General information about the higher education system in the country
Governance: The HE law (1958) created the Council for Higher Education (CHE), a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by Israel’s President, and whose chairperson is, ex-officio, the Minister of Education. CHE is empowered to grant academic accreditation to HEIs and to study programs. The Law stipulates that all accredited HEIs are at liberty to conduct their academic and administrative affairs autonomously. In 1977, the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) of the CHE was officially put in charge of the State’s HE budget. Approximately 60% of public HEIs’ budget comes from the PBC.
Facts and Figures: There are 57 HEIs in Israel - 9 research universities (one of which is private) and one Open University, as well as 29 academic colleges (20 public and 9 private), and 18 teacher-training colleges (4 under CHE and 14 under the Ministry of Education). All HEIs can offer Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs while only universities are allowed to offer PhDs. The undergraduate degree comprises 3-4 academic years, depending on the field. The academic year is divided into two semesters (some allow summer semesters as well).
CHE Vision: to promote academic excellence in research and teaching while addressing national and global challenges, and to advance gender equality and the inclusion of under-represented populations. Information and statistics: In the academic year 2023/24, close to 332,000 students were enrolled for academic degrees according to the following breakdown: 76% undergraduates, 19% Master's students, and 5% doctoral students. Of the undergraduate students, nearly 29% were enrolled for a STEM degree. The number of female Computer Science students has tripled (from 2,620 to 7,720). Women comprise 60% of
the student body (59% undergraduates, 65% masters’ students, 54% doctoral students). In 2023 a third of the undergraduates came from low socio-economic backgrounds. There has been an increase in the representation of minority populations over recent years as a result of dedicated policy measures, today 19% of the student body is from the Arab society in Israel, 1.5% Jews of Ethiopian descent, and 5% form the Haredi sector (accordingly, their general representation in society is 21%, 1.7%, and 13%).
International Standing and Collaborations: Three Israeli universities are among the top 100 in the 2023 Shanghai Ranking, and Israeli scientists are among the top winners of ERC grants. The vast majority of local HEIs participate in Erasmus+, and the academic community has strong ties with counterparts worldwide, facilitated, inter alia, via bilateral programs.
Information on recent policy updates, major reforms and related news
Recent developments in Israel’s higher education sector are largely shaped by the multi-year strategy of the Planning and Budgeting Committee (PBC) of the Council for Higher Education, which operates on five-year budgetary plans to ensure stability and long-term planning. The current 2023–2028 plan sets out comprehensive investments aimed at strengthening research capacity, innovation and international competitiveness.
A central priority of the plan is boosting ground-breaking research through significant investment in infrastructure and human capital. This includes €133 million for upgrading research infrastructures, €15 million for hiring technical personnel and €29 million to support the recruitment of research associates and staff scientists. In parallel, major flagship programmes target key strategic areas. These include a €115 million initiative on sustainability and climate-related research, covering energy, agriculture, biodiversity and water sciences, and a €125 million programme for advanced biomedical research, developed in collaboration with philanthropic partners to expand research funding and create new career paths for physician-researchers.
Efforts to accelerate applied research and innovation are also prominent, with €30 million allocated—together with the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology—to competitive grants supporting promising ventures and the commercialisation of research. Additional initiatives focus on widening participation, including planned programmes targeting first-generation higher education students. Strategic investment in emerging technologies continues to be a key pillar. National initiatives in quantum science and technology (with a total budget of approximately €80.5 million until 2026) and artificial intelligence and data science (around €250 million until 2026) support research centres, fellowships, infrastructure development and collaboration with industry and the public sector. These initiatives reinforce Israel’s position in cutting-edge technological fields and contribute to innovation-driven economic growth.
Internationalisation is another major focus area. Through collaboration with the Israel Science Foundation, the PBC promotes Lead Agency Process (LAP) agreements to facilitate joint international research funding. In addition, a €62 million initiative supports the improvement of English language skills among graduates and promotes mobility, joint degrees and international academic cooperation.
By 2025, developments in Israel’s higher education sector reflect the continued implementation of this strategic framework. Ongoing efforts focus on strengthening research excellence, enhancing teaching quality and student experience, improving links between higher education and employability, and advancing the commercialisation of research. At the same time, sustained investment in digitalisation and emerging technologies—particularly artificial intelligence and quantum science—remains central. Overall, 2025 is characterised by the consolidation and scaling of existing programmes, rather than the introduction of new standalone reforms.
