Deadlines and intakes
Admission for non-EU students is a two-stage process: the university assesses your file, then submits you to the Ministry of Education, which may issue a letter of acceptance within 30 working days of receiving a complete file (15 working days after an incomplete file is completed). You cannot apply for the visa without that letter.
POLITEHNICA Bucharest opens its application platform usually in February and keeps it open until the end of July. Other universities, especially the medical universities, set their own calendars and may close earlier: check the programme page.
Language you need
Romanian state universities teach in Romanian, English, French and German. For Romanian-taught programmes, POLITEHNICA Bucharest requires at least B1 Romanian. If you do not have it, you take a preparatory year in Romanian, which adds a year and its fees. For foreign-language programmes you need an international certificate (TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge for English; DELF or TCF for French; Goethe for German) unless you have completed four or more consecutive years of education in that language. The required score is set per programme.
Outside class, Romanian helps with landlords, public offices and most jobs outside multinational firms. Start learning it early, even if your programme is in English.