Funding of Postgraduate Studies in Slovenia

The human capital is straightening through education, which brings benefits to the social and economic development and indirectly provides higher economic growth. How does Slovenia provide care for the strengthening of human capital? We start by mechanisms of founding the most perspective candidates – postgraduate students. Creation of new knowledge starts with postgraduate students, who are at the beginning of their research path. By the academic year 2008/09 about 50% of all enrolled postgraduate students (former master's and doctoral degrees) in the current academic year, were co-funded in the amount of € 1,200 per student (from 2004/05 till 2008/09). In academic year 2007/08 the 3rd cycle study programmers were also financed in the same manner as the former postgraduate programmes (on average 55% of all enrolled postgraduate students in 3rd cycle study programmers in the period from 2007/08 to 2009/10 were co-funded), while the Higher Education Act (Official Gazette RS, no 119/2006- OCT3) provided free full-time study for all those who do not have the level of education equal to the 2nd cycle. While the number of students enrolled in 3rd cycle study programmes were (is still) growing rapidly, the need for a new organization of co-funding of doctoral studies was essential. The new Regulation on co-funding of doctoral studies (in 2010/11) reduced the number of co-funded students significantly (27% of all enrolled), but on the other hand, provided co-funding by the end of their studies, with substantially higher amounts to one doctoral student.