Information about relevant projects and initiatives
N | Project name | Objectives | Length of project | Keywords | Links |
| 1 | MANDELA - Multilateralism through Negotiation and Cultural Diplomacy Education in the Levant and Africa | MANDELA is an innovative cross-regional CBHE KA2 project bringing together higher education institutions from Ghana, Ethiopia, and Israel to embed inclusive skills, values, and methodologies into academic curricula. The project strengthens higher education’s role in promoting intercultural dialogue, human rights, democracy, and social inclusion, with particular attention to disadvantaged and marginalized groups. Through faculty professional development, curriculum redesign, and the implementation of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) courses, MANDELA equips academic staff and students with competencies in intercultural communication, civic values, conflict resolution, and human rights education, fostering cross-cultural collaboration and long-term societal transformation. | 3 years 2025 - 2028 | Intercultural dialogue Inclusive higher education Human rights education Democracy and good governance Curriculum innovation Capacity building of academic staff Cross-regional cooperation | https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/101234500
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| 2 | HOPE - Higher Education for Openness, Peace, and Empathy | HOPE proposes a transformative partnership among universities in Germany, Greece, and Israel, positioning higher education institutions as key drivers of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and reconciliation. The project focuses on developing a peace education curriculum to support coexistence between Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis, particularly in the aftermath of the recent Middle East conflict, and promotes a culture of constructive conflict resolution aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). | 3 years 2025 - 2028 | Peace education Peacebuilding Constructive Conflict Resolution (CCR) Intercultural dialogue Arab–Jewish coexistence Sustainable partnerships | https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects/search/details/101236503
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3 | BIG ART (Bootcamps In | BIG ART (Bootcamps In Greece with Augmented Reality Technologies) is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building project that equips students and staff in Israel and Albania with Augmented Reality (AR) and mixed reality skills. It connects VET providers and IT companies for project based learning, focusing on vulnerable groups and female students to enhance career prospects and regional development. | 3 years |
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4 | NURIC - Capacity Building in Nursing Informatics Competencies to Foster the Digital Transformation of Healthcare | Digitalization in our society and in healthcare is increasingly affecting the work of nurses. Nurses play a crucial role in using and promoting digitalization in our society, and in healthcare it is increasingly affecting the work of nurses. NURIC is an international project of cooperation and partnership of several institutions from different countries. Its aim is to promote competencies in nursing informatics for nursing VET (Vocational Education and Training) students (“initial VET”) and for professional nurses (“continuing VET”). Including nursing informatics skills in Vocational Education and Training would enhance their employability in various roles, support their personal development, and foster modern health care. The project is funded by the Erasmus+ Program and is rewarded with a total grant of 10 almost 400,000 euros. It will involve market actors, develop a curriculum adapted to the local needs, and pilot and evaluate shorter nanocourses and more intensive certificate courses (up to 20 ECTS) in nursing informatics. At least ten nano-courses and at least one certificate course for at least 15 participants will be implemented in each country. A web-based repository of OER (open educational resources) learning materials will be available and hosted also after the end of the project. In Kosovo, the Chamber of Nurses expects to recognize the courses. In Israel, accreditation by the Ministry of Health will be sought. | 3 years
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5 | IMPACT - Inter- | Peace And CollaboraTion) is a consortium of HEIs, organizations, youth (a) joint innovative Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) modules; (b) joint virtual activities and events. | 3 years
| peace; dialogue; AI; skills; | https://eve-impact.eu/ |
6 | VOLCANIC- Innovative Technological Pedagogy in Higher Education | The 21st century confrontshigher education institutions' (HEIs) staff and social and educational policymakers with the challenge to adjust existing curricula and teaching methods to improve the level of competence, skills, and the employability prospects of their students. The Volcanic project aims to train HEIs and K6-K12 teachers to master effective pedagogies for using Computational Thinking (CT) to incorporate ICT in their teaching. As the Moroccan and Israeli HEIs participating in this project teach mainly disadvantaged populations -the Bedouins in Israel and scattered populations in Morocco - we will focus also on the special needs of these populations and the conditions upon which they could acquire proper skills and knowledge to use ICT in their learning. The need to boost the use of ICT in the Moroccan and Israeli HEIs is evident and declared a national mission in both countries. Overall, 500 disadvantaged students from remote areas, 200 K6-K12 teachers, and 50 HEI teachers are expected to benefit from the work and results of this project. Nine partners - three Moroccan, three Israeli, and three EU HEIs - will join forces in the project to fulfill this mission through the design and piloting of 12 courses, establishing learning spaces in HEIs, and training K6-K12 teachers. The project's sustainability and impact will be achieved through the dissemination of its results on national and international digital learning platforms. | 3 years | Inclusion, teacher training, skills, employability, computation |
Other relevant links
National Erasmus+ Office Israel
CHE-PBC stratagy and international affairs webpage
Technical Assistance Missions Reports
2023
- Reducing the ecological footprint of Israeli HEIs: Challenges and opportunities towards carbon neutrality
- Strategies for increasing the employability potential of students and strengthening Academia-Industry collaboration
2024
- Promote Sustainable Academic Campuses and behavioral change through Higher Eduacation
- Towards Quality Employability and Academic Excellence in Teacher Training Colleges
- A Diverse and Inclusive Campus in Practice