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Study in Hungary

The road to Hungary, one calm step at a time

Eight steps of the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship, from checking that you can apply to your first weeks in Hungary, in the order they come. Each one says what it is, the documents, when it usually happens, the mistakes that cost people a year, and the official page to follow.

8 steps For Stipendium Hungaricum applicants

Who this is for

Students living outside Hungary who apply for a full degree with the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship: a bachelor’s, a master’s, a one-tier master’s or a PhD, or the Hungarian preparatory year. Studying on your own money, exchange semesters and postgraduate specialist training courses follow other rules.

Read this first

This page is a map, not legal advice. Every fact links to the official page it comes from. The scholarship’s call is published once a year and its dates and rules can change: the dates here are those of the 2026/27 call, the latest published when this path was checked, and the official call always wins.

At a glance

Five rules that shape the whole road. Each is explained in its step.

Who runs it
The Hungarian Government’s scholarship programme, managed by the Tempus Public Foundation Source: Stipendium Hungaricum.
Who can apply
Nationals of a Sending Partner whom it nominates; Palestine is one, for full-time programmes Source: SH: application guide Source: SH call 2026/27.
How you apply
One online application with up to two choices, and an application to your Sending Partner Source: SH: apply Source: SH call 2026/27.
What it covers
Tuition, a monthly stipend, a dormitory place or a housing contribution, and medical insurance: a help with living costs, not all of them Source: SH call 2026/27.
The visa
A residence permit for study, applied for at a Hungarian mission, with a type D visa to enter Source: Aliens Policing.

Step 1

Check that you can apply, and choose two programmes

What it is

Stipendium Hungaricum is the Hungarian Government’s scholarship programme, founded in 2013, supervised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Tempus Public Foundation Source: Stipendium Hungaricum. It rests on agreements between Hungary and each sending country, so you can apply only for the levels and fields in your country’s agreement, and only as a national of that country: living there is not enough Source: SH: apply Source: SH: application guide. You choose at most two programmes, in order of preference, at one university or at two; the first choice is considered first Source: SH call 2026/27.

For applicants from Palestine

Palestine is one of the Sending Partners, for full-time programmes only: it is not on the list for partial (exchange) studies or postgraduate specialist training courses Source: SH call 2026/27. Each Sending Partner sets its own deadline and requirements, and the programme asks you to contact the office responsible for your country, found through its Partners page Source: SH: apply Source: SH: Sending Partners. The call does not accept stateless persons, refugees, asylum seekers and some other protected groups Source: SH call 2026/27. The pages we read do not say whether this concerns Palestinians registered as refugees, so ask your Sending Partner and the Tempus Public Foundation before you apply.

What it covers
Exemption from tuition, a monthly stipend, a place in a dormitory or a contribution to your rent, and medical insurance Source: SH call 2026/27. The call says this is only a contribution to your living costs and that you add money of your own, and travel to Hungary is not covered Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: your flight.
The levels
Bachelor’s, master’s, one-tier master’s and doctoral programmes, and a Hungarian preparatory year Source: Stipendium Hungaricum Source: SH call 2026/27. For 2026/27, 30 universities offered more than 900 programmes in foreign languages, mostly in English Source: SH: Study Finder.
Your age
In the 2026/27 call you had to be 18 by the start of your studies, and by 31 August 2026 at the latest, with a few exceptions such as dance programmes Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: application guide.

Why it matters

Your Sending Partner and your two choices shape the whole year: only programmes open to your country are valid, a choice that is not is rejected automatically, and after the deadline you cannot change the programmes, their order or their language Source: SH: application guide Source: SH call 2026/27.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing a programme that is not open to your country: the application is rejected automatically Source: SH: application guide.
  • Applying where you live rather than by your nationality: only nationals of partner countries may apply Source: SH: application guide.
  • Putting a very competitive programme, such as medicine, as your second choice: the call says such applicants are unlikely to be considered Source: SH call 2026/27.

Step 2

Your language, and the preparatory year

What it is

For a programme taught in English, the university sets the level it asks for Source: SH call 2026/27. For a programme taught in Hungarian you need at least B2 Hungarian to apply directly Source: SH: apply Source: SH call 2026/27. If you do not speak Hungarian yet, you can apply for the one-year Hungarian preparatory course instead, and continue afterwards in a programme taught in Hungarian; moving to one taught in English is not possible Source: SH: apply Source: SH call 2026/27.

A foundation year
For some English-taught programmes in engineering, music and dance, and computer science, the university may place you in a foundation semester or year after its entrance exam; you cannot apply for it yourself Source: SH call 2026/27.
Hungarian in your first year
Full-time bachelor’s and master’s students in a programme taught in another language study Hungarian as a foreign language for two semesters, free of charge. Those who do not attend and pass it lose all or part of their monthly stipend Source: SH: apply Source: SH call 2026/27.
For a PhD
In a doctoral programme taught in a foreign language, the university sets the level and there is no preparatory year Source: SH doctoral call.

