Ministerial Order 1275: The Complete Guide to the Student Startup or Patent Degree
Ministerial Order No. 1275 is one of the most misunderstood texts in Algeria. Much of what is written about it presents it as the text that grants the “startup label” — which is wrong. Order 1275 was issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on 27 September 2022, and it has one specific subject: how to prepare a graduation thesis through which a higher-education student earns a university “startup” degree or a “patent” degree. The state label comes from Executive Decree 20-254, under a different ministry. This guide separates the two tracks and explains Order 1275 as it actually is, including its amendment by Order 008 of 2025.
What exactly is Ministerial Order 1275?
Ministerial Order No. 1275 of 27 September 2022 is a text issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research that sets out how students at higher-education institutions prepare a graduation thesis to obtain a university “startup” degree. It covers two degrees: the Degree — Startup and the Degree — Patent.
The idea behind it is simple and far-reaching at the same time: instead of finishing their studies with a theoretical thesis left on a shelf, students finish with a project that can become a company, or an invention that can be filed. Graduation turns from the end of an academic path into the start of an economic one.
The order implements the fourteenth commitment of the President of the Republic, as part of a broader drive to make the Algerian university a national and international hub and to train a new generation of entrepreneurs.
A common mistake: Order 1275 is not the state label text
This is the most important point in this guide. If you are looking for the “startup” label for your company, Order 1275 is not the text that concerns you. This comparison separates the two tracks point by point:
- Source: Order 1275 comes from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research · the state label comes from the national committee under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Startups and Micro-enterprises.
- Founding text: Ministerial Order 1275 of 27 September 2022 · Executive Decree 20-254 of 15 September 2020, Official Journal No. 55.
- Beneficiary: a student in the final year of their studies · an existing company governed by Algerian law.
- Outcome: an additional university degree (startup or patent) · an official label granted for four years and published on the national portal.
- Effect: support from the university incubator and a path toward incorporation · tax and customs exemptions and the right to funding and support.
- Where to apply: the university and its incubator · the national web portal startup.dz.
Why the confusion?
Because the name is the same: both tracks use the word “startup”. The student gets a university degree bearing the name, and the company gets a label bearing the same name. But the first is an academic document from the university, and the second is a legal status from the state that carries tax benefits. Anyone who builds their file on the wrong text wastes time on a procedure that won’t get them where they want to go.
For full detail on the label track and its official requirements, read Startups in Algeria: The Complete Guide.
Who benefits from Order 1275?
Any student in the final year of their studies who has an idea that could grow into a startup can be supported by their university’s business incubator and defend a graduation thesis to obtain a university “startup” degree.
Once the student has met the requirements for the higher-education degree, they receive an additional degree called the “Degree — Startup” or “Degree — Patent”, issued in a national language and translated into a foreign language.
The academic side: team, supervision and defense
The project doesn’t have to be individual work. Implementation rests on four pillars: the academic side (the team, supervision, the examination committee, the degree), awareness and training (trainers, programs, workspaces), links with the wider environment (funding mechanisms, field visits, business café, events), and patents (registration procedures, prototypes, ownership, registration fees).
Implementation is monitored by the national coordination committee for monitoring innovation and university business incubators, through its regional committees.
Texts accompanying Order 1275
The order was not issued on its own; it came with instructions and circulars explaining how to implement it. Anyone preparing a file today needs the whole package, not just the order:
- Ministerial Instruction No. 1409 of 22 September 2022, on the startup degree procedures.
- Ministerial Instruction No. 1443 of 4 October 2022, on the mechanisms for the startup degree and the patent degree.
- General Secretariat Circular No. 1550 of 23 October 2022, addressed to academic and scientific bodies.
- Order No. 008 of 23 February 2025, amending and supplementing Order 1275.
Order 008 of 23 February 2025
After two and a half years in force, Order No. 008 of 23 February 2025 amended and supplemented Order 1275. The change isn’t cosmetic; it shifts the project’s center of gravity:
- A shift in focus from innovation to entrepreneurship, so the university degree is now about an “economic enterprise project” rather than innovation alone — opening the door to fields of study that had no place in the first version.
- Opening participation to foreign students enrolled at Algerian higher-education institutions.
- Creating a guidance unit that supports students in developing their business ideas and turning them into startups.
The practical rule
Always refer to the amended and supplemented version when preparing your file, not the 2022 text alone. And keep an eye on your university’s announcements: project registration deadlines have usually been extended more than once during the academic year.
How to get started in practice
The usual path follows clear steps: define your project idea, then contact your university’s business incubator or entrepreneurship center, and register your project within the deadlines of Order 1275 as amended by Order 008. A supervision committee is then formed, you prepare the thesis as a project rather than a theoretical study, and you defend it before an examination committee. If you pass, you receive your university degree together with the special degree.
If your ambition is to turn the project into a real company that benefits from tax exemptions, the next step after graduating is to apply for the state label through the national portal under Decree 20-254. See Startups in Algeria and then how to start a startup in Algeria.
TKAWEN’s experience with both tracks
We don’t write about these two tracks from the outside. TKAWEN holds the “startup” label under number 0108242769, and the university file under Order 1275 with reference UBMA-STARTUP-2023-00062. In other words, we have gone through both doors, and we know they are two doors, not one — exactly what most writing on the subject gets wrong.
The message to Algerian students: Order 1275 gives you no tax exemption and no funding, but it gives you something more valuable at the start — institutional support and a full year to work on your project instead of on a thesis that will be forgotten.
From graduation thesis to a real company
TKAWEN has been through both tracks: the Order 1275 degree and the startup label. See what we built after them.
Explore the ecosystem →Frequently asked questions
What is Ministerial Order 1275?
An order issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on 27 September 2022 that sets out how students at higher-education institutions prepare a graduation thesis to obtain a university “startup” degree or a “patent” degree.
Does Order 1275 grant the startup label?
No. The “startup” label is granted by the national committee under the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Startups and Micro-enterprises, under Executive Decree 20-254 published in Official Journal No. 55. Order 1275 grants a university degree to a student. The two tracks differ in ministry, text, beneficiary and effect.
Who benefits from Order 1275?
Any student in the final year of their studies with an idea that could grow into a startup. They are supported by their university’s business incubator, defend a graduation thesis and, if successful, receive an additional degree issued in a national language and translated into a foreign language. Since the 2025 amendment, foreign students are eligible too.
What is Order 008 amending and supplementing Order 1275?
An order issued on 23 February 2025 that amends and supplements Order 1275. Its main changes: shifting the focus from innovation to entrepreneurship so the degree covers an “economic enterprise project”, opening participation to foreign students, and creating a guidance unit to support students.
What are the two degrees granted under Order 1275?
The Degree — Startup and the Degree — Patent. They are awarded once the student has met the requirements for the higher-education degree, issued in a national language and translated into a foreign language.
What texts accompany Order 1275?
Instruction No. 1409 of 22 September 2022, Instruction No. 1443 of 4 October 2022, General Secretariat Circular No. 1550 of 23 October 2022, and Order No. 008 of 23 February 2025 amending and supplementing it.
Can a 1275 degree become a state label?
The degree itself doesn’t convert automatically. But the project the student completed can become a company that, once incorporated, applies for the “startup” label through the national portal under the requirements of Article 11 of Decree 20-254. In other words, 1275 is a door to training and support, while the label is a door to legal status and benefits.