The application period for educational grants in Kazakhstan, which started on July 13, is nearing its end – it will last until July 20 inclusive. As of July 17, 2026, more than 103,000 applications have been accepted nationwide. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.

Traditional stereotypes that all graduates dream of becoming economists and lawyers have been completely shattered. The top three looks monumental:

  • 01**"Information Technology" (B057)** – 10,288 applications. 5,000 grants allocated, competition 2 people per spot.
  • 02**"Physical Education and Sports" (B091)** – 4,700 applications. 1,500 grants allocated, competition 3 people per spot.
  • 03**"Pedagogical Sciences" (B010)** – 4,200 applications. 2,000 grants allocated, competition 2.1 people per spot.

For comparison: the once popular field "Finance, Economics and Banking" (B046) gathered only 2,054 applications, and "Law" (B049) received 1,651 applications. The profession of a physical education teacher turned out to be almost 3 times more popular than law!

If we aggregate all applications by enlarged groups of educational programs, the overall balance of power across the country looks as follows:

  • 01**Pedagogical Sciences** – 18,500 applications (5,000 grants)
  • 02**Information Technology** – 12,800 applications (5,500 grants)
  • 03**Engineering and Technical Specialties** – 9,200 applications (4,000 grants)
  • 04**Healthcare** – 7,500 applications (3,000 grants)
  • 05**Agriculture** – 3,200 applications (1,500 grants)

For applicants based on technical and vocational education (colleges) for full-time shortened study, priorities are slightly different, but the leaders are the same. Out of a total pool of 5,100 applications, the leaders are:

  • 01**Information Technology** – 1,200 applications
  • 02**Physical Education and Sports** – 900 applications
  • 03**Pedagogical Sciences** – 800 applications

The National Testing Center reminded that applicants still have three days, including July 20, to make their choice or adjust the universities indicated in the application. The final competition promises to be unprecedented.