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Eligibility

Target group 

We invite applications from academics (graduate students, post-docs, junior faculty, and researchers) as well as from professionals (e.g. policy-makers, civil servants, NGO workers, etc.) Advanced undergraduates are also encouraged to apply.

Language requirement

The language of instruction is English, thus all applicants have to demonstrate a strong command of spoken and written English to be able to participate actively in discussions at seminars and workshops. Some of the shortlisted applicants may be contacted for a telephone interview. Please consult the eligibility section on each course website for course-specific requirements and prerequisites.

There are several types of programs we offer:

  • Research-intensive courses have a strong research focus and are targeted at primarily Ph.D. students, junior faculty and researchers, and postdoctoral fellows. MA students and advanced undergraduates are also eligible. Some of these courses explore policy aspects of their research focus as well and therefore tend to encourage the participation of both academics and professionals.
  • Policy and Training Courses mostly address the professional development needs of practitioners, policy-makers, etc. These courses tend to provide training and/or discuss policy issues at a practical, applied level and are targeted at mostly practitioners, or a mix of academics and professionals.
  • Short study trips are arranged in collaboration with various institutions. Applications are only accepted by students of the partner institutions which handle the application process.

Please consult the eligibility section on each course website for course-specific requirements and prerequisites.

You need to have a strong command of English to be able to participate actively in discussions, give presentations, etc. During the course, teachers use interactive methods and you are expected to participate in a variety of class activities requiring fluent English skills.

There is no formal testing but you have to upload some proof of your English language skills in the online application form. Please check the relevant section in the How to Apply page.

Also, if you are shortlisted in the first round of selection, your course coordinator may contact you by telephone to check your language skills.

Courses

All courses will be held in Budapest.

No. Some of the courses (or their slightly revised versions) run several times but there are always new courses as well on the "menu". 

Please visit the main page first and then select the courses of your interest for more details. You'll find a separate course page containing updated course descriptions, syllabi schedules, faculty information and more.

We start publishing the new program every year from the end of November onwards. From time to time, you should check the SUN website for possible updates.

 

Application in general

You may apply to a maximum of two summer courses. In case of being admitted, you can only attend both if the two courses do not overlap in time. 

If you applied to CEU’s master, doctoral, etc. programs in the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 2021or 2022 admission cycle, please use your existing login and password to start a new application. If you do not remember your password from last year click on Forgotten Password. 

You may, but it will be at the discretion of the course director whether they will include your application in the selection process. Possible deadline extensions will be posted on the course websites.

With technical problems, bugs or errors related to the online application forms please contact the CEU IT Help Desk.

The maximum allowable file size for upload is 2MB per file and the acceptable file formats are PDF, JPG, and JPEG. Ensure all security features (e.g. passwords and encryption) are removed from the documents before uploading them.

We do not require a reference letter. In the Statement of Purpose, you will need to provide the name, contact email, and phone number of a person (a faculty member, job supervisor, etc.) who can be contacted by the course directors to attest to your abilities, qualifications, and academic/professional performance.

Acceptance

We will notify applicants about the decision by mid-May, at the latest.  You can check more about our program timeline on the Dates and Deadlines page. Make sure you put the summeru@ceu.edu email address on your white list.

  1. Please go to the Applicant Portal and log in with your user name and password.  
  2. Go to My Application
  3. Click on the View Offer button to see the details of the offer. 
  4. Scroll down and respond to the offer. 

You need to go through the following steps in order to be enrolled for a course: 

  1. accept the offer on the applicant portal  
  2. go to the onboarding section 
  3. complete the onboarding steps as soon as you can 
  4. register on the e-Learning site if you receive an invitation from the Summer University office

It is difficult to predict. Each year, there are accepted applicants who have to turn down our invitation for some reason and whose places will be offered to those on the waiting lists. If you live in a country from where traveling to Hungary is somewhat difficult because of visa requirements, do not expect an invitation later than the end of May.

Pre-course assignments

Courses using the SUN e-Learning platform will make the reading materials available sometime in May. Confirmed participants will receive instructions from the SUN Office on how to prepare a login name and a password. 
If you have difficulty accessing or downloading the reading materials please contact Eva Barbara Bodogan who will assist you with technical problems.

Credits

Our courses offer ECTS points (check the number on the relevant course web site), which may be accepted for credit transfer by the participants' home universities. Those who wish to obtain these credits should inquire about the possible transfer at their home institution prior to their enrollment. The Summer University Office will send a transcript to those who have fulfilled all the necessary course requirements and request one.

Certificates are awarded for full attendance and active participation (discussions, individual or group presentation, submission of written assignments, etc.).

Fees and funding packages

CEU Summer University courses have a variety of financial schemes. Depending on their funding sources, sponsors, cooperating partners, etc., some courses offer financial aid in the form of full or partial scholarships (tuition waiver +  travel and/or accommodation grant), or a tuition waiver, while there are others that only accept participants on a fee-paying basis.

Participants are responsible for covering their own living expenses (local transportation, airport transfer, meals, etc.) while in Budapest (unless they receive a special scholarship offering a stipend as well).

Please check the details of the financial policy of the course of your choice in the “Financial Information” section on the relevant course web site.

It may cover tuition, accommodation in single or shared double rooms in CEU’s Residence Center, and/or a full or partial travel grant. Some courses offer a stipend as well. Please check your course website for specific information on funding packages.

