Education in Cyprus

Cyprus spends 7% of its GDP on education, making it the third largest state investment in education in the EU after Denmark and Sweden.

Primary and secondary education

Education in Cyprus is compulsory from 3 to 18 years old and divided into the following levels:

• pre-primary education from 3 to 6 years old (compulsory from 4 8/12 to 5 8/12)
• primary education from 5 8/12 to 12 years old
• secondary education, divided into two levels:
  • gymnasium from 12 to 15 years old
  • lyceum or technical school from 15 to 18 years old

There are private British and American schools in Cyprus. Schools offering the British National Curriculum (IGCSE and A-Levels) give pupils the opportunity to enter universities in the UK and worldwide.

Most private schools accept children from three years onwards and even earlier in certain cases. There is a lot of competition to enter these private schools and places are usually allocated several years before the child is of age.

Private British schools in Cyprus include The English School, The Heritage Private School, International School of Paphos, Falcon School Cyprus, Foley’s School.

American schools include the American Academy Nicosia, American Academy of Larnaca.

Universities

Universities in Cyprus have about 25,000 students and one third of them come from abroad. There are eight universities on the island: three are public and five are private.

Public universities:

• University of Cyprus
• Open University of Cyprus
• Cyprus University of Technology

Private universities:

• Frederick University, Cyprus
• European University of Cyprus
• University of Nicosia
• Neapolis University Pafos
• University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus

Cyprus has over forty private and several public higher education institutions which are not considered universities. They specialise in Liberal Arts, International Relations, Tourism, Hotel Business, Economics, Law, etc.

In public universities, lessons are in Greek and Turkish (some courses are taught in English). Private institutions only use English.

There are entrance exams for public universities and interviews for private institutions. Applicants must pass an English Language Proficiency Test (i.e., IELTS/TOEFL).

Average tuition fees for public universities are €5,000–7,000 per year and €5,000–15,000 for private faculties, depending on the subject and the level.

Documents required

• secondary education certificate translated into English or Greek and notarised
• application form (via university website)
• passport copy
• secondary education certificate copy
• academic transcripts
• photo
• IELTS (over 6.5) or TOEFL certificate copy (over 550) for courses in English
• application fees for some universities (about €50)

The cost of living for students in Cyprus is about €5,000–9,000 per year, including accommodation (€250–500 per month), meals, commuting and other standard expenses.

Non-EU countries do not have the right to work during the first 6 months after entering the country. Once this period has elapsed, they are authorised to work 20 hours per week during the academic semester and 38 hours during holiday periods. Employment opportunities for non-EU students are rare and generally limited to the minimum wage.