Education System in Israel

Primary	Primary	1–6	6–12	6	School attendance is mandatory from age 5 to 16 and free through age 18.
Middle	Middle School	7–9	12–15	3
Secondary	Secondary Education	10–12	15–18	3	Academic High School (matriculation certificate - Bagrut, awarded by the national Ministry of Education), Vocational Technical High School, Comprehensive High School.
Tertiary	Undergraduate Education			3	Bachelor's Degree (minimum years of study - 3 years). Prerequisites: "full" Matriculation Certificate (bagrut) and Psychometric Entrance Test, in many respects similar to the SAT in the United States. The program of studies for the bachelor's degree does not include distribution requirements which mandate course work in fields not directly related to the student's major. Students typically begin concentration in their major fields from their first semester of studies.
Tertiary	Graduate Education			2	Master's Degree. Many university departments offer two programs of study towards receipt of the Master's degree. One program requires that students write a master's thesis and qualifies them to pursue doctoral studies in the department, while the other does not require a thesis and is designed for students who do not intend to pursue a doctorate. Students are expected to complete their studies and preparation of their thesis (in thesis-based programs) within two years.
Tertiary	Doctorate			4	Doctoral Degree Programs. Admission to a doctoral degree program typically demands a Master's degree grade average of at least 80 in course work and a thesis grade of 85 or higher. Doctoral degree program usually required four or more years.

Primary Education

Israel is a complex society with tensions between state and religion, and the cultural rights of jews and arabs. Notwithstanding this, the state curriculum is standardized by the ministry of education and culture who allow few exceptions. The academic year runs from september through to july 6 days a week, and the teaching medium is either Arabic or Hebrew. Education is compulsory and free (although some materials must be bought).

Two years of nursery school are prescribed by law, as are the 8 years of primary education that follow. Here pupils learn the academic basics, as they prepare perhaps for the form of secondary education they may follow.

Secondary Education

Four years of secondary education follow, all of which are free although only the first two are compulsory. Academic high schools prepare students for university, while comprehensive high schools provide a combination of academic and vocational training.

Vocational Education

Vocational high schools either prepare students for practical careers, or provide the grounding for technical tertiary study for example in engineering and science. They are well-equipped and are feeders to the nation’s industrial strength.

Tertiary Education

There are seven Israeli universities for which students must pass the bagrutentrance examination to enter. Other post-secondary institutions provide teaching and nursing training, as well as preparation for other technical and semi-professional careers.

The nation’s oldest university is the Israel Institute of Technology, which has educated 3 generations since being founded in 1924. It offers degrees in science and engineering, and architecture, industrial management, medicine and technical education too.

Resources:

Israeli Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports (OWL)