In brief

  • The Ministry of Education amended the list of scientific subfields at item 17 of Annex 2 to the CNATDCU regulation, the one covering mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, and military and weapons engineering.
  • “Bioengineering” is explicitly added as a distinct subfield, and the other subfields are reorganised (mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, applied engineering sciences, military/weapons/rocket and ammunition engineering, naval architecture).
  • The change concerns only the classification used by CNATDCU panels when evaluating academic titles, diplomas and certificates in these fields, not university study programmes.
Act: Order of the Minister of Education and Research No. 4,462/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) No. 639 of 3 August 2026
Issued: 21 July 2026

The Ministry of Education and Research amended Annex 2 to the organisational regulation of the National Council for the Attestation of University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU), updating the list of subfields at item 17, the one dedicated to mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, as well as military and weapons engineering. Order No. 4,462/2026, published in Official Gazette of Romania No. 639 of 3 August 2026, amends Order of the Minister of Education No. 5,760/2024, which had originally approved the CNATDCU regulation.

Specifically, the table in the annex now lists, at item 17, an updated set of subfields: mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, applied engineering sciences, military engineering, weapons/rocket and ammunition engineering, naval architecture and, newly introduced, bioengineering. This classification is used by CNATDCU to establish the composition of expert panels evaluating doctoral theses, habilitation files and other academic titles in these fields.

What it changes in practice

For university academics, researchers and PhD candidates whose work falls under bioengineering, the amendment clarifies that the field belongs to the panel at item 17, alongside mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, and military/weapons engineering, which can influence the composition of the panel evaluating a thesis or habilitation file.

For universities and the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI), the amendment simply means updating the reference list used to designate CNATDCU experts, with no impact on study programmes or diplomas already awarded.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

  • “Bioengineering” is added as a distinct subfield at item 17 of Annex 2, a field that did not previously appear explicitly in this classification.
  • The entire list of subfields at item 17 is rewritten: mechanical engineering; mechatronics and robotics; applied engineering sciences; military engineering, weapons/rocket and ammunition engineering; naval architecture; bioengineering.
  • The rest of the annex and of the CNATDCU regulation remain unchanged, the amendment concerning solely this item of the table.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • Clarifies bioengineering’s place as a distinct field within the CNATDCU structure, useful for researchers and PhD candidates in this emerging field at the crossroads of engineering and life sciences.
  • Updates the terminology and structure of the subfields, aligning it better with the actual specialisations existing at Romanian universities.
  • A targeted, easy-to-apply amendment, without disrupting the rest of the CNATDCU regulation or other panels.

What remains a problem

  • The order does not explain the concrete reasons for reorganising the subfields, nor does it detail the criteria for classifying a work as bioengineering versus other related fields (for instance, biomedical engineering).
  • The act does not provide explicit transitional measures for files already under evaluation at the time of the amendment.
  • The text remains, in essence, accessible only to academic specialists; the impact on the general public is practically nonexistent.

Practical advice

  1. If you are preparing a doctoral thesis or a habilitation file in bioengineering, check with your doctoral studies institution how the new classification at item 17 of Annex 2 applies to your panel.
  2. If you work in mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, or military/weapons engineering, note that your field remains at the same item 17, only with the subfields reworded.
  3. For files already in progress, contact CNATDCU or UEFISCDI to clarify whether the new classification affects the composition of your evaluation panel.
  4. Consult the full text of Order No. 5,760/2024, as amended, for the complete picture of the CNATDCU panel structure across all fields, not just item 17.

Frequently asked questions

What does Order No. 4,462/2026 amend?
It amends Annex 2 to Order of the Minister of Education No. 5,760/2024, updating the list of subfields at item 17 of the table underlying the organisation of CNATDCU panels, the one dedicated to mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, and military and weapons engineering.
What is CNATDCU?
The National Council for the Attestation of University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates, the body that evaluates, through field-based expert panels, doctoral theses, habilitation files and other academic titles in Romania.
What exactly changes at item 17?
The list of subfields becomes: mechanical engineering, mechatronics and robotics, applied engineering sciences, military/weapons/rocket and ammunition engineering, naval architecture and, newly, bioengineering.
Does the order affect students or only university academics?
It mainly affects university academics, researchers and PhD candidates whose work is evaluated through the panel at item 17; it does not change bachelor’s or master’s degree programmes.
When does the order enter into force?
From the date of publication in the Official Gazette of Romania, 3 August 2026, under Article III of the order.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 639 of 3 August 2026 16 pages PDF, 123 KB the act starts on page 16

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