Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences (LUES) is the major teacher training institution preparing a wide range of qualified professionals for the education sector in Lithuania. The history of the University goes back to 1935, when the National Pedagogical Institute was established in Klaipėda. The Institute eventually moved to the capital under the name of Vilnius Pedagogical Institute. In 1992, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania granted the status of a university and approved the Statute of Vilnius Pedagogical University. On 19 May 2011 Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania approved the new Statute of the University. This designated the University as a public institution with the title of “Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences.”
The University consists of 9 faculties and 2 institutes: Faculty of Education, Faculty of History, Faculty of Mathematics and Information Technologies, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Lithuanian Philology, Faculty of Philology, Faculty of Physics and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Sports and Health Education, Institute of Professional Competence Development, Institute of Social Communication.
Seventy-one study programmes in all three cycles (Bachelor, Master and Doctorate) are offered by the University: 37 first cycle study programmes, 30 second cycle programmes, 3 third cycle programmes. There are currently over 9000 students at the University. In 2011, 2169 students graduated from the University: 1906 bachelors, 246 masters, 17 doctors. The University staff comprises 564 members of the academic staff: 88 Professors (Doctors and Habilitated Doctors), 229 Associate Professors (Doctors), 247 Lecturers and Assistant Lecturers.
The University is involved in international co-operation and offers exchange opportunities based on academic relations and agreements. The University actively participates in the EU Life Long Learning sub-programs such as Erasmus, Comenius, Grundtvig, Leonardo da Vinci, and Nord Plus. The University has got signed over 100 bilateral co-operation agreements with foreign institutions of education, research and culture. Within the framework of Erasmus exchange program, around 130 students go on study and placement visits to over 20 countries and around 36 foreign students come to study at the University every year. The University offers 221 courses for Erasmus students in English/Polish/French/Russian.
The University organizes “Intensive Courses of the Lithuanian Language” (EILC) and offers it to around 20 foreign students who study the Lithuanian language, history and culture of Lithuania every year. In 2011, 354 University students went on a short-term study and placement visits and 227 foreign students came to the University. The Universities academic staff went on 471 visits to foreign education institutions and 291 members of foreign partner institutions visited the University.
For more information about the University, please, visit the University website http://www.lteu.lt
The library of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences is a center of studies, research and informational technologies that offers a wide variety of services for its users. The library has amassed over 600,000 books, serial publications, electronic, audio and visual documents. Every year the library acquires 10-15 thousand new documents, subscribes to over 200 different periodical publications and 36 electronic databases that give access to over 31 thousand electronic journals and 50 thousand electronic books.
Many of the textbooks, science and fiction books can be borrowed and taken home from the library, and if certain documents are not present, an order can be placed to borrow it from other libraries.
The library also offers 808 workplaces, 66 of which are computerized. The library also offers other services: wireless internet, stations for the listening of audio and watching of video materials, scanning and copying facilities.
The accommodation for international students is offered at LUES Guest House which is located right next to the Old Town part of Vilnius, just a few minutes walk from the center of the city and sights. The location is convenient for travellers because it is about 5 minutes by car from the train station and about 17 minutes from the airport. Journey to the main street of Vilnius - Gedimino Ave. - takes just about 15 minutes. In addition, one can easily plan their trip using public transport.
You are welcome to choose accommodation ranging from dormitory-type rooms to newly refurbished special type of rooms with a cozy sitting-room and a wonderful panorama of Vilnius. Dormitory-type rooms consist of two separate rooms (double and triple) that share one bathroom/shower and toilet.
We also offer separate single and double rooms.
Prospective students who have received their education in countries other than Lithuania and want to study in Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences (LUES) must:
Stefanie’s impressions of her studies at LUES:
“I’d been dreaming of travelling off the beaten track for years. I leapt at the opportunity to complete part of my course abroad, and with the help from the Erasmus co-ordinator at my university, I was soon off to Vilnius, of which I knew close to nothing.
I left looking for adventure, and I wasn’t disappointed. My lectures at Vilnius Pedagogical University were all in Lithuanian and I couldn’t grasp the language fast enough to follow them. But this turned into a valuable learning experience for me. I had to take the initiative and communicate directly with the university’s academics. English was sometimes only their third or fourth language, but with my modest Lithuanian, some words of French and German, and plenty of good will and gesturing, we found a solution.
My professors generously found time to tutor me and direct me towards topics I could read up on and write about by myself. With an energy I didn’t know I had, I explored new fields of philosophy.
During my four months in Lithuania I was stunned by the country’s forests and lakes, and fascinated by its history and folklore. I made a lot of friends. And the greatest tribute I can pay to my time there is that I’ve started travelling all over Europe.
My Erasmus experience taught me to act independently. Because of this, I discovered in Vilnius what I was really interested in. Going abroad showed me more than I expected, both about my studies, and about myself.”
Stefanie Bakelandt (Belgium) was selected as the 2 000 000th Erasmus student because she did not go to a common destination, was confronted with courses in Lithuanian, but adjusted and integrated, turning potential failure into success.
Adapted from: European Commission’s publication "Erasmus: I am one of the two million who did it!" (2009 — 72 pp, ISBN 978-92-79-13428-9).
