The University of Forestry and the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv now have the status of research universities, the government press office said.

After the Council of Ministers updated the list for 2026, 14 universities hold the status. When the caretaker cabinet last updated the list in January, it approved 12.

Seven universities kept their status after their four-year term ran out in 2025: Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski", the medical universities in Sofia, Varna and Plovdiv, the Technical University of Sofia, the University of Chemical Technology and Metallurgy, and Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski". They were assessed on criteria updated in November.

The Medical University of Pleven, Trakia University in Stara Zagora, "Angel Kanchev" University of Ruse, "Neofit Rilski" South-West University in Blagoevgrad and "Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov" University in Burgas remain outside the changes.

The press office noted the strong scientific output of the chosen universities and their large number of intellectual property products. It said the status goes to universities that help develop areas of public importance through research and achieve high results in it.

The status was introduced by the Higher Education Act in 2021.