Slovenia (Slovenija) is a member of the European Union, Schengen Agreement and NATO. Previously one of Yugoslavia's six constituent republics, present-day Slovenia became independent in 1991. Slovenia has four universities, located in Ljubljana, Maribor, Nova Gorica and Koper.

The MSc, or Master of Science, is an internationally recognized academic degree that indicates proficiency and knowledge of a given topic or field. Most MSc programs take about four years to finish, after which some join the workforce while others continue on in the classroom.