SZTE welcomed the international freshmen with a central three-day orientation event between 31st of August and 2nd of September, 2022. On the last day of the event, Prof. Dr. Márta Széll, Vice Rector for Strategic planning of the University of Szeged, welcomed the freshmen students to the institution and the event was closed by the Freshmen Oath followed by a party that took place in the Dugonics square in front of the institutions mains building.

2022 Freshmen Oath Photos by: Dóra Molnár

The majority of foreign students enrolled in the SZTE's fee-paying courses, but a large number of students also came through the various scholarship programs. The increase of the number of new international freshmen is due to the introduction of new international graduate and short-term programs.

Scholarship programs at the institution also attract hundreds of students from all around the world by giving them the opportunity of studying in one of the best Universities in Hungary with the support of a scholarship program. Within the frames of the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship (SH), 242 international students can start their studies at the institution with a fully funded governmental scholarship.The most popular programs that the scholarship holders will attend are offered by the Medical Faculty (50 students), Faculty of Science and Informatics (43 students), Faculty of Humanities and Social Science (36 students) and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration (32 students). Most of the SH scholarship students come from South Korea, Syria, Japan and Jordan. Students from Mongolia, China, Brazil, Kenya, Turkey and Vietnam also study at our institution within the frames of this scholarship.

In addition, 9 international students arrive to Szeged to study in the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science and Informatics and the Faculty of Pharmacy through the Scholarship Program for Christian Young People.

Photos by: Anna Bobkó, István Sahin-Tóth

Nearly 600 freshmen students enrolled in fee paying programs of the institution. The most popular programs that these students attend are English and German Medical programs which are offered by the Albert Szent-Györgyi medical school.

In addition to the health Science programs, programs offered by the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are also popular study destination for fee-paying students.

In the first semester of the 2022/23 academic year, 188 foreign students will start their part-time studies at the University with the support of the ERASMUS+, IISMA and Makovecz Programs.

Within the frames of the ERASMUS program, 141 students coming from 67 universities in 57 cities in 12 countries will study at 11 faculties of the University of Szeged. Besides humanities and economics, medical and law programs are also popular among these students.

This year, the institution also expects to enroll 50 Ukrainian students who were forced to interrupt their studies due to the war. They will be able to continue their studies at the SZTE with the support of the Students at Risk scholarship, funded by the Tempus Public Foundation.

11 freshmen of the institution were awarded the SZTE Start Scholarship on the 3^rd day of the event. This scholarship assists new students in settling in and starting their new study chapter with a onetime €500 grant.

At the central orientation event, students were able to meet their mentors and learn about student services. Service units of SZTE attended the event to introduce themselves and answer any questions that the freshmen may have. Among these service units were the Southern National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, SZTE Alma Mater, SZTE Career Office, the Institute of Foreign Languages Communication, American Corner and the Student Counselling Centre. First-year students also learned about the opportunities offered by the EUGLOH project and Coursera programs.

The Central Orientation event also included other activities to help foreign students settle in, discover the city and meet their fellow students. These activities included team-building programs, treasure hunt game in the city, information sessions and the freshmen oath followed by a freshman party.

Team building Photos by: Dóra Molnár

The event was organized by the Office for International Cooperation, Admission & Marketing of the Rector’s Department. It was central based orientation event and students from all Faculties of the institution were welcome to join.