Four universities and one academy can be found in the city of Varna, which is situated in the east of the country. The Naval Academy "N.J. Vaptsarov" is with 125 years of history (in 2006) the oldest technical school in Bulgaria. The course of education in the school is 4 years for students and 5 years for cadets. The Naval Academy trains not only officers for the Navy, but also other trained specialists (for example masters and chief engineers for the Merchant Marine).
Facilities at the Naval Academy "N.J. Vaptsarov" include the Rigging Classroom, the Seamanship Classroom, the GMDSS Simulator, the Ship Power Plant Simulator, the Naval Training Vessel and others. The University of Economy - Varna has been established in 1920 and is therefore one of the oldest universities on the Balkan Peninsula.
Students can choose between four faculties, 23 departments and 14 majors within the field of Economics. The Technical University - Varna was founded in 1962 and is specialised in Shipbuilding, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, with a total of 23 different specialties.
A language training in two modules for foreign students, hostels and canteens as well as a fitness centre, open sports grounds and other leisure facilities are available. The youngest university in Bulgaria is the Varna Free University, which was founded in 1991. 35 different specialities (some of them are: Economics, Political Science, Company Security Management, Construction and Installation of Buildings, Fashion, Journalism, Textile and others), computer studies, foreign language teaching and a wide range of other facilities are offered by the university. The fifth institution for higher education is the Medical University - Varna. Due to its modern facilities and several departments that can be found in 6 buildings, the university enjoys an excellent reputation. | 
