Study in Iraq

Who this applies to

Students at Iraqi (federal) universities. Arabic medium (+ English, esp. medicine). Kurdistan Region (KRG) universities run under a separate KRG Ministry of Higher Education, often English-medium.

Governing authority

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR); KRG MOHE for the Kurdistan Region.

Degree system

Bachelor 4 yrs (medicine longer) · Master · PhD. Public universities organized into 'colleges'.

Admission

How

Central admission based on the national secondary-school examination (Baccalaureate) score; international students apply directly.

Language

Arabic (English in medicine & Kurdistan-region universities).

Tuition

Public

Largely free/subsidized for nationals at public universities.

Private

Fee-paying private universities.

Note

Decades of war/sanctions/insurgency disrupted the system; Mosul occupied by ISIS 2014–2017. Kurdistan Region maintains its own English-medium universities (Salahaddin-Erbil, UKH, AUIS).

Student visa & residence permit

Student visa/residence for non-nationals.

Scholarships

Government & institutional.

Sources & references

• system counts — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_in_Iraq (2026-06-12)
• MOHESR — https://mohesr.gov.iq/en/ (2026-06-12)