The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship pays full tuition, a monthly stipend of HUF 43,700 (about EUR 110) and housing support for a full degree in Hungary, and only citizens of partner countries whom their national Sending Partner nominates can receive it. The Hungarian Government funds the award under bilateral education agreements, and Tempus Public Foundation runs the selection in Budapest. More than 100 Sending Partners take part. The 2025 round drew 80,000 applications for more than 4,500 scholarships, so the competition starts long before any Hungarian university reads a file. Your first contest is at home, because a file without a nomination ends there. Applications for September 2027 entry open in mid-November 2026 and close on 15 January 2027.
Quick Facts
- Funder: Government of Hungary, managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and co-ordinated by Tempus Public Foundation
- Host country: Hungary
- Who can apply: Citizens of more than 100 Sending Partner countries, nominated by their national Sending Partner
- Study levels: Bachelor’s, master’s, one-tier master’s, doctoral (PhD) and non-degree preparatory programmes
- Monthly stipend: HUF 43,700 (about EUR 110) at bachelor’s, master’s and one-tier master’s level; HUF 140,000 rising to HUF 180,000 at doctoral level
- Housing support: Free dormitory place, or HUF 40,000 (about EUR 100) per month toward rent
- Application deadline: 15 January 2027, 2 p.m. (Central European Time)
- Where to apply: The DreamApply system at apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu, plus your Sending Partner’s own application
- Travel costs: Not covered by the scholarship
What Is the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship?
The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship is a government scholarship programme launched in 2013 that brings students from partner countries to Hungarian universities for full degrees and one or two semesters of partial (exchange) studies. Each place rests on a bilateral educational cooperation agreement between Hungary and the sending country, and each agreement fixes which study fields the country’s citizens may enter. Thirty Hungarian institutions offer about 900 study programmes in foreign languages in the current Call, most taught in English. Medicine, dentistry and engineering programmes in Budapest, Debrecen, Szeged and Pécs take the largest share of applicants. A one-year Hungarian language preparatory course serves students who plan to continue on a Hungarian-taught degree. Students affected by the war in Ukraine can apply under the Students at Risk Subprogramme inside the same Call.
Eligibility
You qualify only if you hold the citizenship of a Sending Partner country, you reach 18 years of age by 31 August 2027, and your Sending Partner nominates you. Tempus Public Foundation states the nomination rule without exceptions: applications count as eligible only when the responsible authority of the Sending Partner nominates the applicant. The remaining conditions:
- Citizenship: You apply through the Sending Partner of your own nationality. A Bangladeshi citizen applies through Bangladesh, never through a second country of residence.
- Nomination: Your Sending Partner reviews applications and sends a nomination list, with a reserve list, to Tempus by the end of February.
- Age: Applicants born after 31 August 2009 fall outside the programme, because every applicant must be 18 by 31 August of the intake year, Dance programmes excepted.
- Education: You hold the qualification your level demands: a secondary school certificate for bachelor’s and one-tier master’s study, a bachelor’s degree for master’s study, a master’s degree for doctoral study.
- Language: Each programme sets its own minimum language level in the application system, and your proof must match it.
- Excluded applicants: Hungarian citizens, dual citizens holding Hungarian citizenship and persons with refugee or long-term residence status in Hungary cannot apply.
- Former scholarship holders: A past holder may apply again only for a higher level: a bachelor’s holder can compete for a master’s place, while a repeat application at the same or a lower level fails the eligibility check.
Sending Partners add national rules on top of the Call. Pakistan’s Sending Partner is the Higher Education Commission (HEC). HEC requires its own online application beside the Hungarian one and may run aptitude tests and interviews for shortlisted candidates.
