Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary
About Károli
The university – ranked among the 10th best university in Hungary in 2024 – combines the traditions of Protestant Christian education with professional innovation. Our students enjoy a friendly environment in which they acquire up-to-date knowledge that is based on a solid, value-driven Christian ethos. Furthermore, we place considerable emphasis on community-oriented education, the personal relationship between professors and students as well as on supporting student initiatives.
Our more than 8000 students can conduct their studies at the one of the following faculties:
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Economics, Health Sciences and Social Studies
Most of its faculties and buildings located in Budapest, which is a friendly cosmopolitan hub to students from all around the world.
Facts and figures – Why Károli?
• Károli Gáspár University is a church university, founded by the Reformed Church in Hungary. This fact is reflected in the official name of the institution: Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
• The university is named after Károli Gáspár, the Calvinist pastor, who prepared the first complete Hungarian translation of the Bible in 1590.
• Besides Budapest and Nagykőrös where the two main campuses are located, Károli Gáspár University provides courses in Romania in Targu Mures/Marosvásárhely and Ilieni/Ilyefalva. The university plans to extend its off-campus teaching activity to Berehove/Beregszász (Ukraine) and to Levice/Léva (Slovakia) in cooperation with local higher education institutions.
• Our practice-oriented trainings provide students with immediately accessible knowledge.
• The Career Office and the Student Consulting Centre offer our students career and life management counselling.
• 11 foreign languages can be studied at the University.
• The University maintains cooperation with more than 200 partner institutions from 45 countries in four continents.
• The Faculty of Law finished first place in the ranking ‘Excellence of Professors’ in the field of law. The number of students per professor with academic titles was the lowest at our faculty (HVG Diploma Supplement 2016 – Annual Higher Education Ranking of the acknowledged Hungarian weekly business paper named The HVG Magazine).
• The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences ranked third nationwide in the category ‘Student Excellence’ in the Ranking of Humanity Trainings (HVG Magazine - Diploma Supplement 2016).
• At the Faculty of Theology, the proportion of professors with academic titles is almost 100%.
Languages
English
German
Hungarian
Level
BA
MA
PhD
Degree programmes offered in foreign languages
MA in Deutscher Sprache, Literatur und Kultur
PhD studies in Law and Political Sciences
Student life and services
Student life at our university is extremely active and colourful. Students find the locations of our campuses attractive; they offer the short of cultural environment that the faculties are able to benefit from in various ways. Our students pursue an active social and academic life.
Typical activities include but not limited to:
• book presentations and debating society
• autumn and spring training week with professional and cultural programmes
• student talent days
• conferences
• symposiums
• professional forums
Student Sport Circle
In 2014, on the grounds of a long and close cooperation between the Hungarian University Sports Federation and Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary, the university sports office and the Károli Student Sports Circle were established, both coordinate sports events and sport life at our university. The sport office is available for students every day of the week in person, by telephone or via e-mail. It offers several different sports activities both at competitive and at hobby level. Students are always welcome to join the excellent KRE Phoenix football, handball, volleyball, and basketball or water polo teams. They may take part in inter-university competitions and even put together their own team for tournaments and championships.
Accommodation
The University offers International students a place in one of our dormitories located in Budapest:
• Óbuda Student Hostel
• Ráday Dormitory
Buddy programme
We also maintain a buddy programme, which is our in-house mentor system. The aim is to pair international students with Hungarian students studying at the same faculty so all international students have a fellow student assisting them during their studies.