Context: The application period for state-funded university programs in Belarus ended on July 27, 2026, and enrollment is now closed. The most competitive programs this year were “Graphic and Multimedia Design,” “Applied Physics,” and “Legal Studies.” These programs had more than five applicants per place. One of the surprises of the admissions season was the medical school cutoff scores, which turned out to be significantly lower than last year’s. Officials attributed this change to the increase in state-funded spots. Medical universities did not admit full-time fee-paying students at all this year.
On July 21, 2026, political analyst Andrei Lazutkin stated on the CTV program Azaryonok. Napryamuyu that the Belarusian authorities are deliberately refraining from raising tuition fees at universities.
“Tuition fees for paid programs in Belarus have not increased in many years. That’s government policy,” Lazutkin said.
But data from universities show the opposite. For instance, tuition for the “General Medicine” program at the Belarusian State Medical University has increased almost every year since 2020. It was 3,400 Belarusian rubles in the 2020/21 academic year, 3,766 rubles in 2021/22, 4,142 rubles in 2022/23, 4,430 rubles in 2023/24, 4,740 rubles in 2024/25 and 2025/26. The fee reached 5,000 rubles in 2026/27. Thus, since 2020, tuition in Belarusian rubles has increased by nearly 50%.
It also increased by about a third in dollar terms. The only exception was during the 2023/24 academic year, when the cost in dollar terms decreased due to a change in the U.S. currency exchange rate. Then, the fee started growing again, increasing by about $100 each year.
A similar trend is evident at the Belarusian State Economic University. Tuition for first-year students was 2,632.2 rubles in the 2020/21 academic year and 3,896.4 rubles in the 2026/27 academic year. That’s an increase of about 48%.
The situation is similar for the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics. Tuition was 3,550 rubles in the 2020/21 academic year and rose to 5,250 rubles by the 2026/27 academic year. In other words, the fee increased by almost half. The increase is also significant in dollar terms: from $1,337 in the 2020/21 academic year to $1,816 in the 2026/27 academic year — a 36% increase. The only year without an increase was 2025/26, when the price stayed the same as the previous year: 4,910 rubles.
At the three universities listed above, the 2025/26 academic year was the only one in which tuition fees did not increase: they remained unchanged in Belarusian rubles at the 2024/25 level.
