Universities in Hungary for African Students

Choosing a university in Hungary

Hungary has 64 recognised institutions: state, public-interest foundation and church-run. None of them is free for a self-funded African student. Public bachelor’s fees run €3,000–8,000 per year and master’s €5,000–8,000 per year; private universities charge €5,000–9,800 per year and €5,000–9,000 per year. Several large public universities are now run by public-interest foundations rather than directly by the ministry, which changes nothing in how you apply or what you pay.

The city matters as much as the fee band. Budapest costs €600–900 per month to live in, against €450–600 per month in Miskolc and €400–650 per month in Győr. Over a three-year degree that gap is bigger than most fee differences.

For an African applicant the shortlist turns on three things: whether your subject is taught in English at that university, what the fee is per semester or per year, and whether your country is eligible for Stipendium Hungaricum. Rankings come last — the highest overall QS position in our dataset is #563 (QS 2026), so treat any agent who calls a Hungarian university “top 100” as unreliable. Read the full cost of studying in Hungary before you fix on Budapest.

Top universities in Hungary

All fees below are the non-EU rate. Read the unit: some universities bill per semester, some per year, and several bill in US dollars.

University of Debrecen has the widest English offer in our dataset — 36 bachelor’s and 42 master’s programmes — and the highest overall rank, #563 (QS 2026). General degrees cost US$6,000–10,000 per year and medicine US$16,900 per year.

Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), #584 (QS 2026), is Budapest’s broad classical university: natural sciences, informatics, humanities, social sciences, law and psychology. Bachelor’s fees run €2,000–4,300 per semester and master’s €2,500–8,000 per semester, so the faculty you choose moves the price more than the university does.

University of Szeged, #633 (QS 2027), teaches medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing in English. Medicine is €15,800 per year; other degrees start at €1,800–3,500 per semester. Only some of its programmes are English-taught, so check course by course.

Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), 751–760 (QS 2027), is the engineering and IT option, with 13 English bachelor’s and 23 English master’s at €3,200–3,500 per semester.

University of Pécs, 791–800 (QS 2027), is the only university in our dataset that publishes what it expects from African school certificates. It runs medicine in English at US$16,750 per year, with general bachelor’s at €2,200–4,500 per semester.

Semmelweis University is medical only — medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, health sciences — and the most expensive, at US$10,450 per semester. It carries no overall QS position in our dataset; its THE position is 251–300 (QS 2026). Admission runs through its own entrance exam.

Corvinus University of Budapest is the business and economics school, ranked 401–450 (Business & Management Studies) (QS 2026) in its subject, with bachelor’s at €6,000–6,600 per year and master’s at €6,800–10,800 per year.

The Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), in Gödöllő, is the cheapest of the large universities at €1,500–2,500 per semester, with 13 bachelor’s and 33 master’s in English across agriculture, food science and environmental sciences.

Four regional and technical universities are the cheaper end: Óbuda University in Budapest (€2,700–3,200 per semester), Széchenyi István University in Győr (€3,400–6,800 per year, vehicle and automotive engineering), the University of Miskolc (€2,400–3,000 per semester, mechanical, materials and petroleum engineering) and the University of Pannonia in Veszprém (€3,000–4,000 per year). For the computing route across all of them, see IT universities in Hungary.

English-taught programmes

English is available at both levels, which is the main practical difference from Germany or Austria. Debrecen, BME, MATE and Óbuda run their international offer entirely in English; ELTE, Corvinus, Pécs, Miskolc, Pannonia and Széchenyi István run many English programmes alongside Hungarian ones; Szeged and Semmelweis run some. The published counts are Debrecen 36 bachelor’s and 42 master’s, MATE 13 and 33, BME 13 and 23, Miskolc 10 and 18, Óbuda 8 and 12.

Teacher training, theology, law and many humanities degrees are taught in Hungarian only, so confirm the language of instruction on the programme page, not the university homepage.

