Admissions Requirements

General Requirements

The following admissions requirements represent the university's general policies. Individual departments may establish additional criteria for admission as deemed necessary, including, but not limited to, specifying appropriate academic backgrounds and requiring higher minimum language test scores.

Eligibility requirements for Master’s programs

Applicants must have a first degree from a recognized university or institution of higher education, or provide documentation indicating that they will earn such a first degree before enrolment in a CEU Master's program.

For its one-year US accredited Master’s programs, CEU normally accepts students who have completed four years of undergraduate university study. Applicants with a three-year Bachelor's degree will be considered for two-year Master's programs (both for the ones accredited in the US and in Hungary).

Admission into the US accredited one-year programs with a three-year Bachelor’s degree will also be possible for suitable candidates.

Eligibility requirements for doctoral programs

Applicants must have a Master's degree (or equivalent) in a related field from a recognized university or institution of higher education, or provide documentation indicating that they will earn such a degree before enrolment in a CEU doctoral course of study.

Students enrolled in a doctoral program at CEU must not be simultanously enrolled in other institutions of higher education, and are required, at the beginning of their studies at CEU, to sign a declaration to this effect.

Language Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English by submitting standardized English language test scores, e.g., the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or other substitute tests listed below.

If your first language is English, you will normally be exempted from this requirement. You may also be exempted if:

1. You are a current or a former CEU student applying to CEU's doctoral programs;
2. You have earned a Bachelor's or a Master's degree taught exclusively in English.

To be exempted from the English language proficiency requirement, you must include a written request as part of the application package. Decisions regarding exemptions are at the discretion of the department admissions committee and will be communicated to applicants after the first stage of the selection process.

Students taking TOEFL should request a copy of their results to be sent to the CEU Admissions Office. (CEU’s institution code is 0069. No department code needs to be stated.) Other substitute tests of the English language are as follows:

Minimum test scores required by Master's programs 

 Minimum test scores required by doctoral programs 

 English-language and other admissions tests administered by CEU

In several locations, CEU organizes and sponsors an institutional paper-based TOEFL and other department-specific subject tests. Candidates who apply by January 25, 2012 may take the CEU examinations (except Erasmus Mundus applicants). These examinations will be held simultaneously on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at the locations listed here.

Additional Requirements

Departments may establish additional requirements for admission as deemed necessary. Please see the relevant department for details.

Individual Interviews

Some CEU departments may interview their candidates as part of the selection process. Individual interviews may commence shortly after the review of the application file during Step 1, and continue during Step 2 of the admissions process. The department will contact the applicants to make the necessary arrangements. In the cases of telephone interviews, arrangements may be made to invite candidates to a location where their identity can be verified.

Test of Writing Ability

In order to help make the best possible decision about your application, some departments, such as the Department of Political Science, require a sample of academic writing completed under exam conditions. This requirement is called the Test of Writing Ability (TWA), and it is taken on the same day as the institutional (paper-based) TOEFL test administered in those countries where the institutional TOEFL is used (Central Europe and the former Soviet Union). If you are submitting scores for standard English tests accepted by CEU (or have been granted exemption from standardized English testing), you do not need to complete the TWA as these tests already contain a sample of your writing.

The Test of Writing Ability requires you to write a short essay in response to a given question, asking you to assess the impact of one phenomenon on another (for example, the impact of globalization on education). The essay should be written in a formal academic essay style, and will be evaluated on the basis of your language and writing skills. The TWA is a timed essay; you will have 45 minutes to plan, draft and finish the essay, without using any dictionaries or language books.