Technical University of Košice (TUKE): Admission and Fees

The Technical University of Košice (Technická univerzita v Košiciach, TUKE) describes itself as one of Slovakia's largest universities: it has 13,540 students, and more than half of them are international. Most faculties admit bachelor's students without entrance exams, based on school grades, and international applicants to Slovak-taught programmes need to prove Slovak only at A1 — a much lower bar than the B1 many Slovak universities set. Full-time study in Slovak is free; for English-taught study the rector's order for 2026/27 caps tuition at $5,680 (€5,000) per bachelor's year and $6,810 (€6,000) per master's year. A dormitory bed starts at $97 (€85) a month from 1 September 2026.

Who TUKE suits

TUKE fits applicants who want engineering, computing or aviation without a tough entrance exam. The university is open to international students: in 2025/26, 6,860 of its 10,502 bachelor's applications came from non-Slovak citizens, and 91% of applications were accepted. That accessibility cuts both ways — the real test starts after enrolment, when Slovak-taught courses run in Slovak from the first semester.

Consider other options if:

• you plan to study in Slovak with only A1. It is enough for admission, but lectures, labs and exams are in Slovak from day one;
• you want medicine, law or natural sciences in Košice. Those belong to the city's other university, UPJŠ;
• you want railway engineering or transport logistics. Compare with the University of Žilina;
• you prefer the capital. In Bratislava the technical profile is covered by STU.

Faculties and English-taught programmes

The tuition orders for 2026/27 and 2027/28 list eight faculties: seven in Košice and the Faculty of Manufacturing Technologies in Prešov. TUKE's general information page still mentions nine. The ninth is the Faculty of Materials, Metallurgy and Recycling: the annual report counted 124 students there at the end of October 2025, but it no longer appears in the tuition orders.

In 2025 TUKE had 39 bachelor's, 40 master's and 72 doctoral programmes accredited in English, counting part-time versions. Accreditation does not mean a programme will open in a given year — the faculty announces intake. An "SK, EN" label in the catalogue means two separate programmes: a free Slovak one and a fee-paying English one.

How to apply

Since 2014 most TUKE faculties have admitted bachelor's students on their secondary-school results, with emphasis on mathematics, and without entrance exams. The Faculty of Arts is the exception, with two-day talent exams. Applications are electronic only, through the MAIS system at eprihlaska.tuke.sk; attachments are uploaded as PDFs and no paper copy is needed.

Steps

1. Choose a faculty and a language. For an English-taught programme, confirm that intake is announced for your year.
2. Submit the online application. Upload your CV, grades and proof of payment as PDF files.
3. Pay the fee (online application, 2026/27 rates). For a Slovak-taught programme $23 (€20) without an exam and $34 (€30) with one; for a foreign-language programme $57 (€50) without an exam and $68 (€60) with one.
4. Prove Slovak at A1 for Slovak-taught programmes during the admission procedure: without it an international applicant is not admitted.
5. Show your school certificate. Bring the original to the study office or post a notarised copy before enrolment.
6. Apply for housing and a residence permit as soon as you are admitted.

Deadlines

Each faculty sets its own dates. The Faculty of Arts closes first: for 2027/28 it accepts applications until 30 November 2026 and holds talent exams between 26 January and 9 February 2027, depending on the programme. The technical faculties publish their conditions later, usually early in the calendar year. As a benchmark, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics took 2026/27 applications until 30 April 2026, and its admissions committee met by 15 June. Apply in March rather than on the last day: the online A1 test opens only after you apply, and after admission you still need time for the residence permit.

Proving Slovak at A1

For international applicants to Slovak-taught programmes, TUKE accepts four kinds of proof:

• a school-leaving exam in Slovak or Czech;
• an A1 certificate from a Slovak language school registered in the national school network;
• a confirmation of language preparation from a Slovak university;
• a passed online test in TUKE's free course "Slovak A1 for applicants".

The course is run by the language department of TUKE's ÚJSS institute. Login details reach your private e-mail after you apply, if your application contains no other proof of Slovak. In the 2026/27 cycle at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, the 180-hour course ran from 15 February to 31 May 2026, the final test was open from 15 March to 31 May with two attempts and a 51% pass mark, and the confirmation had to be uploaded to the application by 7 June. Without A1 proof an international applicant is not admitted to a Slovak-taught programme, even if every other condition is met.

A1 is survival level — ordering lunch, asking for directions. Studying engineering with it is hard. A realistic plan is to start Slovak at least a year before entry and reach B1 by September. Course options are compared in our guide to Slovak preparatory courses.

Recognition of your school certificate

TUKE requires a foreign secondary-school certificate to be recognised in Slovakia. For common certificates from the EU, Ukraine, Russia and China the ministry publishes a recognition statement (doložka) that you download from uznavanie.minedu.sk and attach to your certificate. Graduates from Kazakhstan, India, Uzbekistan and other countries without a statement need a decision from the Regional Office of School Administration (RÚŠS) in the Košice region. Timing and documents are covered in our guide to recognition of school certificates in Slovakia.

Tuition

For foreign-language degrees the rector's order sets a maximum; the fee for a specific programme can be lower, so take the exact figure from the faculty's tuition decision. The 2027/28 order, signed on 28 September 2026, keeps the same maximums. Written requests to reduce, waive or defer tuition go to the rector or dean by 7 October of the academic year concerned.

