Eötvös Loránd University
Eötvös Loránd Tudományegyetem
A Budapest university with roots in 1635, Nobel laureates among its former students and over 100 programmes taught in foreign languages.
- Students
- 40,000
- International
- 13%
- of students
- Tuition
- €3,980
- From · 2026-27 / 2027-28
- Founded
- 1635
About ELTE
Eötvös Loránd University traces its origins to 1635, when Cardinal Péter Pázmány founded a university in Nagyszombat (today Trnava, Slovakia). It moved to Buda in 1777 and to Pest in 1784, and took the name of the physicist Loránd Eötvös in 1950. Its medical faculty became today's Semmelweis University in 1951. ELTE's own materials count five Nobel Prize-winning alumni, including Albert Szent-Györgyi and György Hevesy; Ferenc Krausz (Physics 2023) and László Krasznahorkai (Literature 2025) also studied here.
Today ELTE has about 40,000 students in nine faculties: Economics, Education and Psychology, Humanities, Informatics, Law, Primary and Pre-School Education, Science, Social Sciences, and the Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education. Around 5,300 international students from more than 100 countries study here, and the university offers over 100 degree programmes in foreign languages, with no Hungarian required. Sciences, informatics and social sciences share the Lágymányos campus in the 11th district; law sits on Egyetem tér and humanities around the Trefort Garden in the city centre.
Self-funded international students apply directly to each programme, and most sit a faculty entrance exam or interview. Scholarship applicants go through Stipendium Hungaricum instead. ELTE suits students who want a large, research-heavy public university in the centre of an affordable capital.
Why students choose ELTE
Over 100 programmes taught in foreign languages, including English-taught bachelor's degrees in Computer Science, Psychology, International Relations, Applied Economics, Chemistry and Mechanical Engineering.
Stipendium Hungaricum scholars pay no tuition and receive a monthly stipend of HUF 43,700 plus a dormitory place or HUF 40,000 a month towards rent.
Nobel laureates among its former students (five by ELTE's own count, plus Ferenc Krausz and László Krasznahorkai), 16 doctoral schools and 14 Momentum (Lendület) research groups with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Tuition for English-taught bachelor's degrees starts at about 2,000 euros a semester, with lower EU rates on some social sciences programmes.
Admissions
September 2027 intake
Selectivity
ELTE publishes no overall admission rate. Each English-taught programme sets its own cap and selects on documents and an entrance exam or interview; for example Computer Science BSc takes at most 120 new students, and applicants must score at least 50% on an online maths test before an English interview.
Typical entry requirements
| Secondary school leaving certificate | A certificate that gives access to university in the issuing country, with records of the final two years; officially translated if not in English |
|---|---|
| Computer Science BSc / Mechanical Engineering BSc | Good grades, especially in mathematics; online maths test (word problems, series, functions, equations, trigonometry) with at least 50%, then an English interview |
| Social Sciences BA/BSc (International Relations, Applied Economics, Sociology) | School certificate, records of the final two years, and a 1,500-4,000 character motivation letter, followed by an admission interview |
| English language | IELTS 5.5 · TOEFL iBT 46 Most English-taught programmes expect B2 English. Faculty of Social Sciences: IELTS 5.5, TOEFL iBT 46-59 or Cambridge English Scale 162, or English assessed at interview; applicants educated entirely in English are exempt. Faculty of Informatics: B2 oral and written, checked at interview. |
Deadlines
- Stipendium Hungaricum (scholarship route) Non-binding Passed15 January 2026, 2 p.m. CET (2026/27 cycle, past)
The 2026/27 call ran from November 2025; the 2027/28 call had not been published when checked. Apply through the Stipendium Hungaricum system, not ELTE's.
- Computer Science BSc and Mechanical Engineering BSc (self-funded) Non-binding Next deadline · In ~7 months30 April 2027
Programme starts 1 September 2027; decisions by the end of June. Application fee 150 euros.
