Semmelweis University Budapest

Semmelweis University (Hungarian: Semmelweis Egyetem, Hungarian pronunciation: is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences.

The university is also the largest provider of health care services in Hungary. Most of the departments cater for the most serious cases and patients requiring complex treatment.

As the highest listed institution in Hungary in the 2023 Times Higher Education World University Rankings,Semmelweis University is among the top 250 universities in the world.

History

The University of Trnava, founded in 1635, was lacking medical training for a long time, so Hungarian doctors were only able to study at foreign universities or in private schools, and surgeons were trained in guilds. Maria Theresa’s court physician, following the Empress’s decree of 7 November 1769, developed the plan of the new faculty, on the basis of the Vienna model. In 1770, education began with five departments. 

In 1777, the university, and thus medical education, moved to Buda, and in 1784, following Joseph II’s personal decree, to the other side of the Danube: to Pest. The rapidly developing Pest provided a wider range of ‘patient material’, and the departments also multiplied. There was space for a botanical garden, and anatomy as well actual patient care could also be taught more effectively. 

At the end of the 19th century the establishment of the present theoretical institutes and clinical departments started. Those buildings in Budapest are still in use after reconstruction and modernisation. During the 20th and 21st centuries new clinics and institutes were built. 

From 1951, the Faculty of Medicine continued as an independent medical school and in 1955, Faculties of Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences were incorporated into the new medical University. In 1969, it adopted the name of its most famous professor, Ignáz Semmelweis.

Semmelweis University was the first Hungarian higher educational institution, which started to offer an international program at the Faculty of Medicine in German in 1983, while its international program in English started in 1987, at the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

From 1 August 2021, the founder’s, owner’s and operator’s rights of Semmelweis University are exercised by the Foundation for National Health Care and Medical Education following the model change in higher education.

Semmelweis University is a specialised university offering undergraduate and graduate courses only in the field of health sciences. The university has around 10,000 students from 60 nations, with foreign students accounting for about 18% of the total community. The largest and oldest faculty of the university is the Faculty of Medicine with 4,500 students accounting for 40% of the total number of students.

• András Pető Faculty

• Faculty of Dentistry

• Faculty of Health and Public Services

• Faculty of Health Sciences

• Faculty of Medicine

• Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

• School of Ph.D. Studies

Hungarian

English

German

Bachelor's programs

Bachelor's Programs of Semmelweis University are offered at the Faculty of Health Sciences and at Pető andrás Faculty. The length of the programs is 8 semesters (4 years) with a total of 240 credit points.

The following Bachelor's programs are available in English:

• Physiotherapy

• General Medicine (MD)

• Dentistry  

• Nursing

• Midwifery

• Dietetics

• Medical diagnostic analysis – Optometry

• Public health supervisor 

• Health care management

• Conductive education (Pető method)

The physiotherapy program is available in Italian within the framework of the university's off-campus program run in Lugano, Switzerland.

Master's programs

Master's programs are offered at the Faculty of Health and Public Services and the Faculty of Health Sciences. The length of the programs is 3 semesters (1.5 years) with a total of 90 credit points.

The following Master's Programs are available in English at the Faculty of Health Sciences:

• Physiotherapy

• Nursing

Postgraduate education

Semmelweis University's School of Ph.D. Studies has 7 Doctoral Schools: Basic Medicine, Clinical Medicine, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mental HealthSciences, Neurosciences, Molecular Medicine and Pathological Sciences. Each school comprises 2 to 17 study programs that add up to over 40 programs. The Doctoral School of Semmelweis University integrates the research groups and programs of all Faculties entitled to issue Ph.D. degrees. The Doctoral School of Semmelweis University has around a hundred students obtaining their Ph.D. diplomas every year. The degrees are recognized by the European Union and are accepted in other countries.