Registration for Graduate Record Examinations will finish on May, 10. The First Deputy Minister, Akaki Seperteladze and the Director of National Examination Center, Maia Miminoshvili held a briefing on priority directions and principles of student funding.

Passing Graduate Record Exams is compulsory for all willing candidates who want to continue studying at MA programs in accredited higher educational institutions. Applying is possible at any accredited higher educational institution.

Candidates who are going to continue studying at performing education MA programs are exempted from Graduate Record Examinations.

The goal of these exams is supporting higher educational institutions to select candidates; classifying students according to their abilities and opportunities; supporting transparent and objective process of enrolling; excluding enrollment of those candidates, who do not meet necessary requirements for this degree.

Candidates will pass specialty exams at higher educational institutions (you can find the list of MA programs and other necessary information on web-site: www.naec.ge). The results of specialty exams as well as results of Graduate Record Examinations influence on enrolment process.

MA program funding scheme differs from Bachelor program financing - the government decided to finance MA programs according to the results of Graduate Record Examinations in 2009.

The government has already defined the priority fields to be financed.

11 directions have been highlighted (business and economics, humanitarian, social, law, engineering, education and pedagogic, natural sciences, agrarian, mathematics and IT, art and health care). 10% of the sum, allocated for MA programs will be distributed according to the rating list of the results. Next 40% will be equally distributed among the specialties, and the left 50% - on priority directions.

Priorities, defined by the government in 2009 are the same in 2010.