Hungarian Higher Education

Hungary celebrates its Millennium in 2000; the first Hungarian King St. Stephen was crowned in 1000, after the conquest of the Hungarian tribes in the Carpathian basin in the 9th century. The country accumulated strong cultural traditions during these more than thousand years being always receptive to other nations. The unique language of the Hungarians - belonging to the Finno-Ugric languages - was influenced during the centuries by different languages from the Persian through the Turkish to the Slavic or German effects.

The roots of higher education date back to the early centuries with the foundation of the predecessors of today's universities, like the University of Pecs from the 13th, the Budapest University of Science, Eotovos Lorand from the 17th and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics for the 18th century. The Hungarian higher education has always had a traditionally strong basis in natural sciences: first of all in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry owing to the higher level of the secondary school system during the 19th and 20th century. This is the main background for the particular contribution of Hungarian scientists and professionals to the World's science and technology's achievements by several Nobel prize winners - like Albert Szentogyorgyi (medical), Eugene Wigner (physics), Gyorgy Olah (chemistry) or Janos Harsanyi (economics) and others - and inventors, like John von Newmann of the first computer, Mihaly Denes of the television, Donat Banki of the carburettor, or Erno Rubik of the famous cube. Even these years, the Hungarian high school students are among the most gold medal winners on the scientific Olympic Games in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

The change of political and economic system during the end of the eighties, early nineties have brought new challenges for the universities in Hungary. On the one hand, the transfer to democracy and market economy, on the other hand the accelerated globalisation of the world economy and integration process, at the same time the growing importance of human resources meant new goals, aims. The universities with long traditions and conservative attitude should fulfil the new needs of society, becoming more efficient and flexible. The universities' interests are mostly exposed to the needs of society and at the same time higher education has always had strong international character. The universities were among the first institutions, that have met the new challenges of internationalisation, globalisation and integration, being the leading edge of developments in their fields.

In the case of some Hungarian Universities, the internationalisation was a goal and at the same time means of development. A great emphasis was given to the creation of a foreign language environment at the Universities. One basic point was the launching of a complete English scheme at some universities, in the middle of the eighties, first of all for overseas, European and Hungarian students. It was launched at the University of Medicine Semmelweis, at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and a the Budapest University of Economic Sciences and later on at some further universities, like universities of Medicine in Pecs, Debrecen and Szeged, at the University Szent Istvan (in Godollo) in the fields of Agriculture, Veterinary sciences and Horticulture and a the University of Miskolc. The English scheme introduced a degree system - BSc, MSc, PhD, BA, MBA or M.D. - appropriate for the English speaking world. The courses taught in English have created a language environment at the universities, with a community of more than a thousand students and professors using English as a medium at each university. This fact basically contributed to the international co-operation, the opening up process of the universities, to staff and student mobility during the last decade. At some universities further language schemes have been introduced, like German at the University of Medicine German and French at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.

The multilingual environment contributed to staff exchanges and student mobility programmes, enabling the universities to receive visiting professors for shorter or longer periods, who could deliver lectures both for Hungarian and international students. The Hungarian students have been involved in the international relations, in study abroad programs in the form of Tempus and later Erasmus, Socrates programs and professional student organisations. At the same time in the frame of ISEP and other global and bilateral exchange programs, a significant number of overseas and further western European students have been studying for one or two semesters at the Hungarian universities, due to the courses taught in different languages or even special courses organised for exchange students on Hungarian culture, politics, economy and technology at certain universities, like the Budapest University of Technology and Economics or the Budapest University of Economic Sciences.

During recent years more than three thousand international students have graduated from the degree programs of the Hungarian universities and about the same number of students have spent one or two semester programs with credit courses on their professional fields or on special Hungarian, Central European issues on Hungarian universities. The reputation and respectability of the Hungarian degrees is fairly high all over the world, students with Hungarian universities' degrees can study at most distinguished universities of the world on postgraduate level or could have a job at national or multinational companies.

Budapest and other university towns offer a student-friendly environment with a lot of cultural and social opportunities, temperate climate and cost saving way of life.