What the Scholarship Covers
The award removes tuition completely and adds a fixed monthly package, and the official Call warns in plain words that the money is a contribution to living expenses, not full coverage of them. Doctoral students receive far more, because Hungarian law sets the doctoral rate at HUF 140,000 per month for the first phase.
| Provision | What you receive |
|---|---|
| Tuition fees | Full exemption for the whole programme |
| Monthly stipend, bachelor’s, master’s, one-tier master’s and non-degree levels | HUF 43,700 (about EUR 110) per month, 12 months a year |
| Monthly stipend, doctoral level | HUF 140,000 (about EUR 355) for the first 4 semesters, HUF 180,000 (about EUR 460) for the second 4 semesters |
| Accommodation | A free dormitory place, or HUF 40,000 (about EUR 100) per month toward rental costs |
| Medical insurance | Health care under Hungarian law, plus supplementary insurance up to HUF 65,000 (about EUR 165) per year |
| Travel to Hungary | Not covered |
Twelve payments of HUF 43,700 total HUF 524,400 a year, and the Call advises applicants to price the chosen city before applying. Budapest rents pass the HUF 40,000 accommodation contribution quickly, so scholars there add personal funds monthly. Debrecen and Pécs charge lower rents, and the same package stretches much further in those cities. The scholarship pays no travel money at all, so your flight to Hungary comes out of your own budget.
Documents Required
Every applicant uploads one fixed document set to the online system by the deadline, and the motivation letter carries the most weight inside that set. Tempus requires no hard copies at application stage, although Sending Partners may demand paper copies.
- Online application form in English, with a photograph taken within the last two years
- Motivation letter of at least one page, Times New Roman 12-point font, in the language of your chosen programme or in Hungarian
- Proof of language proficiency at the level your programme demands, plus a translation where needed
- School or degree certificates for your highest completed qualification, with translations
- Transcript of records covering every completed semester or school year, with translations
- Scanned copy of your passport data page, or your national identity card if you hold no passport yet
- Acceptance of the Statement for Application in the online system, without which submission stays blocked
- Doctoral applicants add a research plan, two letters of recommendation and a supervisor statement where the doctoral school demands one
- Art and music applicants add the portfolio or recordings their programme lists
Each uploaded file can reach a maximum size of 4 MB, so scan documents at readable resolution. The medical certificate follows a different rule: awarded students present it at the compulsory medical examination in Hungary after arrival. After nomination, Pakistani applicants need educational documents attested by the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and by HEC.
How to Apply Step by Step
You apply twice, once to Tempus Public Foundation in the DreamApply system and once to your own Sending Partner, and only nominated files move forward to the universities. The two-step selection explains the whole calendar: nomination first, university entrance examinations second.
- Find your country on the partners list at stipendiumhungaricum.hu and read your Sending Partner’s instructions, because national deadlines and extra tests differ by country.
- Shortlist a maximum of two study programmes in the application system and check the entry requirements and language level on each programme page.
- Register at apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu when the system opens in mid-November 2026, using an email address you control and read often.
- Complete the application form in English, upload every document and write a programme-specific motivation letter.
- Submit the application before 15 January 2027, 2 p.m. (Central European Time). A saved draft counts as no application at all.
- Send the parallel application to your Sending Partner inside its own deadline. Pakistani applicants also submit on the HEC scholarship portal, and HEC counts a candidature as valid only when both portals carry it.
- Wait for the nomination round. Your Sending Partner pre-selects applications and forwards its nomination and reserve lists to Tempus Public Foundation by 28 February 2027.
- Sit the entrance examination or interview at your first-choice university between mid-March and the end of April 2027. Second-choice examinations follow, ending by 20 May 2027, and the minimum passing score is 56 points out of 100.
- Accept the scholarship in the online system by 1 August 2027, complete your student visa application and reach Hungary by 30 September 2027.
Programme order deserves one pause before you submit. Universities examine first choices first, and nobody can change the two programmes, the study language, the study mode or the ranking after the deadline passes.
Application Timeline
One fixed annual cycle drives the programme: the system opens in mid-November, the deadline lands on 15 January, and final results arrive at the end of June. Tempus republishes the Call each autumn with the current dates, so confirm the 2027/2028 dates on the official website when the new Call appears. The stages run in this order:
- Autumn 2026: The Call for Applications for 2027/2028 appears on stipendiumhungaricum.hu, and Sending Partners publish national instructions.
- Mid-November 2026: The online application system opens at apply.stipendiumhungaricum.hu.
- 15 January 2027, 2 p.m. (Central European Time): Deadline for submitting the complete application to Tempus Public Foundation. Your Sending Partner may close its own application earlier.
- January to February 2027: Tempus runs the technical check on eligibility and documents, and Sending Partners send nomination lists by 28 February 2027.
