Lithuania 5.3

Higher education in Lithuania is regulated by the Law on Higher Education and Research (2009) (last edition in 2025). According to the Law, there are two types of higher education institutions in Lithuania: universities (Lith. universitetas) and colleges (Lith. kolegija). The university is an institution that carries out university studies, conducts research, experimental (social, cultural) development and/or develops high-level professional art. The name of a higher education institution of this type must contain the word ‘’university’’ ‘’academy’’, or ‘’seminary’’. The college carries out college studies, develops applied research and/or professional art. The name of a higher education institution that carries out such activities must contain the word ‘’college’’ or ‘’higher education institution’’. Universities and colleges have autonomy, which covers academic, administrative, economic and financial management activities, and is based on the principle of self-governance and academic freedom.

The degree structure of higher education in Lithuania follows a three-cycle structure: the first cycle – professional bachelor’s, bachelor’s degree studies; the second cycle – master’s degree studies; the third cycle – doctoral studies. Professional bachelor’s study programmes of the first cycle may be carried out by colleges, and bachelor’s study programmes of the first cycle by universities. Study programmes awarding a degree of the second cycle may be carried out by universities. Doctoral studies may be carried out by universities or universities together with research institutes. The first cycle of studies (bachelor’s) usually lasts 4 academic years, the second cycle (master’s) 2 years and the third cycle (doctoral) 4 years.

Higher education institutions are financed in Lithuania from the state budget, funds of state investment programmes, income received as payment for studies, as well as income received from economic, research activities and rendered services, funds appropriated by international and foreign foundations and organizations, funds received as charity under the Law on Charity and Sponsorship and other funds received in legal ways.

Studies at universities and colleges are partly funded by the state. The Government establishes the distribution of funds for study areas according to the needs of the national economic, social and cultural development and financial possibilities of the State. State-funded student places are allocated to higher education institutions in accordance with the choice among higher education institutions made by enrolling persons who have completed the secondary education programme with the best results (student’s voucher principle), without exceeding state funding established for each study area. Persons who do not get a state-funded student place have to pay a tuition fee. This fee may be reimbursed if a student has finished with the best results in the first two academic years and the remaining academic years.

In 2025, there were 17 universities and 13 colleges in Lithuania. Universities conducted 93 study programmes in arts (51 bachelor’s and 42 master’s degrees) registered in the open vocational information system AIKOS, and colleges conducted 24.

Table 28: Study programmes in the arts at universities in 2025

Source: AIKOS

Several universities and colleges also conduct programmes in the field of communication closely related to arts and culture, e. g. Media and Communication, Creative communication, Creative Industries, Creative and Culture Industries, Fashion Industry, Political Communication and Journalism, Entertainment and Tourism Industries, Entertainment industries, Integrated Creative Communication, Communication of Creative Society, and Communication and Creative Technologies.

There are also programmes in management and public administration, related to arts and culture, e.g. Art Management, Cultural and Creative Industries Management, Sports and Tourism Management, Culture and Tourism Management, and Culture Management and Culture Policy.

The main high schools of arts education in Lithuania are the Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA) and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (LMTA). VDA has four faculties that are located in different cities of Lithuania – Vilnius, Kaunas, Telšiai and Klaipėda. Each faculty has its own undergraduate and graduate study programmes. According to the data of VDA, in 2025, more than 1760 students were studying at the Academy in 35 study programmes. The Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre has three faculties; two of them (the Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Theatre and Film) are located in Vilnius, and one in Klaipėda. According to the data of LMTA, its three faculties currently host about 1 000 students in three study cycles – bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral.

The Bologna Declaration, which Lithuania signed in 1999, became an important document for Lithuanian higher education. Until 2025, Lithuania implemented or created conditions for the implementation many measures of the Bologna Declaration. In 2000, Lithuania rebuilt its system of education into Bologna’s structure (universities + colleges). In the same year, the Minister of Education and Science approved the rules for the evaluation of higher education and research institutions. The SKVC (Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education) acts as the national external QA agency; it’s an ENQA member and EQAR-listed, and runs institutional and programme/field accreditation. In 2002, the first evaluation of study programmes by international experts was carried out. In 2005, the Law on Higher Education and Research (2009) was amended to provide for joint study programmes. According to it, higher education institutions may implement joint study programmes on completion of which a joint qualification degree is awarded, as well as programmes on completion of which a double qualification degree is awarded. A joint qualification degree is awarded when a study programme is implemented by at least two higher education institutions, usually from different countries. In 2011, ECTS credits were approved as the Lithuanian national learning credits system. 60 ECTS = one study year and 1 ECTS ≈ 25–30 hours of student work. Lithuania also Standardised programme volumes. Typical loads now align with Bologna norms (e.g., first cycle 180/210/240 ECTS; second cycle 90–120 ECTS; integrated 300–360). In the same year, Lithuania introduced learning outcomes descriptors, and in 2012-2015, study-field descriptors (updated 2019–2022). Despite the implementation of these main Bologna Declaration obligations, the are several commitments that remain unfulfilled: Lithuania still does not have automatic degree recognition across the whole EHEA, only within the Benelux–Baltic treaty (entered into force 1 May 2024). Outside those six countries, recognition is still case-by-case via SKVC or the HEIs. Also, Lithuania has not reached the Bologna target of the outward mobility rate (20%). Lithuania’s last officially published rate is 16.8% (data form 2020/21).