TUKE dormitories

TUKE's residences are on Němcovej, Urbánkova, Jedlíkova and Rampová streets in Košice, plus two buildings on Budovateľská in Prešov. Prices per bed per month from 1 September 2026:

About 40% of beds go to first-year students. First-years pay the reservation fee by 15 August; if you have not moved in by 30 September, you lose the place and the fee. Rent is then paid in instalments: September–November on arrival, December–February by 30 November, March–June by the end of February.

The price list sets a separate, almost double rate for self-paying students, meaning those who pay tuition themselves. The housing rules mention students on foreign-language-only programmes alongside them and let both groups pay rent in two instalments: September–February on arrival and March–June by the end of February. Before booking, ask the student residences which rate applies to your English-taught programme, and use the self-paying rate for a cautious budget: $1,700–2,500 for ten months.

A year's budget: two scenarios

Food, transport, insurance and phone come on top. For a residence permit the police may check that you hold at least the subsistence minimum — $4,020 (€3,542.64) a year from 1 July 2026. Detailed scenarios are in our guide to the cost of studying in Slovakia; students paying from Russia should read about legal payment routes.

Residence permit: when to apply

Non-EU students study in Slovakia on temporary residence for the purpose of study. You apply at the Slovak embassy accredited to your country of citizenship or residence — for example Moscow for Russian citizens or Astana for Kazakh citizens — or at the foreign police if you are already in Slovakia legally on a national visa. You need confirmation of admission and an apostilled criminal record certificate; university students do not need to prove accommodation. The police take up to 90 days, so a late admission decision almost always means arriving after the semester has started. All steps are in our guide to the student residence permit in Slovakia.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up TUKE and UPJŠ. Both are in Košice, but medicine, law and psychology are at UPJŠ, while engineering and aviation are at TUKE.
• Treating A1 as enough to study. It is an admission threshold, not the level at which you pass structural mechanics.
• Choosing a programme by its "EN" label without checking intake. The English version opens only if the faculty decides so.
• Not checking your dormitory rate. Self-paying students pay $170–250 a month, not $97; ask in advance whether that rate applies to your programme.
• Missing 15 August. Without the reservation fee a first-year student loses the allocated bed.

How StudyU helps

The first consultation is free and serves for orientation only. Comparing TUKE with other universities for your profile and budget, faculty and language choice, a requirements check, a plan to reach the Slovak level you need, the application, certificate recognition and the residence permit file are provided under an agreement with StudyU. The TUKE faculty dean decides on admission, TUKE student residences on housing, and the Slovak foreign police on the residence permit.

Other universities are in our Slovakia study guide and our overview of universities in Slovakia; the general procedure is in applying to universities in Slovakia.

FAQ

Do I need an entrance exam for TUKE?

For bachelor's study at most faculties, no: since 2014 TUKE has selected on school grades with emphasis on mathematics. Only the Faculty of Arts holds talent exams. Each faculty publishes the exact conditions for its programmes.

What level of Slovak does TUKE require?

At least A1 for a Slovak-taught programme. You can prove it with a Slovak or Czech school-leaving exam, a language-school certificate, a Slovak university's preparation confirmation or TUKE's free online test with a score of 51% or more. This must happen during the admission procedure, not on enrolment day.

How much does an English-taught degree at TUKE cost?

The 2026/27 tuition order sets a maximum of $5,680 (€5,000) a year for bachelor's and $6,810 (€6,000) for master's programmes, and the 2027/28 order keeps the same caps. The faculty sets the exact fee for each programme.

How much is TUKE student housing?

From 1 September 2026 a standard bed costs $97–110 (€85–95) a month, and self-paying students pay $170–250 (€150–220); ask when booking whether that rate applies to your English-taught programme. The $170 reservation fee is later credited to rent, while non-residents also pay a $340 deposit.

Are there many students from Russia and Kazakhstan?

On 31 October 2025 TUKE had 55 Russian and 116 Kazakh citizens among its students. The largest international group comes from Ukraine (6,401), followed by India (167).

How is TUKE different from UPJŠ in Košice?

TUKE is a technical university covering engineering, computing, economics, art and aviation. UPJŠ is a classical university with medicine, law, natural sciences and humanities, including English-taught medicine.

Sources

• TUKE: history and basic information about studying at TUKE — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE: faculty programmes and languages of instruction — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE: admission procedure — checked 30 Sept 2026
• Rector's order PR/TUKE/04/25: tuition and fees 2026/27 (PDF) and PR/TUKE/05/26 for 2027/28 (PDF) — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE annual report 2025 (PDF) — student numbers, admissions, English-taught programmes — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE Faculty of Arts: 2027/28 admission conditions (PDF) — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics: bachelor's admission conditions 2026/27 (PDF) — deadlines and the online A1 test — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE: "Slovak A1 for applicants" course — checked 30 Sept 2026
• TUKE student residences: prices from 1 Sept 2026 (PDF) and allocation rules (PDF) — checked 30 Sept 2026
• uznavanie.minedu.sk: list of published doložka statements — checked 30 Sept 2026
• IOM MIC: residence for the purpose of study, including the 90-day decision period from 15 July 2026 — checked 30 Sept 2026

Conversion: ECB euro reference rate for 29 Sept 2026, the most recent available when we checked on 30 Sept, €1 = $1.1355; sums under $100 are rounded to the dollar, larger sums to $10.

If you want to discuss which TUKE faculty and language of study are realistic for you, send us a request.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.