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MACentral European Studies

Tuition fee €2,500 per semester
Application fee €150 one-time

The application fee is discounted for Early Bird applicants:
EUR 100 (non-refundable) between 01/11/2024 – 30/11/2024 and between 01/02/2025 – 31/03/2025;
The regular application fee is:
EUR 150 (non-refundable) between 01/04/2025-31/05/2025

Examination fee €100 one-time
More information

elte.hu/en/central-european-studies-ma 

Overview

Short description, aim of program:
Central European Studies is an interdisciplinary master’s program at Eötvös Loránd University, involving five institutes at the Faculty of Humanities.
The aim of the program is to train broad-based area experts by providing a comprehensive and wide-ranging knowledge of the Central European region. Some courses deal with the region’s history, cultures, languages, literary traditions and societies; other subjects focus on past and present political systems, geopolitical factors, economies, international relations, minorities and minority politics, cities, and urban architecture. There is an emphasis on the common heritage of Central Europe, but the curriculum also provides an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the histories and current characteristics of individual countries.
A major attraction of Central European Studies is the opportunity to learn regional languages (e. g. Polish, Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Romanian or Ukrainian). The program builds upon the uniquely rich variety of languages taught at ELTE and the expertise of philology departments in language instruction. English academic writing is also part of the curriculum.

This program is recommended to applicants who […]
wish to obtain a broad and versatile knowledge of the Central European region and acquire complex language skills; to applicants who are ready to put their cultural skills and factual knowledge into practice.

This program enables students to […]
understand Central Europe as a cultural region, and identify those cultural, artistic, linguistic, historical, political, economic and societal forces which shaped this region throughout its history. It enables students to build further knowledge on this sound footage during their later careers, and apply their knowledge as well as skills in practical fields. After completing the program, students will be able to effectively cooperate with various cultural communities related to Central Europe and develop an openness toward the multinational and multilingual culture of the region.
The program enhances students’ analytical and discussions skills as well as their writing skills. It also develops students’ abstract thinking and encourage them to approach problems with diverse methodologies. The program inspires students to further develop their general knowledge as well as their language skills during their later studies, build strong professional identities, and commit themselves to constant self-education during their careers.

Strength of program:
Professors teaching in the program are thoroughly embedded internationally in both university and research networks. All professors have studied and/or guest-taught in Western Europe, North America, and in various institutions of higher education around Central and Eastern Europe. Professors’ lists of publications include several monographs and edited volumes in English, French and other languages; they have been publishing in highly ranked, peer-reviewed international as well as Hungarian journals. They are involved in numerous research project as well. To cite only a few instances:

Erika Szívós, Program Director of Central European Studies and Head of the Department of Economic and Social History, is member of the International Commission for the History of Towns (ICHT) and European Association of Urban Historians (EAUH); she contributes to the ERC research project Continuity / Rupture: Art and Architecture in Central Europe 1918-1939 (CRAACE) as advisory board member; she is founder of an exchange scheme between McGill University (Montreal) and ELTE. Gábor Farkas Kiss, besides being Chair of the Department of Old Hungarian Literature, is Head of the internationally well-connected Humanism in East Central Europe research group. Andor Mészáros, bohemist, historian and an erudite specialist in Central European cultures and post-1990 political geography, is responsible for CEEPUS, A Central European academic cooperation network. Gábor Sonkoly is Head of the Doctoral School of History at ELTE’s Faculty of Humanities, member of the International Board of EAUH, leader of the Problem-Solving Systems Research Group and head of what was launched as ELTE’s first Erasmus Mundus consortium, involving the Paris-based École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS, the Prague-based Charles University, the University of Catania and ELTE. Balázs Ablonczy, formerly the head of the Hungarian Institute in Paris, is a widely acclaimed historian specializing in the post-World-War-I peace treaties and their consequences; he is head of a major research project Trianon 100 based at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

In recent years, all these projects have yielded important volumes and academic relations regionwide and beyond. On major strength of the program is thus its professors’ academic distinction and their networks of international relations from which students can also benefit. Another major strength of Central European Studies is the uniquely rich variety of languages taught at ELTE and the university’s impressive number of diverse philology departments specializing in regional languages, cultures and literatures. A further plus is certain professors’ practical work experience in international relations and cultural diplomacy.

gtt.elte.hu/centraleurope

Programme structure

https://www.btk.elte.hu/en/content/master-programmes.t.3475?m=251

Career opportunities

Cultural diplomacy, foreign affairs, public administration; regional NGOs and foundations; doctoral programs and academia international multinational companies or institutions where Cemtral-Europe-specific language skills, regional local knowledge are an advantage or an explicit expectation.
Cultural institutes of other countries operating in Central European states; Central European foundations, domestic and foreign research institutes, universities, non-profit organizations, companies and organizations operating in various fields of cultural tourism or economy; private companies and corporations (including trade and commerce) operating in Central Europe or similar companies elsewhere with a Central European clientele.

Job examples
program manager or coordinator at a cultural institute or foundation; analyst or research fellow at a research institute; journalist; grantee of a doctoral program; area manager/specialist at a trading company

Apply now! September 2025/26
Application deadline
30 Nov 2024, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025
Apply now! September 2025/26
Application start
1 Feb 2025
Application deadline
31 Mar 2025, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025
Apply now! September 2025/26
Application start
1 Apr 2025
Application deadline
31 May 2025, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025
Apply now! September 2025/26
Application deadline
30 Nov 2024, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025
Apply now! September 2025/26
Application start
1 Feb 2025
Application deadline
31 Mar 2025, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025
Apply now! September 2025/26
Application start
1 Apr 2025
Application deadline
31 May 2025, 23:59:59
Central European Time
Studies commence
1 Sept 2025