Hungary’s Semmelweis University has announced a major international expansion, signing a ten-year strategic partnership that will establish its second campus in Germany. The agreement opens new opportunities for medical students while also strengthening Hungarian-German research cooperation.

A second German campus for Semmelweis

The new campus will be based at the Westpfalz-Klinikum in Kaiserslautern. Under the agreement, up to 80 students each year will complete the clinical stage of their medical education there. The partnership was signed by Béla Merkely, Rector of Semmelweis University, and Thorsten Hemmer, the hospital’s chief executive.

Students enrolled in the programme will spend the first three years of the six-year medical degree in Budapest, receiving theoretical and pre-clinical education. The final three years will take place in Germany, where they will receive hands-on clinical training directly alongside patients.

Same degree, international experience

The Kaiserslautern campus will operate as an official external training site of Semmelweis University. As a result, students will follow exactly the same curriculum as those studying in Budapest.

Graduates will receive the same Semmelweis medical degree awarded to students completing their studies either in Hungary or at the university’s first German campus, the Asklepios Campus Hamburg, which was established in 2008. Clinical teaching staff in Germany will be appointed with the approval of the university’s Senate, ensuring academic standards remain identical across all campuses.

More than four decades of German-language medical education

Semmelweis University launched its German-language medical programme in 1983, becoming one of the pioneers of international medical education in Central Europe. Today, around one-third of its approximately 16,000 students come from abroad, highlighting the institution’s growing international appeal.

The university says the new partnership is about more than education. It also aims to deepen scientific cooperation between Hungary and Germany through joint research projects, particularly in fields such as artificial intelligence, informatics and the application of engineering technologies in healthcare.

Officials say the collaboration will create new opportunities for both students and researchers while further expanding Semmelweis University’s European academic network.

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