As all stages of admission to higher education institutions have passed, the data provided by the Lithuanian Association of Higher Education Institutions for Organizing General Admission (LAMA BPO) indicates that this year, the number of entrants increased by 9.8 percent (29,431 applicants in 2020 and 26,793 applicants in 2019), although in 2020 the total number of graduates in Lithuania decreased (24,667 in 2020 and 26,081 in 2019).
All in all, 239 students started their studies at Lithuanian Sports University (LSU) on September 14. In 2019, there were 225 freshmen (less by 6 percent). As much as 64 % more students will study at LSU in the first year with state funds. This was influenced by the 120 state-funded places of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, which were allocated for studies in the field of sports.
For both state-funded student places and those not funded by the state, LSU applied the same minimum threshold for admission – 5.4, the same as last year. This threshold was significantly advanced by students admitted to the study programs of Physiotherapy, Sports and Tourism Management, Physical Activity and Public Health, and Physical Activity and Lifestyle. Three students with maximum maturity exam results will also start their studies at LSU.
Students-to-be were interested in the University study programs not only during the main, but also during the additional admission, and the Coaching Science study program was among the ten most popular in Lithuania.
“It is gratifying that the entrants chose all seven study programs offered by LSU. Traditionally, the most popular University study program was Coaching Science. More freshmen than last year will study in Sports and Tourism Management, and Exercise, Nutrition and Stress Management study programs. After a break of several years, state funds were allocated for future physical education specialists, so the Physical Education and Sports study program also received significantly more entrants. By the way, it is planned to award scholarships of 300 euros to the first-year students of this study program, who will study with state funds,” says LSU Vice-Rector for Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jūratė Požėrienė.
Significantly more first-year students (265) will also start their master’s studies at LSU in September (204 in 2019, 174 in 2018).
“More people who have completed their bachelor’s studies much earlier and already have work experience have chosen to study for a master’s degree at the University. They want to deepen their professional knowledge and broaden their competencies. They even chose to study in another field. For example, physiotherapists who want to gain specific knowledge of working with the disabled or people with special needs entered the program of Adapted Physical Activity, sports coaches entered Tourism and Sports Management to acquire managerial competencies,” says the Vice-Rector for Studies.
This year, bridge courses of Physiotherapy and Tourism and Sports Management are also very popular.
