Budapest, Hungary
Budapest, a city of approximately two million, is an architectural gem straddling the Danube River. As Hungary’s capital, it is the administrative, business, educational, and cultural center of the country. Despite the scars inflicted by four decades of communist rule, Budapest retains a turn-of-the-century feel with its marvelous architecture and rich history. The city is famous for its thermal and medicinal baths and boasts a vibrant cultural scene, with theaters, concert halls, museums, cinemas, and wide variety of restaurants and cafes. An excellent public transportation system will enable you to explore the city and all it has to offer.
About the Program
The Budapest program, offered through Hobart and William Smith Colleges' affiliation with Academic Programs International (API), is based at Corvinus University, founded in 1948 and known as Karl Marx University until 1990. Its 14,000 students take courses primarily in general economics, business administration, public administration, and social sciences.
All students take a Hungarian language course and select four courses from among a wide range of Corvinus University courses offered in English.
For more information on courses offered, please visit the API Budapest page here. Select the "courses" button at the top.
ACADEMIC FOCUS
This program will be of particular interest to students in economics, political science, history, international relations, media and society, urban studies, and entrepreneurial studies. Volunteer opportunities in English-language classes at a local high school are also available.
This program is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors in good academic and social standing who have a minimum GPA of 2.75. Due to the challenging nature of study abroad, student academic and disciplinary records will be carefully screened.
Students will be housed in a student residence alongside local and other international students. Students will have the option of a single studio with private bath and a small kitchen or a single room in a larger suite housing 2 or 4 students. A grocery store and a number of restaurants are nearby and the residence is a short commute from Corvinus University.
The program includes visits to sites of historic and cultural importance in and around Budapest, as well as excursions to the Danube Bend and to other culturally and historically significant parts of Hungary. An international excursion to either Krakow, Poland or the Transylvania region of Romania is also included.
Students will be charged standard HWS tuition and fees, room fees, and a $600 administrative fee. This will cover tuition for a five-course semester, health insurance, housing, and program-related activities and excursions. Note that no HWS board fee will be charged. Students should plan to bring their board fee to cover meal expenses throughout the program. While meal expenses will vary according to individual tastes, we estimate that $2000—$2200 should be sufficient for students who typically prepare their own meals.
Additional expenses not covered include airfare, books, visa, and personal expenses (laundry, entertainment, and independent travel). We estimate airfare for this program at $1100-$1300 from the East Coast, books at $200, local transport at $75, and visa at $100. It is difficult to give an accurate estimate of personal expenses because student spending habits differ considerably. We would suggest a minimum of $1500 above and beyond meal expenses. However, students on a tight budget should be able to manage with less. If you are concerned about finances, we strongly encourage you to talk to the CGE staff who can offer information and advice based on your specific situation.
HWS students must complete all components of the Global Education application in order to be considered for admission to this program.
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This program is offered every semester.
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All components of the application must be submitted online by the published deadline. Specific deadline dates are set each semester and typically will be in late September/early October (for Fall programs) and late February/early March (for Spring programs).
Program Handbook
IMPORTANT: The handbook(s) below is/are the most recent handbook(s) published for this program. A new version, with updated information, will be made available each semester. Program participants will receive their updated handbook approximately 2-3 months prior to their program’s start date.
FALL HANDBOOK / SPRING HANDBOOK
Please DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS until you have received final confirmation of the program start/finish dates for the specific semester you are attending. Dates included in versions of the program handbook intended for previous semesters do not necessarily apply to future programs.
NOTE: The information above is subject to change. Please see the CGE for more information.
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