Stipendium Hungaricum 2027: the complete guide to Hungary's fully-funded scholarship

Roughly 5,000 new scholarships go out every year across all of Hungary's partner countries, and the programme has grown every single year since it started. Hungary marked the scheme's tenth anniversary back in 2023, and the 2026/2027 cycle was the largest yet, a clearer sign of where this is heading than of where it's already been.

What the scholarship actually covers

The package is genuinely comprehensive. Tuition is fully waived at your partner Hungarian university, and on top of that you get a monthly stipend, roughly €130 at Bachelor level, €350 at Master's, and €450 for a PhD. Accommodation is either a free university dormitory or, if you'd rather rent privately, a housing contribution of around €100 a month. Health insurance runs for the full length of your studies. What it doesn't stretch to cover is your international travel, visa fees, or the gap above your stipend if you end up in a pricier city like Budapest.

Who actually qualifies

On citizenship, the list is wide: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and more than 90 other partner countries are all eligible. Academically, you need a completed prior degree at the right level, high school for a Bachelor's, a bachelor's degree for a Master's, a master's for a PhD, and grades that typically sit above the median back home. And you'll need proof of English, or Hungarian if that's the language of your chosen programme, sufficient for the course you're applying to.

The 2027/2028 timeline

Hungary runs a strict annual cycle, and missing a date by even a day means waiting a full year for the next one.

Most applicants need a passport bio-page, a CV in European format, a motivation letter, degree certificates and transcripts, language proof, a research proposal if you're applying for a PhD, and a portfolio if you're in arts, design or architecture. A medical certificate only comes into play after nomination, not at the point of submission, so it isn't something to chase early.

What actually wins in the motivation letter

Reviewers read thousands of these every cycle, so the ones that get nominated tend to share a specific shape: a concrete, specific reason for choosing Hungary and this exact programme, a clear line running from your background to your stated goal, and a real plan for what comes after you graduate. What loses applications is just as consistent: generic praise for Hungary that could apply to any country, vague ambitions with nothing tying them down, and prose that reads obviously templated or machine-written.

Start in October. The January deadline feels distant right up until document gathering, references and choosing between two programmes quietly eat the months in between.

Choosing your two programmes

You're allowed to select up to two programmes or universities, ranked in priority order, and it pays to pair an ambitious first choice with a realistic, slightly-less-competitive second one. A large share of nominations actually come through that second preference, not the first, so treat it as a real choice, not an afterthought.

If you don't get it

A near-miss one year is often a win the next, so reapplying with a stronger profile is a genuinely reasonable path. In the meantime, self-funded study in Hungary still ranks among the cheapest in the EU, and scholarships in Germany, Italy or Spain can fill the gap while you build the file that gets you across the line next time.