According to the National Bureau of Statistics, there are 452 foreign students enrolled in the country’s doctoral programs in 2025, which is 2.5% more than the year before. Of this number, 424, or 93.8%, are Romanian citizens. Thus, Romania remains the main source of foreign doctoral students in Moldovan universities.
Overall, about 1.5 thousand people will study in doctoral programs in Moldova in 2025, an increase of 4.8% compared to 2024. The majority of students (68.8%) choose the part-time form of study. Six out of ten doctoral students are women. The main part of students is still financed from the state budget, but their number decreased by 2.2%.
In 2025, 389 people were enrolled in doctoral studies in the country, which is 21.9% more than a year earlier. At the same time, the sharpest growth was recorded among those enrolled on a contract basis – their number increased by 77.7%. In contrast, the number of those studying at the expense of the state budget decreased by 1.3%.
Doctoral programs operate in 12 higher education institutions, on the basis of which 21 doctoral schools have been opened. Nine of these institutions belong to the public sector.
There were no significant changes in the segment of postdoctoral programs: in 2025, 27 people were trained – the same number as a year earlier. However, the number of both enrollees (14 people) and graduates (15 people) decreased.