The immigration rules set no language test at all — the university sets the bar. The national floor is IELTS 5.5 at bachelor’s level and 6 at master’s, and individual universities sit above or below it. If your schooling was in English, ask admissions in writing whether that exempts you before you pay for a test — see studying in Hungary without IELTS.

Entry requirements for African students

There is no UCAS-style central system. You apply directly to each university, or through the Stipendium Hungaricum portal at stipendiumhungaricum.hu if your country is a partner. Your certificate is recognised by the university, advised by the Hungarian Equivalence Centre. Documents must be apostilled and translated; Germany’s APS has no role here.

Only the University of Pécs publishes qualification-specific criteria. It asks WASSCE or NECO holders for six subjects including English and mathematics at grades A1–C6, and notes that a foundation year or a year of university study strengthens a weak file. It asks KCSE holders for a mean grade of C+ with relevant subject grades, plus eligibility for university entry in Kenya. It accepts the South African NSC from Umalusi or the IEB where it meets South Africa’s own bachelor’s-admission minimum, and treats an English-medium NSC as proof of English. For Morocco it accepts the Baccalauréat Série Lettres and Série Sciences, but not Série Technique or the Diplôme de Technicien.

Everywhere else it is the same: not published, assessed case by case against the Hungarian érettségi standard. That means you should ask each admissions office in writing, at least a year ahead, rather than assume a grade profile is enough. Semmelweis decides by its own written exam in biology, chemistry and biomedical English. At master’s level no university publishes a minimum class or CGPA; a three-year African bachelor’s is assessed by credit equivalence, and Pannonia may require up to sixty supplementary credits. Country detail is on the corridor pages, for example studying in Hungary from Nigeria.

Tuition and scholarships

Hungary charges tuition and there is no free public option. Public bachelor’s degrees run €3,000–8,000 per year, master’s €5,000–8,000 per year, private bachelor’s €5,000–9,800 per year and private master’s €5,000–9,000 per year. Medicine in English is US$16,900–20,900 per year. There is no evidence of a national semester or registration fee, but many universities bill per semester in euros or dollars, and application fees are charged per university.

Stipendium Hungaricum is the only route that removes tuition, and eligibility is by country, not by merit alone. The partner directory confirms Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Egypt as eligible; Zambia and Zimbabwe are absent from it. Erasmus Mundus joint master’s degrees are the other national-level option. What each scheme pays is set per cycle — see Hungary scholarships.

Budget for the rest as well: €500–600 per month to live outside Budapest, and health insurance from €300 per year. Full figures are on the Hungary cost page.

How to apply

1. Shortlist three to five programmes by language of instruction first, then by subject and fee. Note whether each fee is per semester or per year, and in which currency.
2. Write to each admissions office with your certificate and grades, and ask whether they grant direct entry, and what they require if they do not. Do this about a year before the intake, because most Hungarian universities publish nothing by qualification.
3. Have your certificates apostilled and officially translated. Recognition is handled by the university with the Hungarian Equivalence Centre; no APS is required for Hungary.
4. Decide between the scholarship and self-funded routes. Deadlines: SH 2026/27 cycle closed 15 Jan 2026 (for Sept 2026 start); 2027/28 cycle not yet published as of 2026-09-08 (expect ~mid-Jan 2027); self-funded rolling to ~June. Intakes are September, February (some).
5. Prove your English at the level that university asks for, against a national floor of IELTS 5.5 for bachelor’s and 6 for master’s entry.
6. Sit the entrance exam if you are applying for medicine, dentistry or pharmacy. It covers biology and chemistry, with English, and is usually followed by an interview.
7. Pay the application fee, accept the offer, pay the first instalment of tuition, and arrange accommodation and health insurance from €300 per year.
8. Apply for the study residence permit at the Hungarian embassy handling your country. The fee is €110 and processing takes 6 to 9 weeks — documents and funds rules are on the Hungary student visa page.