1939194819601970
NumberPercent
of Total		NumberPercent
of Total		NumberPercent
of Total		NumberPercent
of Total
Engineeringn.a... 182 5.41,48025.5 5,04240.6
Agriculture127... 768 22.91,08818.8 1,41511.4
Medicine139... 729 21.8 91115.7 1,174 9.5
Economics230... 716 21.3 88915.4 1,89515.2
Arts 55... 86 2.6 268 4.6 319 2.6
Education365... 388 11.6 82714.3 2,16317.4
Physical educationn.a.... 40 1.2 169 2.9 259 2.1
Law307... 441 13.2 157 2.7 142 1.1
TOTAL 3,350100.05,789 99.9*12,409 99.9*
n.a.—not available.
... not applicable.
* Columns do not add to 100 because of rounding.
Source: Adapted from Statistical Yearbook, 1971, Sofia, 1971, p. 247.

The essential task of higher education was enunciated by Premier Vulko Chervenkov in 1954: "Higher schools must train not only qualified specialists but also able, and conscious participants in the political direction and building of socialism in our country." In 1949 correspondence courses were initiated for manual workers and civil servants. Courses generally ranged from five to six years. Certain workers were allowed to attend shorter courses given by the various institutions while they continued to work. Although they were required to pass examinations, they did not have to attend classes regularly.

Between 1948 and 1952 the curriculum became more and more patterned after the curriculum of the Soviet Union. In 1948 Marxist-Leninist studies were introduced; in 1949 political economy and the history of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became obligatory for all university students. By 1950 the party newspaper, Rabotnichesko Delo, reported that 150 Soviet texts were being utilized in institutions of higher education. By 1952 students were obliged to study both dialectical and historical materialism, the rudiments of Marxism-Leninism, and the history of the BKP. Study of these subjects was generally mandatory for three years.

In mid 1973 there were two major forms of higher educational institutions: teacher training institutions and university level institutions. In the latter category are universities, technical institutes, agricultural institutes, medical schools, art academies, and higher schools of economics. In 1972 there were twenty-two university level institutions, sixteen of which were in Sofia. The remainder were located in the provincial cities of Plovdiv, Varna, Svishtov, and Ruse. The courses of study range from four to six years; five years is the average period. In 1970 in proportion to the total population of the country, Bulgaria was fourth in the world in terms of the number of students—which constituted about 1 percent of the total population—attending institutions of higher education, following the United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan.

Higher education in Bulgaria is conceived primarily in terms of the national economy. The entire educational process at the higher level is determined by the needs and prerequisites of the economy. The government has stated: "The main tasks of the institutions of higher education are: to train qualified specialists, imbued with Communist ideals, for all fields of activity, who will be conversant with the latest developments in science and technology, to train teachers and research specialists for the institutions of higher education and scientific organizations, to take systematic measures to improve the qualifications of specialists in various branches of the national economy; [and] to propagate scientific, technical and political knowledge among the workers."

Students at the undergraduate level—with the exception of students of worker and peasant origin—are expected to pass a written examination in order to gain admission. Fifty percent of the total number of admissions are reserved for people who have been employed for a two-year period. Most graduates are obliged to work for three years after graduation in a position assigned to them by the government. Unlike the prewar faculties, technical and scientific faculties have had the highest enrollments. Although education continues to draw large enrollments, in 1971 engineering had the largest number of students, followed by education, economics, agriculture, and medicine. Law and physical education had the lowest number of students at that time. As the State Committee for Science, Technical Progress, and Higher Education determines the specialization to be pursued, this list reflects more the preferences of the government than those of the students.

Because the government determines the fields of specialization to be pursued by students of higher education, over a ten-year period—from 1960 to 1970—the pendulum has swung away from the arts and toward the pure sciences. The fields most preferred by the students themselves, however, and those that earn the highest wages, are still medicine, architecture, journalism, and foreign languages.

The State Committee for Education and Technical Progress stipulates the number of admissions as well as the courses to be followed in graduate work. All applicants for graduate study must have a minimum of one year of working experience in their fields of specialization. In addition to completion of four or five years of higher education, the applicant must pass examinations in his field of specialization, in Russian, and in one Western European language. The curriculum is determined by the various research institutes of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, or other institutions of higher education. The term of graduate study is approximately four to 4-1/2 years.

Beyond the usual graduate study is the doctoral program. To obtain the doctor of science degree, the student must prepare a dissertation that according to governmental criteria, contains "a significant scientific contribution, new educational methods and proposals, theoretical conclusions and discoveries of great significance for the advancement of science, technology, and the national economy." A candidate for this degree must either hold a candidate degree, be thoroughly accredited in his profession, or have proof of significant contributions to the economy.

In terms of the exchange of foreign students, there are only a relatively small number of foreign students in Bulgaria, and only a tiny percentage of the Bulgarian student population studies abroad. Although theoretically opportunities exist for Bulgarian students to study in other countries, in fact, opportunities are very limited. There are strict regulations regarding foreign study. In 1971 the Ministry of National Education stated that only students of parents permanently employed abroad could study there; no students with independent sources of income were allowed to study in foreign universities. In 1971 between 1.5 and 1.8 percent of the Bulgarian student population were foreign students. In the academic year 1970/71 only 1,603 students studied abroad. Of these, 1047 studied in the Soviet Union; 226 studied in East Germany; 154 studied in Czechoslovakia; and twelve students pursued their studies in other countries.