In Sum: Foreign Language Programs in Hungary

A number of interviews, reports and summaries published in the past months aimed to make decision-making and coping easier for foreign students in Hungary. An important aspect of this issue is the number of students interested in foreign language studies, whom we sought to help in the past year. The present article highlights some of the more interesting data in this theme.

Out of the 77 higher education institutions in Hungary, 25 (32.5 per cent) offered foreign language programs in the 2008/2009 academic year. 40 per cent of the universities and colleges that launched mostly English, German and French language programs are in the capital city, while 60 per cent are in one of the major towns in the countryside. The 78 programs announced, including Classical Ballet and Microbiology, range from fields like Plant Protection, English Studies and Law through Sociology to Physical Education.

The programs most often advertised by higher education institutions are related to the field of economics, the most widespread among these being Business Administration, which was offered by 8 institutions, along with Economics and Finances offered by 6 institutions. The Hungarian language versions of the latter are also very popular among the Hungarian students. The programs that are most sought after include Environmental Engineering, which five institutions planned to launch, and programs like Linguistics, Business Economics, Economic and Social Sciences, International Economics and European Studies, Law, Tourism and Hotel Management, Chemical Engineering, General Medicine, which were launched by four higher education institutions each in foreign languages. Students could choose from a total of 245 Bachelor, Master and PhD level programs.

The majority of the programs were offered in English language, while the number of German and French language programs was very low: German language programs were launched by 11 institutions; 5 universities offered French language programs, and 24 institutions offered English language programs. The majority of these programs provide Bachelor and Master degrees, but the offer of PhD programs was also very rich. Several institutions, including the Budapest University of Technology, the University of Miskolc and the University of Pécs provided their programs at all three levels.

Source: Come and Study in Hungary. Higher Education Programmes for Foreign Students in Hungary. Download