- Most other English-taught bachelor's (self-funded) Non-binding In ~8 months31 May 2027
Listed for 2027 entry on programme pages such as Chemistry BSc and English and American Studies BA; Special Needs Education BA closes 15 May 2027.
- Social Sciences programmes (early bird periods) Non-binding15 January (2026 cycle date)
For 2026 entry, International Relations, Applied Economics and Sociology used four periods: 1 October-15 November, 20 November-15 January, 20 January-30 April and 5-31 May, with application fees rising from 50 to 200 euros. The 2027 dates were not yet posted.
ELTE says applications generally open in November, with self-funded deadlines between late April and mid-July depending on the programme. Deadlines for 2027 entry were already posted for several programmes (30 April or 31 May 2027); others still showed 2026 dates when checked.
How to apply
Self-funded applicants register on ELTE's online application system (apply.elte.hu), choose the programmes they want, upload their school certificate, final two years' records, CV, motivation letter, passport copy and language certificate, and pay the programme's application fee (for example 150 euros for Computer Science). Most programmes then hold an entrance exam or interview; successful applicants get a Letter of Acceptance to use for their visa. Stipendium Hungaricum applicants apply only through the scholarship's own online system.
What admissions looks for
- A secondary school leaving certificate that gives access to university, with solid grades in the final two years.
- Subject strength that matches the programme, such as mathematics for Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering.
- English at about B2, shown by a certificate or at interview.
- Clear motivation, set out in a motivation letter and tested in the admission interview.
Tips for applying to ELTE
- 1 Apply early to Social Sciences programmes: application fees rise from 50 euros in the autumn to 200 euros in the final May window.
- 2 For Computer Science, revise school maths (series, logarithms, trigonometry): you need 50% on the online test to reach the interview.
- 3 If you are from a Stipendium Hungaricum partner country, apply for the scholarship by its January deadline; it covers tuition and pays a monthly stipend.
- 4 Check each programme page for its own fee, deadline and exam: they differ between faculties.
Costs & financial aid
2026-27 / 2027-28 · figures in EUR
The main funding route is the Hungarian government's Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship for students from partner countries: it waives tuition and pays HUF 43,700 a month for living costs, plus a free dormitory place or HUF 40,000 a month towards rent, and medical insurance. ELTE also administers the Scholarship Programme for Christian Young People and the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship. Self-funded students pay tuition per semester.
- HUF 43,700 (about 110 euros)
- Stipendium Hungaricum monthly stipend (2026/27 call)
- Free dormitory place or HUF 40,000 a month
- Stipendium Hungaricum housing
- 1,000-5,500 euros per semester, depending on programme
- Tuition range stated by ELTE
- 150 euros
- Application fee (Computer Science BSc)
Academics
Academic calendar: Semesters (September intake)
Computer Science BSc
A three-year, 180-ECTS English-taught degree at the Faculty of Informatics with labs for AI, databases and robotics and up to 120 new students a year.
Psychology BA
English-taught at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, the priciest bachelor's at 4,700 euros a semester, with its own entrance exam.
International Relations BA
Run by the Faculty of Social Sciences with departments of International Relations and European Studies, Human Rights and Politics, and Global and Development Studies.
Chemistry BSc
An English-taught science degree at the Faculty of Science, with a lower fee for EU students (1,575 vs 3,150 euros a semester).
Special Needs Education BA
ELTE's Bárczi Gusztáv faculty descends from the world's first special education teacher training course, founded in 1900.
Research
- 16 doctoral schools with 126 doctoral programmes; ELTE says 20% of Hungary's PhD candidates study there.
- 30 research groups with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, including 14 Momentum (Lendület) groups such as Hot Universe and Laboratory Astrochemistry.
- ERC-funded groups including GENECLOCKS (dating the tree of life) and HistoGenes (genetics of Eastern Central Europe, 400-900 AD).
