Bologna Process


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, Berlin, Bergen, London, Leuven, Budapest-Vienna, Bucharest, Yerevan, Paris, and Rome.
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 in 1988. One year before the declaration, education ministers Claude Allègre, Jürgen Rüttgers, Luigi Berlinguer and Baroness Blackstone 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.

Signatories

Signatories of the Bologna Accord, members of the European Higher Education Area, are:
All member states of the EU are participating in the process, with the European Commission also a signatory. Monaco and San Marino are the only members of the Council of Europe which did not adopt the process.
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.

Rejected countries

Four countries, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, and the unrecognized Northern Cyprus and Kosovo, have applied to join but did not meet the membership criteria.
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. 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.

Qualifications framework

The basic framework is three cycles of higher-education qualifications. The framework adopted by the ministers at their meeting in Bergen in 2005 defines the qualifications in terms of learning outcomes, which are statements of what students know and can do on completing their degrees. In describing the cycles, the framework uses the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System :
  • First cycle: typically 180–240 ECTS credits, usually awarding a bachelor's degree. The European Higher Education Area did not introduce a bachelor-with-honours programme, which allows graduates to receive a "BA hons." degree and sometimes enables graduates to begin doctoral studies without first obtaining a master's degree.
  • Second cycle: typically 60–120 ECTS credits, usually awarding a master's degree.
  • Third cycle : There is no concrete ECTS range, since the disciplines vary in length and comprehensiveness. However, some countries have minimum credit weight requirements on doctoral degrees. Those country-level requirements typically require 120–420 ECTS of study.
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.

Effects by state

The process, an intergovernmental agreement between EU and non-EU countries, does not have the status of EU legislation. Since the Bologna Declaration is not a treaty or convention, there are no legal obligations for the signatory states; participation and cooperation are voluntary.
Although the declaration was created without a formal affiliation with EU institutions, the European Commission 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.
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 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.

Andorra

In Andorra, degrees are awarded by the state in all three cycles. The University of Andorra has adapted its classroom studies to the European Higher Education Area in accordance with the Bologna Agreement. The degree workload is counted in European credits, with a European equivalent of 180 credits for bachelor's degrees and 120 credits for master's degrees.

Austria

's situation is similar to Germany's, with the lowest undergraduate degrees the Magister and Diplom . The lowest graduate degrees are Magister and Diplom, which typically fulfill a thesis requirement and can be obtained after four to six years of study. In 2000 many curricula began to be converted into bachelor's degrees and master's programmes, with nominal durations of six semesters and three to four semesters respectively.
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.

Armenia

ratified the Bologna Process in 2005 and is a member of the European Higher Education Area.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is a full member of the Bologna Process since 2005.

Belarus

Belarus became a member of the European Higher Education Area at a conference in Yerevan, Armenia, in May 2015.
After it's participation in Russian Invasion of Ukraine, BFUG members decided to suspend the rights Belarus representation in the EHEA on 11 April 2022.

Bulgaria

Bulgaria joined the Bologna Process in 2001, committing to reforms in higher education in line with European standards. In 2004, the Law on Higher Education introduced the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, which ensures the comparability of study programs and facilitates diploma recognition and academic mobility. One credit corresponds to 25–30 hours of student work, and one academic year equals 60 credits. The reform established a three-cycle system of study—bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees—along with a diploma supplement and a national qualifications framework. These changes integrated Bulgarian universities into the European Higher Education Area, enhancing the quality and competitiveness of higher education in the country.
https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/bg/eurypedia/bulgaria/bulgaria-bgvisshe-obrazovanie

Croatia

In Croatia, implementation of the Bologna Process began during the 2005–2006 academic year.
Diploma degree became baccalaureate, and the programmes were shortened from four to about three years. Magisterij is achieved after two additional years of post-graduate study. The doktorat degree may be received after three more years.
The typical length of study is three years for a bachelor's degree, two years for a master's degree and three years for a doctor of science. 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 degrees.
The old degrees are translated as follows:
  • Diploma holders hold master's degrees.
  • The old master's degree is grandfathered into magistar znanosti, an intermediate title between the new master's degree and a doctorate for local use.
  • Doctoral degrees remain the same.
In May 2008, about 5,000 students protested weak funding, imprecisely defined new rules and the poor results of the Bologna reform.