Hungary : Postgraduate study

How does the higher education system work?

Hungary’s higher education system comprises 69 higher education institutions. These include state universities and colleges, church universities and colleges, as well as private institutions accredited by the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (HEC).

Higher education is concentrated in Budapest. Universities offer both
Bachelors and Masters (as well as PHD/DLA) degrees, while colleges offer Bachelors degrees. Study programmes offered in English include medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, engineering, economics, natural sciences, humanities, arts and music.

Hungary now adopts the Bologna principles. From the academic year 2005/06, there has been a two-cycle system for all students entering higher education in Hungary. The first leads to a Bachelors degree and the second, to a Masters degree. The additional third cycle is a three-year Doctoral study programme.

In the 2006/07 academic years, over 15,000 students arrived in Hungary from 118 countries. The vast majority, 79%, of all foreign students choosing to study in Hungary come from Europe, more than half come from neighbouring countries. (National Higher Education Information Centre (Felvi), 2008)