- Mid-March to end of May 2027: Host universities hold entrance examinations and interviews, first choices first.
- End of June 2027: Tempus Public Foundation announces the final results after allocating places in May and June.
- July to August 2027: Successful applicants accept the scholarship by 1 August and file visa applications.
- September 2027: Studies begin, and scholarship holders must arrive in Hungary by 30 September 2027.
Common Mistakes
Most failed applications die at the nomination gate or on a formal error, long before academic quality enters the decision. The recurring errors are these:
- Submitting only the Hungarian application and skipping the Sending Partner application, which removes the nomination the whole file depends on
- Leaving the application saved instead of submitted, a state the technical check rejects automatically
- Watching 15 January while your Sending Partner closes its national application weeks earlier
- Placing a medical programme as a second choice, although most universities fill their medical places with first-choice applicants during the first round
- Choosing two programmes with language requirements your certificates cannot prove
- Sending one generic motivation letter that names neither programme and never connects the degree to a plan at home
- Re-applying at the same study level after holding the scholarship once
- Giving an email address that filters Tempus messages into spam, then missing the examination invitation
Tips for a Strong Application
A strong file treats the motivation letter as the nomination document, because Sending Partners rank candidates on paper before any university exam takes place. Write one full page at minimum, name the exact programme, and tie your subjects and work experience to a concrete post or problem in your home country. Order your two choices with intent: put the programme you want most first, then spend the second choice on a realistic alternative at a different institution. Gather translations in October and November, since translators work slowly in December and school offices close over the holidays. Run the budget before you rank cities, because HUF 43,700 plus HUF 40,000 covers a dormitory-based life in Debrecen far more comfortably than a rented room in Budapest. Protect the award after you win it as well: attend the Hungarian as a foreign language course in your first year, since skipping the course stops the stipend and failing its exam cuts the payment to HUF 30,000 per month.
Conclusion
Strong grades alone never won this scholarship, because the file passes through three filters: the technical check in Budapest, the nomination in your own capital and the entrance exam at your chosen university. Preparation in October and November, two ranked choices and a complete document set decide the outcome months before the June results. The application system for the 2027/2028 round opens in mid-November 2026, and the submission deadline is 15 January 2027 at 2 p.m. (Central European Time).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship fully funded?
It covers full tuition, a monthly stipend and housing support, but the official Call calls the money a contribution to living costs. Travel is not covered, and most students add personal funds, especially in Budapest.
What is the deadline for the 2027/2028 round?
Applications close on 15 January 2027 at 2 p.m. Central European Time in the Tempus system. Your Sending Partner may set an earlier deadline for its own application, and both deadlines bind you.
How much is the Stipendium Hungaricum stipend per month?
Bachelor’s, master’s and one-tier master’s students receive HUF 43,700 per month, plus a dormitory place or HUF 40,000 for rent. Doctoral students receive HUF 140,000 monthly in the first phase and HUF 180,000 in the second.
Can I apply for the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship without IELTS?
Yes, if your chosen programme accepts another proof. Tempus sets no central IELTS rule; each programme lists its own language level in the application system, and a certificate confirming English-taught previous studies can replace a test score.
What happens if my Sending Partner does not nominate me?
Your application stops. Only nominated applicants and reserve-list candidates reach the university entrance exams, because Tempus forwards no other files to the host institutions after the technical check.
Can a former scholarship holder apply again?
Only at a higher level. A former bachelor’s scholarship holder can apply for a master’s, but re-applying for the same or a lower full-degree level is barred by the Call’s non-eligibility rules.
Does the scholarship pay for travel to Hungary?
No. Travel costs appear nowhere in the scholarship provisions in the official Call. You arrange and pay for your own journey to Hungary, and visa fees also sit outside the listed provisions.
How many study programmes can I choose?
Two at most, ranked in order of preference. Universities examine your first choice first, and the order cannot change after the 15 January deadline, so rank the programme you want most first.
Apply through the official Stipendium Hungaricum website, where the current Call for Applications, the partner list and the application system are published.
Compare this award with the other programmes in our fully funded scholarships for international students hub, where the deadlines for Erasmus Mundus, DAAD, MEXT and Türkiye Burslari sit in one table.
