Study in Madagascar

Madagascar’s higher education system includes six public universities in Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina and Toliara. It also includes public specialized institutions such as IST Antananarivo, IST Ambositra, IST Antsiranana, CNTEMAD, and schools or institutes for education, engineering, medicine, agriculture, information technology and research. Private Institution d’Enseignement Supérieur (IES) may offer tertiary programs only when the relevant program and institution have MESUPRES habilitation or accreditation. The LMD structure organizes academic and professional programs into Licence, Master and Doctorat levels. A program commonly follows a domaine, mention and parcours or spécialité. Teaching is divided into unités d’enseignement (UE) and credits. A Licence normally takes six semesters and 180 credits. A Master usually adds 120 credits after a Licence, for 300 credits in total. A Doctorat is based on research, a thesis and a soutenance. Medical, engineering, health and other long programs may follow different durations, sometimes five to eight years, while a DTS or national engineering diploma counts as tertiary study only when it belongs to an authorized IES program. Admission to the first higher education level usually requires the Baccalauréat or an equivalent qualification. Institutions and programs may select applicants through dossier review, an entry test or a concours, and capacity can be limited by mention. Applications commonly require civil-status documents, a Baccalauréat certificate or transcripts, an enrollment form, photographs and proof of payment. Master admission generally requires a Licence or equivalent qualification, while Doctorat admission follows a Master or comparable research qualification and selection by a doctoral formation or École doctorale. Foreign qualifications normally require an equivalence request through the competent MESUPRES service. Fees do not follow one reliable national tariff. Public and private institutions set charges by institution, faculty, program and academic year, and private IES commonly add inscription and écolage fees. For example, the University of Antananarivo’s FLSH has published examination fees of 40,000 MGA, a Master fee of 150,000 MGA and a Doctorat fee of 400,000 MGA; these figures do not establish a fee for every institution. Students should verify the current annual and faculty-specific charges before applying. Eligible students at public universities may apply for a national bourse through the university, SIOB or responsible MESUPRES office. SBEX handles scholarships for study abroad. CNOU coordinates national student social services, while CROUA manages regional services that can include accommodation, meals, health support, sport and cultural activities depending on the location. Eligibility, quotas, payment, accommodation and amounts do not apply uniformly to every student. Students at private IES generally rely on their own or family funds, although an institution may offer separate assistance. Study may include classroom teaching, independent work, internships, projects and a mémoire. Regular examinations and, where provided by the institution, a second examination session affect progression and completion. FOAD and EAD provide distance or hybrid formats when the program is properly authorized; CNTEMAD is a central distance-study option. MESUPRES sets higher education and research policy, authorizes new institutions and programs, oversees habilitation, accreditation and quality assurance, and handles national equivalence. DGES supports higher education governance, while universities and IES organize admission, enrollment, teaching, examinations and graduation. A diploma’s recognition depends on the program’s habilitation or accreditation and the institution’s examination rules.