Debrecen4U July 30, 2026

University of Debrecen to Have More Than 7,800 International Students

More than 7,800 international students are expected to continue their studies at the University of Debrecen during the 2026/2027 academic year, the institution announced. According to preliminary data from the International Education Coordinating Centre, more than 2,300 young people will begin their studies in September on first-year and preparatory courses, with some arriving in Hungary under the Stipendium Hungaricum programme.

For the 2026/2027 academic year, the International Education Coordinating Centre received more than 49,000 applications for over 100 English-language preparatory, BSc and MSc programmes, as well as PhD courses. The record number of registrations was also boosted by the fact that applications for the Stipendium Hungaricum (SH) scholarship programme increased by more than 45 per cent compared with the previous year.

“More than 70,000 prospective students contacted our institution regarding the Stipendium Hungaricum programme, and nearly 43,600 of them submitted formal applications. As in previous years, this is an exceptionally high figure, accounting for almost 35–40 per cent of all applications submitted nationwide. I therefore consider our student recruitment efforts highly successful, particularly given that applicants were able to choose from almost thirty Hungarian higher education institutions,” Attila Jenei, Director of the International Education Coordinating Centre and Vice-Rector for International Affairs at the University of Debrecen, told hirek.unkdeb.hu.

As in the previous year, the Medicine programme, the Public Health MSc and the Computer Science BSc once again received a record number of applications. Following the so-called “country nominations”, admission procedures and the decision of the Board of Trustees of the Tempus Public Foundation, 688 students were awarded Stipendium Hungaricum scholarships, compared with 756 last year, and will begin their studies at the University of Debrecen in September 2026 with funding provided by the Hungarian state.

“Applications for the University of Debrecen’s English-language fee-paying programmes increased by 5 per cent compared with last year, reaching approximately 5,200. Specialists at the International Education Coordinating Centre conducted a total of 8,600 admission procedures. Based on our current results, around 2,300 international students are expected to commence their studies at the University in September 2026, bringing the size of our international community to more than 7,800. This may represent a modest increase of 2–3 per cent,” Attila Jenei stated.

He emphasised, however, that the final number of students is likely to be affected by how many admitted students are able to secure visa appointments and obtain visas. This particularly affects students arriving from Bangladesh and Pakistan, where visa refusal rates remain significant. He added that the University of Debrecen has once again announced its UD International Scholarship programme, launched in 2024, under which students were eligible to receive tuition fee reductions of between 30 and 90 per cent.

Summarising the results of this year’s student recruitment campaign, Attila Jenei noted that a review of the experiences of this year’s Stipendium Hungaricum programme suggests that a decline or stagnation in the number of scholarships awarded is likely to continue. According to the head of the centre, one of the greatest constraints on accommodating international students remains the insufficient number of student halls of residence and the shortage of rental properties, alongside the continuing rise in rental costs.

Source and photo credit: dehir.hu