Slovenia's education system is described by the Slovenian Qualifications Framework SOK (Slovensko ogrodje kvalifikacij), mapped to the European frameworks EOK/EQF and QF-EHEA. The levels run from pre-school education to doctorate.
Pre-school education (predšolska vzgoja)
Kindergartens (vrtci) for children from about 11 months until they start school. Attendance is optional.
Basic education (osnovnošolsko izobraževanje) — SOK 1–2
A single nine-year basic school (osnovna šola) for children from about 6 to 15. Compulsory, not divided into programmes. On completion, the transition to secondary school is open.
Secondary education (srednješolsko izobraževanje) — SOK 3–5
- Gimnazije — general 4-year education, ending with the "matura" exam and oriented towards university entry. Pure gimnazije are not included in this directory.
- Secondary technical education (srednje strokovno) — 4 years, "poklicna matura", SOK 5. Gives access to višje strokovne šole and (via a maturitetni tečaj) to universities.
- Secondary vocational education (srednje poklicno) — 3 years, a final exam, SOK 4. A "3+2" top-up to SOK 5 is possible.
- Lower vocational education (nižje poklicno) — 2 years, SOK 3.
The directory below covers institutions with vocational and technical programmes specifically (including combined "gimnazija + vocational school").
Short-cycle higher vocational education (višje strokovno) — SOK 6 / EOK 5
Two-year practice-oriented programmes at višje strokovne šole, closely tied to employers and with compulsory placements. Formally this is not yet "higher education" (visokošolsko), but the next level after secondary school; the graduate receives the title "višješolski diplomant". Some credits are usually counted on transfer to a professional bachelor's degree.
Higher education (visokošolsko izobraževanje) — SOK 7–10
- First cycle (1. stopnja) — bachelor's: university (academic) or higher professional, 3–4 years, 180–240 ECTS. SOK 7 / EOK 6.
- Second cycle (2. stopnja) — master's, 1–2 years, 60–120 ECTS. SOK 8 / EOK 7. Certain fields (medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, theology, etc.) are single master's programmes of 5–6 years.
- Third cycle (3. stopnja) — doctorate, usually 3 years, 180 ECTS. SOK 10 / EOK 8. SOK level 9 is specialisation.
Higher education is provided by universities (univerze) and independent higher education institutions (samostojni visokošolski zavodi — faculties, higher professional schools, academies). Both operate only with NAKVIS accreditation. A detailed breakdown is in the article on the higher-education system in Slovenia.