The Bulgarian University Ranking System (BURS) has been recognized as one of the most advanced internationally. As a project, it began before 2010 to provide information to prospective students about the universities. Thanks to the ranking system, we restructured admissions to higher education institutions, and as a result, the higher education is the only public system in Bulgaria with financing linked to the quality of education. This was stated by the Minister of Education and Science, Krasimir Valchev, at the presentation of the new edition of the BURS for 2025.
The minister also spoke about positive news related to the realization of admissions to higher education and the labor market.
The fifteenth edition of the ranking system compares the performance of 51 accredited universities in Bulgaria across 52 professional fields. It uses 52 indicators—from the quality of education and scientific activity to graduate outcomes, their incomes after graduation, and student feedback. This year, for the first time, an indicator measuring students’ assessment of attendance at lectures and seminars has been included.
Obtaining a higher level of higher education leads to improved chances of successful entry into the labor market, according to the new BURS edition. According to the 2025 edition of the national ranking system, 85% of employed graduates who completed master’s programs after secondary education, and 70% of those who completed master’s programs after obtaining a higher education degree, work in positions requiring higher education degree, while only 51% of those who completed bachelor’s programs work in similar positions. “Overall, graduates of master’s programs stand out with higher incomes, a higher share of insured persons, and lower unemployment compared to bachelor’s graduates”, said Georgi Stoytchev, executive director of the Open Society Institute – Sofia. He presented the main findings of the 2025 edition at a press conference organised by the Ministry of Education and Science in Sofia on 21 November 2025.
More about the results in the 2025 BURS edition can be found here.
The Bulgarian University Ranking System for 2025 has been updated by the OSI-S consortium, composed of the Open Society Institute – Sofia and Sirma Group under a contract with the Ministry of Education and Sience.
