Study in Europe

Planning to study in Europe, apply for a visa from the consulate or embassy of the country you are visiting. If your visa is from a “Schengen area” country, it automatically allows you to travel to the other Schengen countries as well. If you have a valid residence permit from one of those Schengen countries, it is equivalent to a visa.

 

  • The Schengen area as a single country. Of the 26 countries bound by the Schengen agreement, 22 are part of the EU and the other 4 are part of the EFTA.

    Schengen area covers the majority of European countries, except for the United Kingdom and countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and Ireland soon to be part of the agreement. However, there are countries that are not part of the EU like Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein yet do belong in the Schengen area and cherish the free movement policy.
    The primarily physiographic term “continent” as applied to Europe also incorporates cultural and political elements whose discontinuities are not always reflected by the continent’s current overland boundaries.Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi), or 2% of the Earth’s surface (6.8% of land area). Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 740 million (about 11% of world population) as of 2015.

List of countries in Europe

Europe is a unique continent, which is not surrounded by water from all directions, and has an overland border with the neighbouring Asia. Physiographically, it occupies the northwestern part of the large landmass known as Eurasia and surrounded from the north by the Arctic Ocean, from the west by the Atlantic Ocean, from the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and from the southeast by the Black Sea.
Definition of correct border between two continents was a big question for geographers and politicians. Nowadays it is commonly delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains.

Totally now Europe includes 51 independent states. Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are the transcontinental countries, partially located in both Europe and Asia. Armenia and Cyprus politically are considered European countries, though geographically they are located in the West Asia territory.

Europe’s largest country is Russia (37% of total continent area) and the smallest one is Vatican City, which occupies only a small area in the center of Rome.

The most visited travel destination in this region is France with its capital Paris as the best place of interest, followed by Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany.

Who needs a Schengen visa?
The citizens of the non-Schengen member countries are requested a mandatory Schengen Visa in order to enter the Schengen Zone. There are exceptions to this rule, however: for some countries that are not part of the Schengen Agreement yet aren’t required a visa to enter the Schengen zone.

Why Study in Europe?
Universities in Europe have long been known for their high academic standards, their cutting-edge research and their value for money. Thirty-one of the world’s top 100 universities, as listed by The Times in its 2012 World University Rankings, are located in Europe, making it the second biggest bloc of universities after the USA.

In all, there are over 4000 Higher Education Institutions in Europe offering a wide range of courses at Bachelor, Master’s and Doctorate level. With more and more of these institutions introducing English as the language of instruction for at least some of their degree programs, universities in Europe are now better placed than ever before to offer a warm welcome to international students and to deliver a course of study that meets their career needs in today’s global market. This is particularly noticeable at graduate level: the number of English-taught Masters in mainland Europe has increased massively from just over 1000 in 2007 to over 5000 today. Degree courses taught in English are available in a huge array of disciplines from Business and Economics (currently the most popular, representing about 28% of English-taught Masters in Europe) to Engineering, Life Sciences (including medicine), Social Sciences and Humanities subjects.
The Bologna Declaration of 1999 has led to higher education systems throughout Europe becoming aligned to a 3-cycle system of Higher Education as follows:

  • Bachelor Degree (3-4 years)
  • Masters Degree (1-2 years)
  • Doctorate Degree (3 years)