University preparation in Kazakhstan for international students

Higher education in Kazakhstan is the next step after secondary general or vocational education. The foreign students can enter a university after passing school exams or entrance exams in the format of a Unified national testing.

Education at the university lasts 4 (bachelor's degree) or 6 (master's degree) years, can be free (on a competitive basis) or paid, and the second higher education can be obtained accelerated, within 2-3 years (however, only on a fee basis).

To acquire a postgraduate degree, the students must complete a master's degree. They study for 3 years in postgraduate and doctoral studies. Also in adjunct studies, which are common in legal and military specialties, the students study from one year to one and a half years. Medical education includes residency: since 2019, this level of education is also mandatory and available to graduates of the Master's degree.

Admission to Kazakhstan universities is based on the Unified National Testing (UNT) results. Comprehensive Testing (CT) is an alternative for graduates of previous years and expat students. Tests are conducted three times a year (January, March and August) to reduce stress for applicants.

In 2011, as part of the unification in accordance with the Bologna Declaration, a credit model based on ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) was introduced in Kazakhstan; soon it was extended to all the best universities in Kazakhstan, in order to increase student mobility and quality of education.

One Kazakh academic credit is approximately equivalent to 1 ECTS, or 25-30 academic hours, however, there are separate credit conversion coefficients for the level of study, its varieties and directions.

Foreign student admission can be commercial, based on interviews, or through state educational orders, scholarship programs, and international agreements. Enrolment usually occurs five days before the academic semester begins.

The universities in Kazakhstan offer international courses for successful enrolment in TOP educational institutions. For instance, the Foundation Program lasts one academic year. It is aimed at the foreign students, school graduates with a secondary education certificate. The students can complete the program either at the university where the student plans to enrol, or at another international college. Completion of the Foundation program can be safely called a guarantee for admission to the preferred university.

In addition to Foundation program, International Baccalaureate (IB), as well as A-Level courses are offered to the foreign students.

International Baccalaureate prepares students for admission to a certain specialty. According to this program, 3 subjects are intensively studied, and 3 more are at the standard level. A-Level is already a more in–depth studying and academic preparation. As part of this program, students need to study 4 required subjects. If you pass them for the highest score, then roads open up to the most prestigious universities, for example, Oxford and Cambridge.