2023-10-24
As a Diaspora scholarship holder, you have the opportunity to deepen your Hungarian language skills and learn more about Hungarian culture and traditions. In this article, you can learn more about Hungarian language preparatory programmes and the Hungarian Excellence Award.
The main goal of the Hungarian Diaspora Scholarship Programme is to deepen the Hungarian language skills of the scholarship holders and to strengthen their connection to Hungarian culture. With the one-year Hungarian language preparatory course, we ensure that you can take various courses at your university, even in Hungarian.
This preparatory course is available under the scholarship programme for all of those students who do not yet speak the language or have only basic knowledge of it. Importantly, Hungarian language skills are not a prerequisite for applying for the scholarship since most university courses are available in English. If you want to study and graduate in Hungarian, the preparatory programme will help you to do so.
During the course, you will improve the skills you need for your studies by learning the vocabulary of different study fields. If you take that preparation course, the Hungarian as a Foreign Language and Culture course is optional and it isn’t compulsory to take an intermediate Hungarian language exam after earning your degree.
Last year, in addition to the Balassi Preparatory Programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, 5 higher education institutions announced a preparatory programme, such as Eötvös Loránd University, the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Nyíregyháza, the University of Pécs and John Wesley Theological College. If you complete the training, you can later apply for a full study programme in Hungarian.
However, if you decide to apply for an English-language course, you must take a Hungarian as a foreign language and culture course throughout your studies and obtain an intermediate Hungarian language exam within one year of obtaining your degree at the latest. The host institutions will help you to get the right training for your language level and to pass the language exam.
If you excel in your studies, once a year you have the opportunity to receive a Hungarian Excellence Award and meet all those who have achieved similar success during their stay in Hungary. The announcement and selection process are carried out by the higher education institutions and the awardees get their certificate at the award ceremony organised by the Tempus Public Foundation. Hungarian Excellence Award winners are entitled to an increased monthly stipend upon winning the award.
We hope that this will get you interested in learning a language and that we will be able to meet you later on as a prize winner. Enjoy your studies and get ready!