🇦🇿 How to apply to university in Azerbaijan

Applications go through State Examination Center (DİM). Programmes usually start: September.

Checked on 20 October 2026 against the official sources listed below.

The essentials

Application system: State Examination Center (DİM)Citizens and school-leavers in Azerbaijan sit DİM's two-stage admission exam and choose specialties in its centralised competition.
When programmes start: September
International applicants: Foreign citizens apply directly to universities through the Ministry of Science and Education's portal.edu.az and pay tuition; state-funded study for foreigners is limited to exchange programmes and agreements.
Language: A certificate in the language of instruction, or the university's own proficiency test; a preparatory language year is common.

Key dates

DİM has not yet published the exam and specialty-choice dates for 2027 entry. Foreign applicants apply through the Ministry of Science and Education's portal.edu.az; universities describe an application window each summer for a September start — check the dates on the portal and with the university.

The dates for the next intake haven't been published yet. We add them once the official source does.

Your checklist

The usual steps for an international student applying to a bachelor's in Azerbaijan, in order. Tick them off as you go — your ticks stay in this browser, with no account.

1.Decide whether you apply as a foreign citizen (through portal.edu.az) or through DİM's national exam (citizens, and others who sit it).
2.Choose a university and specialty, and check its language of instruction — Azerbaijani, Russian or, where the specialty name says so, English.
3.Get your school-leaving certificate and transcript apostilled or legalised, with a notarised Azerbaijani translation.
4.Prepare a passport copy valid for at least a year, photos and the medical certificate universities ask for.
5.Apply on portal.edu.az within the window the university gives, uploading your documents.
6.If you have no language certificate, expect a proficiency test; you may be placed on a preparatory year first.
7.Pay the tuition fee the university sets (approved by the Ministry at public universities) once you have an offer.
8.Apply for your visa and, after arrival, a temporary residence permit for study.

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Next steps

Sources

Written by CollegeMatcher in our own words from these official pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Dates change every year.

Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts — admission of international students