Why it matters

The language decides whether you start your degree at once or after a preparatory year, and a Hungarian test is part of the entrance exams for programmes taught in Hungarian Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH doctoral call.

Common mistakes

  • Applying to a programme taught in Hungarian without B2, instead of to the preparatory course Source: SH: apply.
  • Planning to switch to English after the preparatory year: it is not possible Source: SH call 2026/27.
  • Skipping the Hungarian course in your first year: it costs part or all of the stipend Source: SH: apply.

Step 3

Prepare your documents

What it is

Everything is uploaded to the online application, as scans of the originals Source: SH: documents. The form is filled in in English, with a photo taken within the last two years and your name in Latin letters exactly as in your passport Source: SH: documents Source: SH: application guide. A translation is needed only for a document that is not in English, in Hungarian or in the programme’s language Source: SH: application guide.

For a PhD
A research plan of at least two pages, a signed recommendation letter from your former or current academic tutor or supervisor, who holds a scientific degree and knows your work, and, if the doctoral school asks for it, a statement from a supervisor at the university, which in the 2026/27 call could follow until 15 March Source: SH doctoral call Source: SH: application guide.
If a document is not ready
A final-year certificate, a language result or a passport not yet issued can follow: in the 2026/27 call you uploaded a signed declaration by the deadline and the document by 1 August. A missing transcript cannot be added later Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: application guide.
The medical certificate
Only if you are awarded the scholarship: a certificate on the programme’s template, signed by a doctor, which you bring to Hungary for the medical examination instead of uploading it Source: SH: documents.

Why it matters

Every application is checked for completeness first: one that was saved but never submitted, or that lacks a required document, is rejected Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: application guide.

Common mistakes

Step 4

Apply online, and to your Sending Partner

What it is

You apply on the programme’s online application system, run by the Tempus Public Foundation, and not to the universities directly Source: SH: apply. You also apply to your Sending Partner, which sets its own deadline and requirements Source: SH: application guide Source: SH call 2026/27. Registering online and the entrance exams are free of charge, and the programme warns you not to pay unknown agencies Source: SH: apply.

One application a year
You can apply once a year, and a second application in the same round is rejected; after the deadline, your choices and their order stay as they are Source: SH: apply Source: SH: application guide.

Why it matters

Only a submitted application counts: one saved but not submitted is rejected, and no application is accepted after the deadline Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: apply.

Common mistakes

Step 5

The nomination and the entrance exams

What it is

After the deadline, the Tempus Public Foundation checks each application, and your Sending Partner chooses whom it nominates; only nominated applicants go on Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: apply. The universities then hold their own entrance exams for your choices, and each sets their form and date Source: SH call 2026/27. Passing does not guarantee the scholarship: places are shared out by the agreement with your country, the programme’s capacity, your order of choices, your results and your Sending Partner’s ranking Source: SH call 2026/27.

The timeline of the 2026/27 call
Nomination lists were due by the end of February 2026. The call expected the entrance exams from 18 March to 30 April 2026 for first choices and to 20 May for second choices, and called these dates indicative. Results were announced from the end of June Source: SH call 2026/27 Source: SH: apply.

Why it matters

The nomination comes first: an application that is not nominated does not reach the universities Source: SH call 2026/27.

Common mistakes

Step 6

Accept the scholarship

What it is

Offers appear in the online system. You accept or decline within one week of the day the offer is sent; declining, or not deciding in time, takes you out of the programme for that academic year, for both choices Source: SH: accepting. Each applicant gets one scholarship place only Source: SH: accepting.

Your two letters
Once you have accepted and uploaded every missing document by 1 August, the university sends a Letter of Acceptance and the Tempus Public Foundation a Letter of Award, which states your status, how long it lasts and its conditions. You need both for the visa Source: SH: your two letters.
If you cannot go
Tell the Tempus Public Foundation and the university by 15 October. If you do not, and do not withdraw your application, you cannot apply again in the next three rounds Source: SH: accepting.

Why it matters

You need the Letter of Award for the visa, and the letters come only once every missing document is in Source: SH: the visa Source: SH: your two letters.

Common mistakes

Step 7

Apply for the residence permit for study

What it is

To study in Hungary you need a residence permit for study, decided by the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing Source: Aliens Policing Source: Consular service. From abroad you apply at a Hungarian embassy or consulate in the country of your nationality or of your habitual residence Source: Aliens Policing. Only where there is no mission that takes applications may you apply, exceptionally, in a country where you are staying legally, with proof of the reasons Source: Aliens Policing. Once the permit is approved, the consulate issues a type D visa for one entry, valid for three months and for a stay of no more than 30 days, with which you travel and receive your permit in Hungary Source: Aliens Policing Source: SH: the visa Source: Office in Ramallah: long stays.

