The Coordinating Center for International Education has received more than 49,000 applications for the more than one hundred different English-language preparatory courses, BSc and MSc programs, and Ph.D. programs it had announced for the 2026–2027 academic year. This record figure of registrations was partly due to the fact that the number of candidates submitting applications for the Stipendium Hungaricum (SH) scholarship program was now more than forty-five percent higher than in the previous year.
- Our institution has been contacted by more than 70,000 prospective students regarding the Stipendium Hungaricum program, out of which nearly 43,600 did submit their applications in the end. This figure is exceptionally high, just like it was in previous years, because it represents nearly thirty-five to forty percent of all applications submitted nationwide. For this reason, I consider our student recruitment extremely successful, especially in the light that these applicants could choose from nearly thirty institutions of higher education in Hungary- said Attila Jenei, Director of the Coordinating Center for International Education and Vice Rector for International Affairs at the University of Debrecen, to hirek.unideb.hu.
Just like a year ago, a record number of applications was received this year for the MD in Medicine, the MSc in Public Health and the BSc in Computer Science programs. Following the steps of the so-called “country nomination,” the admission procedures and the decision of the Board of Trustees of the Tempus Public Foundation, six hundred and eighty-eight students were awarded the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, compared to seven hundred and fifty-six last year. They will be able to begin their studies at the University of Debrecen as of September 2026 with the help of funding provided by the Hungarian state.
- We received approximately fifty-two hundred applications this year for the English-language tuition-based programs offered by the University of Debrecen, which means a 5 percent increase compared to the figure of last year. Specialists at CCIE processed a total of eighty-six hundred admission procedures. On the basis of our results so far, we can expect a total of approximately twenty-three hundred international students to begin their studies at our university in September 2026, bringing the headcount of our international student community to over seventy-eight hundred. This constitutes a slight increase of 2 to 3 percent- said Attila Jenei.
The vice rector also emphasized that the final student enrollment figure might be influenced by how many of the admitted students would be able to secure a visa appointment and actually obtain a visa. This condition may particularly affect students from Bangladesh and Pakistan, as the proportion of visa denials is quite significant in the case of these countries. He then added that the University of Debrecen had once again announced the UD International Scholarship program, launched in 2024. It is through this scholarship program that students may be eligible for a thirty to ninety percent tuition discount.
While summing up the results of student recruitment, Attila Jenei said that, based on the experience concerning the Stipendium Hungaricum program this year, a continued decline or stagnation in the number of scholarships awarded could be expected. According to the Director of CCIE, some of the biggest obstacles to accepting and receiving international students remain the lack of sufficient dormitory space and available rental apartments, together with the continuing rise in rental prices.
Press Center - ÉE