How to Verify Bosnian University Degrees: HEA Guide

Bosnia and Herzegovina's higher education system

Bosnia and Herzegovina's higher education quality is assured by the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance (HEA). The country has approximately 50 higher education institutions across its two entities (Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska). Notable institutions include the University of Sarajevo (founded 1949), University of Banja Luka, and University of Mostar.

Verification steps

1. Check HEA accreditation — Verify the institution has HEA accreditation. VerifyED includes accredited Bosnian institutions.
2. Contact the institution — Bosnian universities maintain registrar offices for verification.
3. CIP recognition — The Center for Information and Recognition handles credential recognition.
4. Apostille — BiH is a Hague Convention member. Documents can be apostilled.

Key considerations

• Complex structure — The country has entity-level and cantonal education ministries alongside the state-level HEA.
• Bologna Process — BiH follows the Bologna structure with ECTS credits.
• Multilingual credentials — Credentials may be in Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian.