Education System

What you need to know about higher education in Argentina  

The higher education system in Argentina is very large and super diverse. It includes 111 universities and 19 university institutes with the attendance of a staggering 2 million students. About 500,000 of them study in 42 universities in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires: definitely our city is a university hub.

There are public universities (mostly financed by the National State) and private universities. In general, they differ in the number of students enrolled, their size, as well as the cost of the programs they offer. Naturally, all of them have the pertinent accreditation of the Argentine National Commission for University Assessment and Accreditation (Comisión Nacional de Evaluación y Acreditación Universitaria). What is it? It’s the official agency that ensures the quality of each program and university.   

Undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate careers

When you finish the secondary school (i.e. “high school”, “preparatoria” or “lycée”), you are entitled to start your university career. The programs at the undergraduate level take up to two years; the graduate level takes at least four years and it confers a bachelor’s degree. Once you get your graduate degree, you can start a postgraduate career. To do so, you choose between a specialization (which usually takes a year), a master’s degree (which takes one or two years) or a doctorate (PhD) (up to 6 years).  

 

Short programs and exchange programs

The institutions offer other kind of programs in each of these levels. As an international student, you are entitled to apply to exchange programs through agreement between universities, free mobility programs or customized executive programs, both during the academic calendar and during the recess.

Before applying to any university program at an Argentine institution, please remember that the first quarter (we usually refer to the academic semester as “cuatrimestre”) begins in March and goes through the end of June or early July. The second quarter starts in August and ends during the first days of December.

Look out! Not all the university programs in Argentina use the academic credit transfer system as it is known in different parts of the world. Here, rather than adding a specific number of credits to approve the whole career, you have to approve a series of individual subjects. It is important to understand this, because there may be differences in the applications for short programs or exchange programs. Just in case, check with your university before applying!

 

Academic offerings

If you come to Argentina to study or if you are interested in a research level in Buenos Aires, our universities offer more than 8,000 programs in all areas of knowledge: Applied Sciences, Basic Sciences, Health Sciences, Human Sciences, and Social Sciences. There are no excuses and we are confident: you will find your ideal program in our city. Look for yours here.