Higher education

Students can obtain the following degrees at Algerian higher education institutions:

• Licence
• Master
• Doctorat

Please note: the Licence - Master - Doctorat (LMD) system was gradually introduced from 2004. For a number of years this LMD system existed alongside the old system (système classique). The LMD system has now been implemented. However, it is possible that institutions still offer degrees from the old system.

• Duration: 3 years.
• Content: academic education or higher professional education. General subjects in the 1st year. In the 2nd and 3rd year, students specialise in the chosen field of study.
• Admission requirements: the Baccalauréat often with additional requirements, such as certain subjects and/or marks. See Admission to higher education.
• Diploma: Licence/الليسانس

Please note: officially all licence study programmes in Algeria last 3 years. They used to last 4 years. We compare a 4-year licence to an HBO or a WO bachelor's degree. This depends on the content of the study programme.

Exceptions for medical study programmes

Medical study programmes have not adopted the LMD structure (Licence - Master – Doctorat). Instead, students obtain the Diplôme de Docteur in a specific field of study after 5, 6 or 7 years of study. They do not get a licence or a master. The names of the diplomas are:

• Diplôme de Docteur en Médecine Vétérinaire (شهادة الدكتوراه في طب البيطري)
• Diplôme de Docteur en Pharmacie (شهادة الدكتوراه في الصيدلية)
• Diplôme de Docteur en Médecine Dentaire (شهادة الدكتوراه في طب الأسنان)
• Diplôme de Docteur en Médecine (شهادة الدكتوراه في طب البشري)

• Duration: 2 years.
• Content: academic education or higher professional education. Students mostly attend lectures. They sometimes do an internship in their 2nd year. To finish their study programme, most students write a thesis.
• Admission requirements: a Licence, often with additional requirements, such as high marks.
• Diploma: Master/ الماستر

• Duration: 3 years.
• Content: scientific research. Students publish at least 1 academic article. They also write and defend a dissertation.
• Admission requirements: a Master.
• Diploma: Doctorat/ دكتوراه

The old system (before 2004)

From 2004, the LMD system (Licence - Master – Doctorat) has been implemented in phases. As a result, many institutions still issued diplomas according to the old system (système classique) after 2004. Under the old system, students were able to obtain the following diplomas.

• Diplôme d'Études Universitaires Appliquées (DEUA), duration: 3 years.
• Licence, duration: 4 years.
• Diplôme d'Études Supérieures (DES), duration: 4 years.
• Diplôme d’Ingenieur, duration: 5 years.
• Diplôme de Magister, duration: 2 years.
• Doctorat, duration: 3 to 5 years.

Higher education institutions in Algeria can offer both higher professional education and research-oriented higher education. The educational institutions can be public or private.

Public higher education institutions

There are more than 100 public higher education institutions in Algeria:

• universities (universités)
• university institutions (annexes universitaires)
• university centres (centres universitaires)
• national colleges (écoles nationales supérieures)
• colleges (écoles supérieures)
• institutions for teacher education (écoles normales supérieures)

Private higher education institutions

There are also private higher education institutions in Algeria. These institutions are also supervised by the MESRS, but they must comply with stricter rules. For example, they are not allowed to offer courses in medicine. And private institutions often only offer study programmes in 1 field of study, such as business administration or certain technical fields. Public institutions often offer study programmes in multiple fields of study.