Tuition Fees in Bosnia and Herzegovina 2026: All Universities Compared

Tuition fees in Bosnia and Herzegovina: the direct answer

Tuition fees in Bosnia and Herzegovina range from roughly €1,500 to €13,750 per year for international students in 2026/27. Where you land in that range depends on three things: public or private university, English or local language, and whether you study a health programme.

• Cheapest English-taught programme: Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Sarajevo, 3,000 KM or about €1,534 per year.
• Cheapest English-taught medicine: the University of East Sarajevo in Foča, €3,500 per year.
• Most expensive programme: Medicine at the International University of Sarajevo, €13,750 per year.
• Typical private English bachelor: €5,100 to €8,000 per year in Sarajevo.

Add living costs of €400 to €750 a month depending on the city, and you have the real price of a year abroad. We cover that further down with three worked budgets.

All 21 universities compared: tuition per year

The table lists every state-accredited university in the country, sorted by the lowest published fee for international students in 2026/27. Fees in convertible marks (KM) are converted at the fixed rate of 1 € = 1.95583 KM.

"On request" means the university sets a separate fee per programme for international students each year. We get the current figure in writing before you apply. You can filter all of them by city, language and field in the university finder.

English-taught programmes by price band

English-taught degrees in Bosnia fall into four clear price bands. Open a band to see which programmes sit in it.

Medicine, dentistry and pharmacy fees

Medicine is where the price gap in Bosnia is widest: the same six-year degree costs €21,000 in Foča and more than €79,000 at a private Sarajevo university. All programmes below are taught in English. For a broader comparison with other countries, see our sister company's guide to studying medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

IUS Medicine: if you need the English preparatory year at IUS, add €5,000.

What we see in practice: families often assume the most expensive programme must be the best one. The public faculties in Foča, Banja Luka and Sarajevo teach in small English groups next to large teaching hospitals, and their graduates sit the same licensing exams abroad as everyone else. The higher private fees buy you things like a campus in the capital, included textbooks at SSST, or the capital-city setting of IUS. Decide whether those extras are worth €40,000 to €60,000 to you.

Local-language programmes: why they cost less

Programmes taught in Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian are the cheapest way to study in Bosnia, because they run on the same structure and staff as the places for local students. Universities add a surcharge for foreign citizens, but there is no separate English-language programme to finance.

Most public universities quote these fees on request. For planning, public local-language bachelor programmes for international students usually cost around €1,000 to €2,500 per year. A good reference point is Medicine in Bosnian at the University of Tuzla: the last published fee for self-financed international students was 2,980 KM, about €1,525 per year. The University of Zenica also teaches medicine in Bosnian, with its own fee for international students.

The catch is language. You need a solid level of Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian from the first lecture. Students from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia often choose this route, as do students with family roots in the region. For everyone else, a year of language preparation usually costs more in time than it saves in fees.

What tuition covers and what it does not

Tuition in Bosnia pays for teaching and exams in the regular exam periods. Almost everything else is billed separately, so budget a few hundred euros extra in the first months.

The full list of visa and permit costs is in our student visa guide for Bosnia.

Payment practice and currency

Tuition in Bosnia is charged per academic year and usually paid in two instalments, one per semester. Some universities quote in euros, others in convertible marks.

• Two instalments: the University of Sarajevo splits its 12,000 KM medicine fee into two payments of 6,000 KM (about €3,068). Banja Luka and East Sarajevo also charge per semester; in Foča that is €1,750 per semester for medicine.
• Euro or KM: IUS bills international students in euros and students from Bosnia and neighbouring Balkan countries in KM. Public universities mostly set fees in KM.
• Stable exchange rate: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro at 1.95583 KM, so a KM fee does not move with the market.
• Refunds: at several universities tuition is non-refundable once paid and the contract is signed. The University of Mostar states this explicitly.
• Instalments beyond two: some private universities, University Vitez among them, allow smaller instalment plans. Ask before you sign, not after.

Scholarships and discounts

Scholarships for international students in Bosnia come mainly from the universities themselves, as merit-based reductions of tuition.

• Private universities: International Burch University gives partial and full tuition exemptions to high-achieving students; the average award covers 50% of the fee. SSST and IUS also offer partial and full scholarships for excellent results.
• Regional rates: at IUS, students from Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia pay the same fee as citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Bilateral agreements: some nationalities study at public universities on special terms under agreements between governments. The University of Tuzla, for example, applies such terms. We check this for your passport.
• Entity and cantonal ministries: the education ministries of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the cantons fund student grants, mostly for citizens and residents.

Scholarships at private universities are usually reviewed every year against your grades, so plan your budget on the full fee and treat any reduction as a bonus.

Cost of studying in Bosnia: three yearly budgets

The cost of studying in Bosnia is tuition plus living costs. These three profiles show what a first year really costs, based on 12 months of living costs and the 2026/27 fees.

For a line-by-line breakdown of rent, food and transport in the capital, read our guide to the cost of living in Sarajevo. The full picture of how to study in Bosnia, from choosing a city to arriving, is in the Study in Bosnia guide.

One more point that saves money: only the 21 state-accredited universities above issue degrees that are recognised. Some institutions in the country advertise low fees without that status, and a cheap degree that nobody recognises is the most expensive mistake you can make. Our article on non-accredited universities in Bosnia explains how to spot them.

FAQ: tuition fees in Bosnia and Herzegovina