Stipendium Hungaricum: How ASEAN Students Apply for Hungary's Government Scholarship

What Stipendium Hungaricum covers

Stipendium Hungaricum is the Hungarian government's scholarship program for international students, run by the Tempus Public Foundation under Hungary's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It funds bachelor's, master's, one-tier master's, doctoral and non-degree study at Hungarian universities. Award holders study tuition-free and receive a monthly stipend, medical insurance, and a housing allowance or dormitory place, on top of waived tuition.

The stipend and housing amounts

For the 2024-25 academic year, Stipendium Hungaricum paid bachelor's and master's students a monthly stipend of HUF 43,700, while doctoral students received HUF 140,000 a month in the first phase of their programme, rising to HUF 180,000 a month in the second phase. All scholars receive either a free place in a university dormitory or a monthly private accommodation contribution of HUF 40,000 if no dormitory place is available. These figures are set and published for each academic year, so confirm the current published amount on the Stipendium Hungaricum website for your specific intake rather than relying on a past year's number.

ASEAN countries covered

Stipendium Hungaricum works through bilateral education cooperation agreements between Hungary and each sending country, so eligibility depends on your citizenship matching a current partner country. Within ASEAN, the programme is open to citizens of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. If your country is not listed as a current partner for the intake you are targeting, check the official partner list before you invest time preparing an application, since bilateral agreements can be added or paused between intakes.

How the application works

Applying for Stipendium Hungaricum runs through several stages, most of which happen in the months before the January deadline.

1. Choose your programme from the list of available fields published on the Stipendium Hungaricum website, and select up to two programme choices.

2. Contact your country's designated sending partner organization, since it manages the national side of your nomination and may run its own pre-selection steps.

3. Register in the online application system and upload your documents before the deadline.

4. Wait for your sending partner to nominate you as a candidate, which happens after the application deadline closes.

5. Doctoral applicants submit a supervisor statement where their target doctoral school requires one.

6. Sit any entrance exam your target university requires, typically held in the following months, where a minimum score around 56 out of 100 points is commonly required to pass.

7. Wait for final results, announced by the programme after the exam period closes.

2026-27 application deadline

For study starting in the 2026-27 academic year, the application deadline is 15 January 2026 at 2pm Central European Time. Because your national sending partner may set an earlier internal deadline to process nominations in time, contact your sending partner well before the January cutoff rather than waiting until the final week.

Documents to prepare

All applicants need a valid passport or national ID (your passport must remain valid through at least 1 August of your intake year), a completed medical certificate on the programme's required template, academic transcripts, and language or school certificates matching your target programme's language of instruction. Applicants to arts programmes submit additional portfolio or audition materials, and doctoral applicants add their supervisor statement where required.

Where you can study

Stipendium Hungaricum places students across a wide range of Hungarian universities rather than a single host institution, spanning fields from medicine and engineering to social sciences and agriculture. Your available choice of university depends on the programme and field you select during the application, since not every Hungarian university offers every field to scholarship holders. Review the full list of eligible programmes for your intake year on the Stipendium Hungaricum website before you pick your two programme choices, since this list changes from year to year as universities add or drop scholarship places.

What happens after you get an offer

Once your target university confirms your place after the entrance exam period, you receive your final acceptance through the online system, followed by instructions for your Hungarian student visa or residence permit application. Keep your passport valid well past 1 August of your intake year, since an expiring passport can delay your visa processing even after your scholarship place is secured. Scholars renew their status each academic year by meeting the academic progress requirements their faculty sets, so treat the scholarship as tied to ongoing performance rather than a one-time award.

Why the sending partner step matters

Your sending partner is usually a ministry, government agency or designated organization in your home country, and it plays a real role in your nomination, not just a formality. Ministries in ASEAN partner countries typically publish their own internal deadline and required paperwork ahead of the January cutoff, so confirm your national process early in the application cycle rather than assuming the online Stipendium Hungaricum deadline is the only one that matters.