The Hungarian higher education consists of universities and colleges. Universities provide a high standard of theoretical knowledge while colleges provide more practical knowledge in a shorter time period.
Since 1990 students can also study at Church-colleges. In addition to theological subjects, these also offer other subjects like administration.
There are 62 universities in Hungary: 17 state universities, 13 colleges, 26 religious colleges and 6 private foundations. Student loans should make studying possible for everyone.
Students who do not receive a state stipend have to pay university tuition fees. These vary depending on the course of study - from US$400 (Law) to US$2,400 (Medicine). There are no fees for students who are supported by the state.
Universities receive a certain amount of scholarships and award these to students. In general, 80% of scholarships are allocated to students with higher marks and 20% are allocated according to student’s social background. Students who receive a scholarship also receive a grant for books that need to be acquired for the courses. For a place in dormitory students who are state supported have to pay one quarter of the housing costs by themselves.
Foreign students must pay fees for higher education in Hungary. The fees vary depending on the university. For foreign-language courses (German or English) you need to pay up to 10,000 € tuition. For more information check out the information desk at your university.
The academic year is divided into two semesters. The winter semester begins in September and lasts 14 to 15 weeks. During this time students attend lectures, seminars and work placements. The following six weeks are scheduled for examination.
The spring semester runs from early February to late May and has also a six-week test period. The amount of hours is between 20-40 hours depending on the study field. The work input for students should be, included the lectures, approximately 900 hours per semester.
Since September 2003, all Hungarian universities are required to evaluate all academic work with the European credit point system ECTS. One academic year contains 60 credit points. Hungarian students can, just like other students of the EU, finance their semester abroad with the Erasmus and other European funding programs.
The Hungarian College degree is the "fõiskolai oklevél" which is similar to the common “Bachelor". The degree at a university is called "egyetemi oklevél" and is similar to the common "Master".
The Hungarian newly launched PhD is internationally recognized.
The following degrees may be obtained:
Those applying for a Hungarian university need to have graduated from high school and are required to pass entrance exams in two subjects. The university will also consider the applicant’s average score for the last 3 years of high school.
The acceptance is based on a 120 point system: 60 points for the average high school grades and 60 for the university entrance exam. The exam includes written and oral sections.
Andrássy University is a private university located in Budapest. Since 2 September 2002 it is the first university in Central Europe with German as a main language.