter of one A4 page (200 to 300 words), your birth certificate, a medical certificate not older than 3 months and the receipt for the €50 fee. Provisional certificates are accepted only if you graduated in 2025 or 2026. For a master’s, the fee covers two checks of your file, and a third upload means a new fee. For more on the paperwork and process, see our guide to Romania student visa documents from Pakistan.
Aiming for Babeș-Bolyai? Let us check your file first.
Our Global Migration advisors can review your FSc marks, apostille and file order for Babeș-Bolyai before you pay the €50 fee, so one small mistake does not cost you a seat.
Talk to a Global Migration advisorBabeș-Bolyai University Scholarship
The main scholarship route on UBB’s international pages is the Romanian Government scholarship, offered each year through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to non-EU citizens. Applications go only through the Study in Romania platform (studyinromania.gov.ro), between December and March, with results by mid-July. You need an average of at least 7 on the Romanian scale, or the equivalent of “Good”.
Most Pakistani students who study in English at UBB therefore pay tuition themselves, which is why a low-fee programme and early registration matter so much.
Babeș-Bolyai University Acceptance Rate
Here is something most blogs will not admit: UBB does not publish an overall acceptance rate for international applicants, so any neat percentage you see online is a guess. What decides your fate is not luck but a four-gate gauntlet, and every gate narrows the field a little more.
The funnel is only an illustration of the process, not official statistics.
The files that reach the bottom are not the luckiest, they are the fastest and the cleanest. Apply early, choose a programme that matches your diploma and check every page before you upload.
Romania Study Visa Success Rate and Embassy Interview
A letter of acceptance is not the finish line. The Romanian Embassy assesses your visa separately from UBB and the Ministry of Education, and it applies its own standards to every file.
Rating based on the Romania study visa applications we handle. The embassy publishes no official visa figures.
How Global Migration Advisors prepares students
Because the visa outcome depends on the file and the interview, our support is built around the four areas the embassy examines most closely.
Typical interview questions cover why you chose Romania, why UBB and this specialisation, who funds your studies, where you will live in Cluj-Napoca and what you plan to do after graduation. Our team stays in contact with each student until the visa decision.
Check the funds and documents the embassy expects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the minimum marks for Pakistani students?
UBB’s table sets 60% as the minimum score for Pakistan, plus three relevant subjects each at 60% or above. Your diploma must be recognised by the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen and carry the Hague Apostille.
Which English tests does UBB accept?
UBB accepts English certificates at B2 level or higher, including IELTS, TOEFL iBT, TOEIC, Cambridge English, Trinity ISE and the Oxford Test of English. PTE Academic is not on UBB’s 2026 list, so confirm with UBB first. Certificates issued by your school or university are not accepted.
When should I apply?
The 2026/27 registration window ran from 1 April to 31 July 2026. Because seats are limited per country and given first-come, first-served, apply as early as the platform allows.
Can Pakistani students get a scholarship?
The Romanian Government scholarship is open to non-EU citizens through the Study in Romania platform, but it covers Romanian-language programmes at bachelor’s and master’s level. Read our scholarship guide for Pakistani students and check whether Pakistan is included in the current year’s offer.
What is the visa success rate for Romania study visas?
No official figures are published. Based on the Romania study visa applications we handle, we rate the overall success ratio for Pakistani applicants as below average, so Global Migration Advisors reviews every file against the embassy’s requirements before it is submitted.
Is the Romanian embassy interview difficult?
We rate it as demanding. Officers look for clear intent, programme fit, proof of funds and answers that match your documents. Global Migration Advisors prepares students with mock interviews and written feedback.
Final Thoughts
Here is the bottom line. Babeș-Bolyai University gives you a top-two Romanian QS ranking, English-taught degrees from €2,500 a year and a portal with clear rules, but only if you move fast and file a flawless application. Check the 60% rule, apostille your documents, pick a programme that matches your FSc and apply the moment the portal opens.
And before you pay a single euro, let professional study abroad consultants review your file. A second pair of eyes is cheaper than a rejected application.
Want us to check your file first?
Our Lahore team helps students study in Romania from Pakistan: programme shortlists, document checks and visa guidance. Send your FSc marks and budget, and we will tell you honestly if Babeș-Bolyai fits.
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