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Record-High Interest in BME Doctoral Programmes
2026. 09. 17.
BME’s strategic goal is to further expand its doctoral education. New forms of doctoral training and the university’s own scholarship programme are helping to achieve this objective.
This year, 225 new PhD and DLA students began their studies at BME’s doctoral schools. This is nearly 10 percent more than last year, and the number of new doctoral students has been higher only once before, in 2020.
The increase is particularly notable among students receiving state-funded scholarships. In 2026, 157 doctoral students were admitted with state-funded scholarships, the highest figure recorded at BME in the past decade. This represents an increase of more than 17 percent compared with the previous year, indicating the growing appeal of doctoral studies and academic research careers.
The number of international students has also risen, approaching 60, with 45 of them studying in Hungary with a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship.
| Number of students\Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
| Phd/DLA students admitted | 162 | 189 | 199 | 225 | 226 | 215 | 203 | 204 | 209 | 204 | 225 |
| State-funded scholarships | 121 | 121 | 117 | 133 | 133 | 130 | 126 | 148 | 140 | 134 | 157 |
| Cooperative Doctoral Programme | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | 29 |
| Research Excellence Programme | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
One explanation for these positive figures is the reform of doctoral education. New forms of doctoral training introduced in recent years offer talented young researchers opportunities that support their academic development and professional careers while also promoting cooperation with industry. Another attraction is BME’s new doctoral scholarship programme, which will launch in spring 2027.
The so-called Cooperative Doctoral Programme is also developing dynamically. Doctoral students participating in it are either employed by the university or by companies engaged in research and development in positions related to their research, while receiving an increased scholarship. Whereas only nine students joined the programme in its first year in 2025, 29 have chosen this path this year. This form of doctoral training simultaneously contributes to strengthening the university’s academic teaching and research talent pipeline and to further developing BME’s industrial partnerships.
Another new opportunity is the Research Excellence Programme, which offers a distinctive career path for young researchers with outstanding academic achievements. As part of their research projects, participants work as full-time researchers while continuing their doctoral studies. The new programme is starting with a relatively small number of participants in its first year, but has significant potential for growth in the longer term.
The admission figures confirm that
BME’s doctoral programmes continue to offer attractive opportunities for talented young researchers and play a key role in developing Hungary’s next generation of researchers.
The new doctoral students joining the university are becoming part of a community committed to academic excellence and innovation and to shaping the engineering, scientific, economic and artistic achievements of the future.
BME’s strategic goal is to further expand doctoral education while maintaining the high standards that have earned its doctoral schools recognition internationally. Accordingly, the university’s development efforts in the coming years will focus simultaneously on expanding the academic and research talent pipeline, supporting research excellence, and further strengthening cooperation between the university and its industrial and research-institution partners.
Rector’s Office, Communications Directorate