Top 3 Faculties of the University of Pécs among foreign students

The University of Pécs is one of the finest institutions in Hungary. The original medieval institute was the first university of the country, founded in 1367 by King Louis I., or as many Hungarians may call him, Louis the Great. Today, it is one of the most popular destinations for foreign students as well, as there are almost 4000 students from other countries. Let’s see how the university became what it is today and which are foreign students’ favourite faculties.

History of the University

Today’s university was founded in 1921 when the Royal Erzsébet University was relocated from Pozsony (Bratislava) to Pécs. Throughout the last century, the university went through a lot. There was a time when the only faculty was the Faculty of Law; the Faculty of Medicine was an independent university (1951), and the Faculty of Humanities was moved to Szeged and Cluj (1940). Then, a slow but steady expansion started with the establishment of the faculty of economics (1975). Since then, the Teachers Training College merged with the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Business and Economics (1982), and thus the whole institution was renamed as The Janus Pannonius University.  The training college became the new Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Sciences (1992). After the Pollack Mihály Technical College was merged with the Janus Pannonius University (1995), and The Faculty of Visual Arts and Music (1996) was established, the Janus Pannonus University, the Medical University of Pécs and the Illyés Gyula Teacher Training College of Szekszárd were united under the name of the University of Pécs (2000). The number of foreign students is increasing year by year: UP has 3686 foreigners from which 1306 are currently in an English and 919 are in a German programme.

Medical School

According to the statistics of 2017, it is not hard to guess that the most popular faculty at the University of Pécs is the Medical School, where as much as 2112 of students studied last year, and it is among the best in the whole country as well. Students can study General Medicine and Dentistry in English here. The General Medicine programme takes 6 years (12 semesters) and deep pockets, as the tuition fee is EUR 13 750/year. This programme provides complete theoretical and practical training in medicine. Dentistry takes 5 years and even deeper pockets since it costs a student EUR 15197/year.

An interesting fact is that The Faculty of Medicine hosted the first official international student training event of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) between 19th and 22nd July this year. 25 candidates took part in it, arriving from all corners of the world.

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

The second most popular faculty with its 365 candidates is the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Students can learn Electrical Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, Civil Engineering and Architecture BSc and MSc programmes as well, all in English. EUR 2978/year in case of BSc and EUR 3328/year for MSc programmes, except for Architecture, which is a full five-year programme for EUR 3328/year.

Faculty of Humanities

It may be surprising, but if you think about it, it is not a miracle that the third most popular faculty among foreign students is the Faculty of Humanities. All foreign language institutes are there, from English through German to Slavic and Romanic language programmes, and, of course, the International Relations programme. This can sound very inviting for a student coming from abroad, as they can meet other students speaking their language, making the integration process easier. According to the statistics of 2017, 330 foreigners started their studies there last year. I myself studied there until 2016, and I can tell you, most students studied English and American Studies or International Relations. From the aforementioned, BA in English and American Studies costs EUR 3,600/ year, while you have to pay EUR 3,700/ year for a BA in International Relations.

Want to attend a Hungarian university, but you do not fancy the capital? Check out the foreign programmes of UP and give it a try.

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