Scholarships and Student Financial Aid in Hungary

Funding Routes at a Glance

Stipendium Hungaricum

Stipendium Hungaricum is Hungary's flagship scholarship for international students, funded by the Hungarian government. It covers full tuition, a monthly stipend, an accommodation contribution and health insurance, according to Stipendium Hungaricum . The scholarship funds bachelor, master, one-tier master and doctoral programs across fields including engineering, medicine, business, social sciences, agriculture and IT.

You do not apply directly to a Hungarian university for this scholarship. Instead, you apply through your home country's nominating authority, usually a government ministry, agency or partner organization, using the DreamApply online platform. For the 2026/2027 academic year, the deadline was 15 January 2026 at 2pm Central European Time. Applications for 2027/2028 open around November 2026, so start gathering your documents well before the window opens if you plan to apply for the next round.

Missing the deadline voids your application entirely, so submit everything with time to spare. Since the scholarship runs through a nominating body rather than a direct university application, the extra step your home country's process needs sits on top of the platform deadline, not instead of it.

Diakhitel: the State Student Loan

Diakhitel Kozpont is Hungary's state-owned student loan provider, offering loans to cover study and living costs with an income-based repayment scheme, so repayments scale with what you earn after graduation rather than a fixed amount. This route mainly serves students already resident in Hungary rather than newly arriving international students, so check current eligibility rules with Diakhitel directly before counting on it as a funding source.

University Scholarships

Many Hungarian universities offer their own merit-based tuition reductions or partial scholarships for strong applicants and continuing students with high grades, separate from Stipendium Hungaricum. Rules, amounts and application steps differ by institution and faculty, so check the scholarships or financial aid page of your specific university once you have an offer, rather than assuming one national rate applies everywhere.

Bilateral State Scholarships

Outside Stipendium Hungaricum, Hungary also runs bilateral state scholarship agreements with a number of partner countries, administered through the Tempus Public Foundation. Eligibility depends on whether your home country holds such an agreement with Hungary, so check with your national ministry of education or the Hungarian embassy in your country to see whether you qualify.

Working While You Study

Part-time work is a practical way to supplement your budget if you are not on full scholarship funding. International students can work up to 30 hours a week during term and up to 90 days, or 66 working days, during university breaks, according to the official Study in Hungary portal. Net pay commonly runs around EUR 445 a month for unskilled work and around EUR 550 a month for skilled roles, based on an 8-hour day.

Building Your Funding Plan

Combine routes rather than relying on one. Apply for Stipendium Hungaricum first if you want full funding and your home country participates, then check your target university's own scholarships as a backup, and factor in part-time work once you are settled. Since scholarship deadlines fall months before the academic year starts, begin your funding research at least a year ahead of your planned intake.