Naval Academy Varna

Naval Academy Varna ” The Bulgarian Maritime University . Since its foundation in 1881, its main objective has been to develop highly qualified leaders for the Bulgarian Navy and the maritime industry, to prepare them for the challenges of the transforming Navy and the rapidly changing sector of the global maritime economy.In 1904, it was upgraded to a secondary technical school, training technical staff for the naval forces and civilian shipping, as well as for industry, railways, coal mines, power stations, etc. The first effort to train naval officers for naval forces and civilian shipping was in 1914, and in 1942 the school was re-profiled into Maritime Academy, training deck officers and electromechanics. In 1949 it was renamed “Nikola Vaptsarov Higher Maritime Academy” after the name of the famous Bulgarian poet and revolutionary, a graduate of the Higher Maritime Academy of Varna. In 1960, when Bulgaria became a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Maritime Academy in Varna became a world-class higher education institution (HEI), and in 1953 it began to train foreign students, and by 1993 students from 12 different countries were trained for both Army and Merchant Marine. In 1974, the Academy has modernized its old equipment. In 1986 the Planetarium (the biggest one in the Balkans) was launched, training students to navigateby the stars.

Strict adherence to the international educational standards for training of maritime personnel has always been the main rule for the Naval Academy. Today, it provides integrated training for officers both for the Navy and for the Merchant Marine in a military environment. Their education in “Navigation”, “Marine Engineer” and “Ship Power Plants” has been approved by IMO and the Academy was included in the White List of Educational Institutions with “approved education”. Since then the Naval Academy has been recognized by ship-owners all over the world without any additional exams.Today many graduated students from the Naval Academy work as engineers in various civil industries and many Merchant Marine officers are captains and ship engineers in foreign companies in England, USA, Germany, France, Japan, Norway and many other countries.

Reasons To Choose Naval Academy

Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy is the most authoritativecentre of maritime science and marine technologiesin the country, which prepares world-class mariners and engineers. The Academy provides both theoretical and practical training, using state-of-the-art

methodsand technologies. The training facilities comprise a planetarium (the biggest one on the Balkan Peninsula), polygons, simulators, summer camp, boat base, sail training vessels “Kaliakra”and “Royal Helena”, sea born training base 421 and auxiliary training ship 206. Also an R&D laboratory for practical navigation, a magnetic compass deviation laboratory, and other facilities for training in radio navigation systems, gyrocompasses, echo-sounders and logs, ship handing and manoeuvring, rigging, shipping operation, etc.

Naval Academy employs 116 qualified lecturers – officers and civilians, 44 of which professors and associate professors and 21 lecturers with doctoral degree. They are responsible to train moral and commanding skills, as well as strong discipline, which are the key to success in the Academy.

Naval Academy has received accreditation by the National Agency for Assessment and Accreditation as tertiary educational institution. Itoffers many Bachelor and Masterprogrammes in English. The diplomas issued by the Academy are recognized worldwide, so after graduation you will be able to travel under any foreign flag.

Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy is a co-founder and an active member of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU). It maintains international contacts with similar schools and academies from the USA, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Poland, etc.

The Naval Academy offers 200 rooms in its dormitory, situated close to the university campus. The rent for a room is 70 EUR per month, including bills. This is the cheapest option for accommodation and a real advantage for the students.

Study Programmes

The training at Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy lasts for 4 years (8 semesters). Upon successful completion of the course of study, graduates obtain a diploma of higher education and are awarded Bachelor’s degree. If you want to acquire Master’s degree, you should continue your training with additional one and a half year. The training is conducted entirely in English. Graduates can immediately obtain a license to pursue the occupation in Italy or another country. The training for PhD degree lasts for up to 3 years. Students are eligible to apply for doctoral programmes only if they are holders of a Master’s degree.

The Diploma of Higher Education, issued by NVNA is recognized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the World Maritime University (WMU) and the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU ) according to the standards of the International Convention on Standards of Training (STCW).

The academic year begins on 1st October and ends at the end of June, followed by examinations until mid-July.

The structure of the Academy consists of three main units:

– Faculty of “Navigation”

The duration of the course of study is 4 years (8 semesters) for Bachelor’s degree and 5 years (10 semesters) for Master’s degree.

After graduation, you may assume working positions as Officers in Charge of the Navigational Watch, Second Mates, Chief Mates and Masters on board of all merchant ships, as well as shore positions as Ship Managers, Shipping agents, Cargo Surveyors, and expert positions in the field of electronics, computer hardware and programming,etc.

– Speciality “Navigation”

The training is conducted in English. The Department of Navigation successfully performs the training of highly qualified engineering specialists in the field of “Navigation”. The training includes annual practice in a training camp, a training ship, and other ships, where the sailing takes place in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Upon successful completion of the four-year course of study, graduates are awarded a Bachelor’s degree. They could occupy the post of “Chief Mate” of all civilian vessels, as well as to be assigned to the following coastal positions: Ship manager, Ship agent, Broker, Freight expert, etc.

– Speciality “Information and Communication Technologies in the Maritime Industry”

Language of instruction – English.