- Member of the CHARM-EU European University alliance, formed in 2019 with Barcelona, Trinity College Dublin, Utrecht and Montpellier.
Schools & faculties
- Faculty of Economics
- Faculty of Education and Psychology
- Faculty of Humanities
- Faculty of Informatics
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education
- Faculty of Science
- Faculty of Social Sciences
- Bárczi Gusztáv Faculty of Special Needs Education
Student life
ELTE is spread across central Budapest rather than one campus, with the Lágymányos science campus in the 11th district and older buildings around Egyetem tér and the Trefort Garden. The university runs dormitories through its Dormitory Service Center, and international students can apply for a place or get help from the Housing Office finding a flat. Its traditions include the Eötvös University Orchestra and Folk Dance Group (1957), the Bartók Béla Choir (1948) and the BEAC athletics club, founded in 1898.
- Budapest University Athletics Club (BEAC), founded in 1898.
- ELTE Bartók Béla Choir (1948) and the Eötvös University Orchestra and Folk Dance Group (1957).
- Student ambassadors and a Stipendium Hungaricum mentor network for international students.
- Several dormitories in Budapest, including Damjanich, Nándorfehérvári and Kőrösi Csoma Sándor.
Housing. International students can apply for ELTE dormitory places or use the Housing Office's partner agencies for private flats; ELTE estimates rent at HUF 220,000-250,000 a month for an apartment.
Location
Budapest, Hungary's capital of about 1.7 million people, has direct flights across Europe and, in ELTE's words, considerably lower living costs than Western Europe. A single tram or bus ticket costs HUF 600 and EU students with a student ID can buy a monthly Budapest pass for HUF 3,450. ELTE's faculties sit in the city centre and at the Lágymányos campus in the 11th district.
Nearest airport: Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
Notable alumni
- AS Albert Szent-GyörgyiNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1937; studied medicine at the University of Budapest (the faculty is now Semmelweis University)
- GH György HevesyNobel Prize in Chemistry 1943; studied chemistry at the University of Budapest for a year
- FL Fülöp LénárdNobel Prize in Physics 1905; studied at the University of Budapest
- GB György BékésyNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1961; PhD in physics from the University of Budapest
- JH János HarsányiNobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences 1994; pharmacy diploma and PhD from the University of Budapest
- FK Ferenc KrauszNobel Prize in Physics 2023; studied theoretical physics at ELTE (1981-85)
- LK László KrasznahorkaiNobel Prize in Literature 2025; studied law at ELTE, then Hungarian at its Faculty of Humanities (graduated 1983)
Frequently asked questions
How much does ELTE cost for international students?
Tuition is charged per semester and varies by programme: English-taught bachelor's degrees range from about 2,000 euros a semester (roughly 4,000 a year) to 4,700 euros a semester for Psychology. Computer Science costs 3,200 euros a semester for everyone; some programmes charge EU students less.
When is the application deadline for ELTE?
It depends on the programme. For September 2027, Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering close on 30 April 2027 and many other bachelor's degrees on 31 May 2027. Stipendium Hungaricum applicants follow the scholarship's earlier deadline, which was 15 January in 2026.
Does ELTE have an entrance exam?
Most programmes do, organised by the faculty in person or online. Computer Science uses an online maths test (50% needed) followed by an English interview, and the Social Sciences programmes use an admission interview.
Can I study at ELTE for free?
Through the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, if you are from a partner country: it covers tuition and pays a monthly stipend of HUF 43,700 plus housing support. Otherwise English-taught programmes charge tuition.
What English level does ELTE require?
Usually B2. The Faculty of Social Sciences accepts IELTS 5.5, TOEFL iBT 46-59 or Cambridge 162, or tests English at interview; Informatics checks B2 English in an interview.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page were checked against official university publications, national application services and ranking publishers in September 2026. Each number is shown with the year or admissions cycle it describes. Always confirm deadlines and fees on the university's own website before applying.
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