Undergraduate studies (first cycle)
If you have successfully completed upper secondary studies in one of the signatory countries of the Lisbon Convention, are in possession of a valid school leaving certificate and qualify for higher education studies in your home country, you may also qualify for higher education studies in Hungary. However, you will have to prove your level of knowledge of the Hungarian language or English. In some cases, you are also required to take additional qualifying courses, called in Hungary as "preparatory courses".
Master's studies (second cycle)
If you are applying for a master's program at an institution in Hungary, you are required to be in possession of a relevant bachelor's or equivalent degree diploma.
Doctoral studies (third cycle)
In the event you are applying for doctoral studies at an institution in Hungary, you are required to be in possession of a relevant diploma or master's degree program.
Hungarian
According to Hungarian legislation, foreign students must pass an exam in Hungarian language as a requirement to be awarded the diploma. In the event you are taking undergraduate studies, you will be required to have a level of command of Hungarian corresponding to, at least, C1 in the Europass Language Passport. For graduate courses, your institution will determine which language exams you will have to take before you can be awarded the diploma. However, if the language of instruction is not Hungarian, you are exempted from the Hungarian language examination requirement.
English
If the language of instruction is English, you will be requested to prove your level of command of the English language. For this purpose, you may present the results obtained at internationally recognized examinations, such as the TOEFL test, or pass an exam at the Hungarian institution where you will be studying. If you are an EU student, you may also ask your institution to evaluate your English studies from upper secondary school to learn whether they are sufficient for you to meet the language requirement. Students from English speaking countries who have received their upper secondary education in English are usually exempted from passing any English language examination.
Preparatory courses
If you have not taken or passed the university entrance examination in your home country or you are not an EU student, you will most probably need to enroll in a preparatory course at the institution you are interested in before applying for higher education studies. The preparatory courses aim at providing students with the required level of knowledge in basic subjects to access the selected study program. These preparatory courses last at most 2 semesters and students are charged tuition fees that vary depending on the program and institution.
Minimum grade point requirement to access university studies in Hungary
Students in Hungary are ranked based on their previous studies when applying for a study place at higher education institution. This ranking is based on the student's grade point average from previous studies and even work experience if applying for specific programs that require it. Therefore, always check with your university/colleges in Hungary about the minimum passing grade you need to meet.