Master's Degree in Hungary for African Students

What a master’s degree in Hungary looks like

Hungary’s second cycle is the Mesterkepzes — mesterfokozat (MA / MSc); LLM and MBA titles are used in law and business. A full-length programme runs 1–2 years and carries 120 ECTS. Shorter programmes exist because the statute fixes a credit range rather than one duration, so read the credit total before you compare prices: a one-year degree billed per year is not cheaper than a two-year degree billed per semester.

Starts are September, February. September carries almost every programme; February is offered by some universities only, as the national intake line records: September, February (some).

English-taught provision is wide and you need no Hungarian for it. Debrecen lists 42 English master’s programmes, the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences 33, Budapest University of Technology and Economics 23 and the University of Miskolc 18, out of 64 recognised institutions in all.

Recognition sits at two desks: University + Hungarian Equivalence Centre. The university decides whether your bachelor’s admits you to its programme; the Equivalence Centre, Hungary’s ENIC-NARIC, recognises the qualification itself. An apostille is required (yes); an APS certificate is not (no).

Is an African bachelor’s accepted?

Yes, and a three-year degree is accepted on the same terms as a four-year one. Hungary’s own bachelor’s is 180 ECTS over 3 years, and the single statutory condition is a bachelor’s degree with a professional qualification attested by a diploma. Neither the Act nor the national admission guidance sets a minimum-length, four-year or honours rule, so a Nigerian or Kenyan four-year degree and a South African three-year degree are read the same way. An honours year is not required, though it strengthens a credit case.

What is tested is subject fit. Each programme publishes the minimum credits you must already hold in its field and measures your transcript against that figure; Corvinus publishes both a minimum and a full threshold for every programme. Where you fall short, the gap is closed by reszismereti kepzes, a supplementary-knowledge course taken alongside the master’s, or by documented professional experience. The degree does not get longer, because the bridging credits run in parallel. See our second degree and conversion master’s page.

There is no national minimum GPA or class of degree. Admission is credit-based, so the common claim that you need a second class upper is not a Hungarian rule. Where a grade line exists, the programme sets it: Corvinus and the University of Pécs use credit thresholds and entrance examinations instead. You will submit a degree certificate and full transcript, apostilled and translated, with your English certificate and passport.

How much a master’s costs in Hungary

Public universities charge €5,000–8,000 per year for an English-taught master’s; private institutions charge €5,000–9,000 per year. Nobody studies free, and there is no national semester or registration charge on top.

Check the billing unit before you compare. Several universities quote per semester: €1,800–4,100 per semester at Szeged, €2,200–3,900 per semester at Pécs, €2,500–3,300 per semester at MATE. Others quote per year, and some in dollars: Debrecen asks US$5,500–10,000 per year, Széchenyi István €5,200 per year and Corvinus €6,800–10,800 per year.

Application fees are separate and non-refundable: €95 at Corvinus, €100 at MATE, US$150 at Debrecen.

Living costs run €500–600 per month nationally, €600–900 per month in Budapest and €450–600 per month in Miskolc. Health insurance is compulsory and a private student policy costs about €300 per year. The residence permit costs €110.

Budget your first year as one year of tuition, twelve months of living costs, insurance and the permit fee, before flights. City-by-city figures are on our Hungary cost of study page.

English requirements for a master’s

The national floor at master’s level is IELTS 6, one band above the bachelor’s floor of 5.5. Universities set their own line around it and the spread is wide. Budapest University of Technology and Economics asks 5; Eötvös Loránd University, Óbuda University and Semmelweis ask 5.5; Debrecen, MATE, Miskolc and Pécs ask 6; Szeged asks 6.5 and the University of Pannonia 7.

A medium-of-instruction letter replaces the test at some of them. Debrecen, MATE, Miskolc, Széchenyi István and Pannonia accept one; Óbuda, Pécs and Szeged decide case by case; Corvinus and Semmelweis do not. Immigration sets no band of its own — the permit rule asks only for the language knowledge needed to follow the programme, so the university’s line is the one that binds. See Hungarian universities without IELTS.

Universities to look at for a master’s

The University of Debrecen has the widest English catalogue at 42 master’s programmes, in a mid-sized city in the east, at US$5,500–10,000 per year and ranked #563 (QS 2026).

The University of Szeged is the cheapest entry point on file at €1,800–4,100 per semester, in a southern university city where living costs are €700–800 per month.

The Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences teaches 33 English master’s programmes at Gödöllő, outside Budapest, for €2,500–3,300 per semester, with dormitory rent at €120–180 per month.

The University of Pécs runs a broad offer at €2,200–3,900 per semester in the south-west, ranked 791–800 (QS 2027), and publishes country-by-country entry schedules for African certificates.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics is the engineering choice: 23 English master’s at €2,200–4,000 per semester and the lowest English bar in the table.

Corvinus University of Budapest is the business school, ranked 401–450 (Business & Management Studies) (QS 2026) at €6,800–10,800 per year, with entry through a written analytical paper and an interview.

Eötvös Loránd University is the largest general university at 35,000 students, with master’s fees from €2,500–8,000 per semester depending on faculty.

The University of Miskolc offers 18 English master’s at €2,500–3,500 per semester in the north-east, where living costs are €450–600 per month. Full list: Hungarian universities for African students.

Scholarships for a master’s

Two schemes fund master’s study. Stipendium Hungaricum is the Hungarian government scheme and covers tuition in full, pays HUF 43,700–180,000 per month, and adds health insurance plus a dormitory place or a housing contribution. You do not need an offer first: the scholarship application is also your university application. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa and Morocco are eligible; Uganda is eligible on restricted terms; Zambia and Zimbabwe are absent from the partner list.

Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters is the European alternative, open to all nine of our countries with no nationality restriction. It covers tuition in full and pays €1,400 per month, and you apply to a consortium rather than to Hungary.

No university master’s fee waiver is published in our dataset, so if your country is outside Stipendium Hungaricum, plan on paying and shortlist the cheapest universities first. More: Hungary scholarships for African students.

How to apply for a master’s in Hungary

1. Shortlist on credit fit. Read each programme’s minimum-credit requirement against your transcript before you pay any application fee.
2. Apostille and translate early. Your degree certificate and full transcript both need an apostille, and legalisation takes several weeks in most of our countries.
3. Choose your route. Stipendium Hungaricum goes through https://stipendiumhungaricum.hu/; self-funded applicants apply direct to the university’s own online admission system.
4. Diarise the deadline: Mid-June 2027 for the September 2027 start (University of Debrecen 15 June; University of Pecs 30 June), around 1 November 2027 for the February 2028 start, and 15 January 2027, 14:00 CET for Stipendium Hungaricum.
5. Prove your English to the university’s band, or supply a medium-of-instruction letter where it accepts one.
6. Sit the entrance examination or online interview, which is normal at the selective universities.
7. Accept the offer and pay the application fee and first instalment; proof of payment goes into the permit file.
8. Apply for the residence permit. The fee is €110 and a decision takes 6 to 9 weeks, so file on the offer, not on the flight. See Hungary student visa requirements.

After the master’s

Graduates can apply for a Residence permit for job search, worth 9 months after a master’s. It cannot be extended, and your student years do not count toward the residence period needed for permanent residence. During the degree you may work 30 hours/week without a separate permit, against a statutory minimum wage of HUF 322,800 per month, which covers food and transport rather than fees. Outside IT, employers interview and work in Hungarian.

The other route out of a master’s is doctoral study, at 4–5 years and 240 credits, funded by a state or Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship on a capped number of places. See PhD study in Hungary.