Eight Hungarian universities have advanced in the 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds European university rankings published on Tuesday, while 15 Hungarian universities are listed, the culture and innovation ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said in a statement that the results were a testament to how well the Hungarian university model was working, notwithstanding obstructions from Brussels, and the higher education system was growing in strength and competitiveness. Eight out of 15 Hungarian universities, including Obuda, Pecs and Debrecen universities made big advances while 4 maintained their position in the face of intensifying global competition and the fact that more and more universities were assessed. The statement also referred to „the illegal exclusion from the Erasmus+ programmes” as surmounted challenges.
Budapest’s ELTE university is placed 190th, Debrecen 222nd, Szeged 228th, BME 247th, while Pecs, Istvan Szechenyi University in Gyor, Corvinus University in Budapest are in the top 500, alongside MATE, Obuda University, Miskolc and Pannon University. Five years ago there were 7 universities in the top five% of the world, the statement noted, adding that today this number has increased to 12.
Balázs Hankó, the culture and innovation minister, said Hungary aimed to have three Hungarian universities among the 100 best in Europe by 2030 and to have one in the world’s top 100 by then, too.