Published 31/07/2014 in Funding Overview
Funding Overview

Higher Education in Hungary

Hungary is a beautiful country known for its rich culture, hospitality, and gorgeous capital city of Budapest. Notable features of Hungary include the Blue Danube, thermal springs, and music. Since 1999, Hungary has made a commitment to its higher education system and along with 28 other countries. They signed a declaration that it would strive to make education accessible to students from all sorts of schools, relevant to the current job market, and of the highest quality. The classroom dynamic in Hungary is typically old-fashioned and is ideal for students who prefer to spend their time in libraries rather than on the computer. Despite this, Hungary is becoming increasingly modern in their academics and turning to more varied forms of education. This dedication to change and reform is apparent through Hungary’s adoption of a student loan system, international cooperation, and scholarships.
High quality education in Hungary
High quality education in Hungary

Educational system

Hungary currently has 62 higher education institutions. 17 of those are state universities, 13 are colleges, 26 are religious colleges, and 6 are private foundations. All schools (except the University of National Defense and the Police Officer Training College) are managed by Hungary’s Ministry of Education. Local governments are not involved in the structure or curriculum of any public university, and all private/non-state schools have to go through a process to be recognised by the state, including proving that they have the proper materials, staff, and finances. This system is in place so all institutions across Hungary are adopting comparable practices that make transferring and idea exchange easy for both domestic and international students.

Degree programmes

With a similar system to most countries, Hungary uses common programmes in terms of degrees. The first “cycle” gets a student a Bachelor’s degree and consists of 6-8 semesters, or about 3-4 years. The second cycle lasts 1-2 years and is for a Master’s degree. The third cycle is for a doctorate degree. If a student wants further training but not a doctorate, there are special programmes following a Master’s degree where a student can specialise in a specific area. This however does not grant them another degree.