Education at all levels is free, even to foreigners. You also have both public and private institutions. Remember that the language of instruction is Spanish and there are no exceptions of courses taught in a another language. This means that even when you are not required to sit for an extrance examination to most degrees, it is essential that you have a command of Spanish at proficient level.

Nowadays it is possible to attend Medical School in Punta del Este for example, or get a degree in the field of Economics in Colonia, Paysandu, Salto among other cities of the interior of Uruguay.

In Montevideo the total cost (of 4 years of instruction) at a private university is about USD 20.000. Education as a right is written in the Constitution, so there should be vacancies in any University and course you want. No entrance exam should be taken, though some schools request entrance examination.

The difference between Public and Private University, generally speaking, relies on the fact that because there is only one state university and everyone has the right to be admitted to any course, classes are overcrowded what makes pedagogical work hard.

Some schools are really crowded like in the Medical School, Architecture, Communications, The School of Economics. There are others that differ a lot especially in the field of fine Arts, Science and Humanities. Arts in Uruguay may be an interesting degree to pursue. Uruguay is internationally well known for paintors such as Joaquin Torres Garcia, Juan Manuel Blanes or Juan Zorrilla de San Martin just to mention the big ones. In the field of Arts internationally recognised laureates like Juan Carlos Onetti, Mario Benedetti, and from a younger generation Eduardo Galeano. In the field of music oscar-winner Jorge Drexler but other good known musical artists are walking in these streets.