Admission Requirements
The basic requirements for admission to bachelor’s degree programs are as follows:
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High school diploma – Israeli matriculation certificate (bagrut) or its equivalent.
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Psychometric entrance examination – usually the National Institute of Testing and Evaluation (NITE) Psychometric Entrance Test or the U.S. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT 1).
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Hebrew Proficiency – sufficient knowledge of Hebrew to participate in regular studies, in accordance with the criteria set by the particular university and department.
Certain institutions and departments have additional requirements, e.g., personal interviews or additional tests. Israeli citizenship is required of those accepted to Medicine, Dental Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Physiotherapy, and Speech Therapy. Selective faculties and departments, such as Medicine, Dental Medicine, Law, Psychology, Engineering, and Pharmacy, have relatively high admission requirements.
Secondary scbool diploma: In certain countries, the secondary school diploma awarded is equivalent to the Israeli matriculation certificate, for example, the Australian HSC and the English GCE (at least two “A” levels and three “O” levels).
In general, candidates from countries whose diploma is not equivalent can be considered for university admission if they have successfully completed one year of university study abroad or a pre-academic preparatory program at an Israeli university.
Psychometric Entrance Examination: The Psychometric Entrance Test is administered by the Israeli National Institution for Testing and Evaluation (NITE). The results are valid for five academic years following the date of examination. One may take the test an unlimited number of times, provided that at least ten months have elapsed since the previous test. Results are reported to the examinees and to all the institutions to which the examinee has applied, unless he or she specifically requests otherwise.
The examination is administered in several languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. A special version is available for examinees whose native language is not one of the above. In this version the questions appear in both Hebrew and English, and difficult terms are translated into additional languages.
The Psychometric Entrance Test is also given each year in several central locations throughout the world. For information, contact the NITE Coordinator of Overseas Exams, P.O.B. 260l5, Jerusalem 91260, Israel, or the nearest shaliach.
The examination is a battery of tests that measure scholastic abilities utilized in academic frameworks. The areas tested are verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and English.
Verbal reasoning items test verbal skills and abilities needed for academic studies: the ability to analyze and understand complex written material, the ability to think clearly and systematically, and the ability to perceive fine distinctions in meaning among words and concepts. Quantitative reasoning items test the ability to use numbers and mathematical concepts to solve problems, and the ability to analyze information presented in different forms, such as graphs, tables, and charts. These questions examine mathematical reasoning abilities rather than mathematical knowledge; hence only a relatively elementary knowledge of mathematics is necessary. Items in English test the skills involved in understanding academic-level texts in English.
Hebrew Proficiency: Unless a student speaks, reads and writes Hebrew well enough to participate in regular studies, he or she is generally required to take an intensive Hebrew language course (ulpan), which is usually held on campus during the two months preceding the opening of the academic year. A student with no prior knowledge of Hebrew should not expect to reach a sufficient level of proficiency by the end of such a course.
Several additional programs are available to help students improve their Hebrew proficiency. In preparatory programs, Hebrew is studied 10-15 hours per week. There are also special kibbutz ulpanim for prospective students, lasting four or five months and providing 20-25 hours of Hebrew study per week.
Students with a good knowledge of Hebrew whose matriculation certificate (or high school diploma) is considered by Israeli institutions of higher education to be equivalent to the Israeli matriculation certificate (bagrut) may apply directly for admission to regular degree studies.