If you live in Palestine

The Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah says that Palestinian nationals apply to it for visas, in person, and it sends stays longer than 90 days to a separate process, the long-term stay visa (residence permit) Source: Office in Ramallah. Its page on that process says applications are presented only in person and by prior appointment, and that the regional directorates of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing decide Source: Office in Ramallah: long stays. Its pages do not say how to apply from Gaza, so ask the office before you plan your journey.

What the permit asks for
Proof of your studies, of your language, of paid tuition, of the means to live (a scholarship certificate counts) and of health insurance, your address in Hungary on the form, a valid passport and a photo; your fingerprints and photo are taken Source: Aliens Policing. A scholarship holder submits both the Letter of Acceptance and the Letter of Award with the application Source: SH: your two letters.
How long it takes
The authority has up to 60 days to decide, and the programme’s page says to allow up to 30 days, so book the appointment as early as you can Source: Aliens Policing Source: SH: the visa.

Why it matters

Without the visa by the start of the semester you cannot begin your studies, and you lose the scholarship Source: SH: accepting.

Common mistakes

  • Starting late: the programme calls the visa process lengthy Source: SH: accepting.
  • Buying a ticket before the visa: the programme lists the visa among what you need first Source: SH: your flight.
  • Letting the D visa run out: if you do not enter within three months of the approval, the permit is no longer valid Source: Aliens Policing.

Step 8

Arrive, enrol and keep your scholarship

What it is

You arrive, register at your university and enrol: in the 2026/27 call, by 30 September 2026 for programmes starting in the autumn, or by the date your university set Source: SH call 2026/27. The university organises a medical examination, which is free; refusing it ends the scholarship Source: SH: medical screening. Your residence permit card is sent by post to your university’s address Source: Aliens Policing. The D visa allows a stay of no more than 30 days, so see to the permit as soon as you arrive Source: Aliens Policing.

Keeping the scholarship
You must live in Hungary while you hold it, and absences of more than 30 days can stop your allowances; you need on average 18 credits a semester over the last two semesters Source: SH: apply.
Work
With a residence permit for study you may work up to 30 hours a week during the study period, and full time for up to 90 days a year outside it Source: Aliens Policing Source: SH: apply.
Housing
A dormitory place depends on the university’s capacity. If you rent privately, the university pays a monthly contribution, which the programme says does not cover the rent, above all in Budapest Source: SH: housing.
Renewing the permit
Apply to extend it in Hungary, on Enter Hungary, no earlier than 90 days and no later than 30 days before it ends Source: Aliens Policing.

Why it matters

The stipend, the housing help and the insurance depend on being enrolled, living in Hungary and earning your credits Source: SH: apply Source: SH call 2026/27.

Common mistakes

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Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these official pages, checked in November 2026. University pages are examples; your own university’s page is the one that counts.

  1. Stipendium Hungaricum (Tempus Public Foundation): about the programme stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  2. Stipendium Hungaricum: how to apply, the timeline, the calls and the questions applicants ask stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  3. Stipendium Hungaricum: application guide 2026/27, the online system step by step stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  4. Stipendium Hungaricum: call for applications 2026/27, bachelor’s, master’s and one-tier master’s (the latest published) stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  5. Stipendium Hungaricum: Sending Partners and the programmes open to each stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  6. Stipendium Hungaricum: the documents every applicant uploads, 2026/27 stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  7. Stipendium Hungaricum: Study Finder and the universities’ scholarship coordinators stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  8. Stipendium Hungaricum: booking your flight stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  9. Stipendium Hungaricum: call for applications 2026/27, doctoral programmes stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  10. Stipendium Hungaricum: the online application system of the Tempus Public Foundation apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  11. Stipendium Hungaricum: accepting the scholarship stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  12. Stipendium Hungaricum: starting the visa application stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  13. Stipendium Hungaricum: before the visa application, the Letter of Acceptance and the Letter of Award stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  14. National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing: the residence permit for study oif.gov.hu
  15. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, consular service: entry for a stay longer than 90 days konzinfo.mfa.gov.hu
  16. Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah: applying for a long-term stay visa (residence permit, over 90 days) ramallah.mfa.gov.hu
  17. Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah: applying for a visa ramallah.mfa.gov.hu
  18. Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah: visa information, with the long-term stay visa (residence permit) ramallah.mfa.gov.hu
  19. Stipendium Hungaricum: the medical screening after you arrive stipendiumhungaricum.hu
  20. Stipendium Hungaricum: choosing your accommodation stipendiumhungaricum.hu