The number of foreign students at the University of Debrecen continues to grow 09. Aug. 2023

In the admission procedure for the 2023/2024 academic year, the University of Debrecen's Centre for International Education has registered more than 26,800 applications from young foreigners for the 104 English language programmes advertised. In the next semester, almost 1900 new students are expected to start their studies at the University of Debrecen (UD) in English language programmes.

- The majority of foreign students will come to the University of Debrecen (UD) through the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. UD is the most popular institution in the scholarship scheme. This year, more than 23,200 applications have been received, an increase of 6% compared to last year's record number of applications. This is around 40 percent of the national total. Based on the decision of the Board of Trustees of the Tempus Public Foundation, 833 students will be able to start their studies at the university with the funds provided by the state, Attila Jenei told hirek.unideb.hu.

The director of the Centre for the Coordination of International Education at the University of Debrecen said it was gratifying to see an increasing number of PhD students among the participants of the Stipendium Hungaricum program. In the academic year 2023/2024, 161 new foreign doctoral students will start their academic activities at UD, joining the work of the doctoral schools, thus significantly supporting scientific research conducted at the university.

- Thus, contrary to the national trend, the number of PhD students at the University of Debrecen is on the increase. This is why we are launching a postdoctoral fellowship program to support science. We intend to use 250 million HUF from the funds raised from the training of foreign students to support projects funded but not won in OTKA (National Scientific Research Funding Programs) tenders and to support Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holders," added Attila Jenei.

In the international study market, the most popular faculties of the University of Debrecen are the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Informatics, the Faculty of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Economics and the Faculty of Health Sciences. 53% of students study in the university's "non-medical" courses and 47% in medical courses. The institution offers more than 100 degree courses, almost 80 percent of which are in "non-health" fields.

- UD's international student community continues to grow thanks to successful marketing activities, but in the future, several factors are likely to hamper successful recruitment. In addition to maximising the number of scholarship students, housing could be a major constraint on the growth of the number of students," added Attila Jenei.

The University of Debrecen currently has around 30 000 students, with foreign students accounting for around 25 percent of the active full-time student population.

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