All packages will include the following: 

  1. a minimum of 24 tuition hours per week 
  2. ECTS credits 
  3. a certificate of attendance 
  4. access to course E-learning page (with readings, assignments, etc.) 
  5. access to CEU facilities (Library, IT services, and, if you are housed in CEU’s Residence Center, a sports centre including the use of the indoor swimming pool, and tennis courts) 
  6. some social and cultural events depending on the course schedules (e.g. welcome and farewell reception/outings/field trips/film screenings, etc.) 

We strongly encourage applicants to look for non-CEU funding sources that may offer some help with participation costs. Please consider if you or your institution can contribute to the program expenses. Faculty and Ph.D. students are advised to approach their home departments for travel grants; researchers may have research grants available that can cover their participation; professionals may turn to their employers to fund their training in the program. 

Yes, if your application was accepted on academic merit, but was rejected due to lack of funding, you may be accepted on a fee-paying basis if there are still available places in the course.

Please check your course website for specific information on funding packages.

Fee-paying participants are expected to pay the full tuition fee by May 28. Please check the fees and fee-payment deadlines on the relevant course websites. Information on the fee payment will be provided in the online application system.

Please do NOT include accommodation costs when you pay the tuition fee.  Accommodation costs should be paid upon arrival at the hotel either in cash or by card.

Before making your payment please see details of the payment procedure.

Yes. You will find the instructions on how to pay by credit card on the Applicant Portal of the online application system.

Facilities and housing

CEU Budapest site is housed in state-of-the-art new buildings designed to promote sustainability downtown.  All parts of the buildings are wheelchair accessible. Classrooms are equipped with the latest technology. Smart rooms have two smartboards, Windows 10 installed fully functional touch screen PCs, the software includes Skype, BlueJeans, Office package, Whiteboard software, a projector, and speakers for HD quality video and audio, webcam, and wireless keyboard.

CEU possesses an excellent library holding the largest collection of English-language materials in social sciences and humanities in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Vera & Donald Blinken Open Society Archives also has an associated library of books and periodicals, the core of which is the library of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Additional information on the Vera & Donald Blinken Open Society Archives website.

There is a sports center with a  sauna and fitness room, basketball/football courts, and a tennis court at CEU Residence Center available for those staying there.

All scholarship participants will be accommodated in the CEU Residence Center. It is a modern, air-conditioned hostel, which offers single rooms or shared double rooms for 2 persons, with 2 single beds, and a bathroom and toilet that roommates share. The reception is available 24 hours a day.

Getting from the Center to the Central European University teaching facilities takes about 40-45 minutes by easy public transportation (bus+metro).

Please check the accommodation details of your course on the Accommodation page.

Participants are expected to arrive the day before the course starts (e.g. if the course starts on Monday, the arrival day will be on Sunday) and depart the day after the last teaching day (e.g. if the last day of the course is a Friday, the departure day will be on Saturday).  

  • Check-in time: 14:00 P.M. 
  • Check-out time: 10:00 A.M. 

If you are planning to arrive earlier and/or leave later than the above standard dates, both scholarship and self-funded participants should contact the Residence Center with their booking modification requests by emailing to sunreservation@ceu.edu. In case of vacancies, our Residence Center colleagues will confirm the modified booking.

Payment for the extra days should me made upon arrival.

To be honest, not much. SUN is a highly intense experience. Class attendance is compulsory, so you will be mostly in the classroom until 4 or 5 p.m. with short coffee breaks and a longer lunch break in the middle of the day. You will receive reading and/or written assignments to accomplish from one day to the next. There is very little time left to do your own research in the Library or even to explore the city. Courses, however, tend to organize social events after the teaching day such as informal sightseeing, visits to ruin pubs, etc.

Scholarship participants will be accommodated in single or shared double rooms. Those who prefer staying in a single room may opt to upgrade to one but will have to cover the difference. Self-funded participants can book single rooms.

Room rates:

  • Single room: 39 Euro/night including breakfasts
  • Double room: 25 Euro/person/night including breakfasts
  • Guests sharing a room with SUN participants: 25 Euro/night including breakfasts

 

It is approximately a 40-45-minute ride by bus and the underground.

  • Self-funded participants: You can stay anywhere in town.
  • Scholarship participants: Your housing grant can be applied to the Residence Center only. If you wish to stay somewhere else, you need to cover your accommodation costs yourself.

Nádor street 9

  • Faculty Tower ground floor, next to elevators (Green Lab; Capacity: 19+1 computers; Opening Hours: 8 AM - 10 PM on Weekdays, 12 PM - 6 PM Weekends) 

CEU Residence Center

  • Room 101 (Chat Lab; Capacity: 9 computers; Opening hours: 24/7) 

 

While on the CEU main site, you can contact the IT Department Helpdesk: 

  • Main IT helpdesk, Nádor utca 11, 1051 Budapest, room 505
    Issues: General IT issues for CEU community, Directing your request to the right channel when you are not sure which specific team to contact
    Opening hours: 9 AM - 9 PM on Weekdays, 8 AM - 2 PM Weekends
    Contact: phone extension 2000 or helprequest@ceu.edu

  • Classroom Support, Nádor utca 11, 1051 Budapest, room 504
    Issues: Smart classrooms support in N13 and N15 classrooms, MB-201, Events AV support, Video conferencing support (Teams, Zoom, Cisco conferencing)
    Opening hours: 8 AM - 9 PM on Weekdays, 8 AM - 2 PM Weekends 
    Contact: phone 
    extension 6000 or classroomsupport@ceu.edu

  • Dormitory IT Helpdesk, Kerepesi út 87, Budapest, Hungary
    Issues: General IT issues @Residence center, Account, email, login, password, printing, wifi issues 
    Opening hours: 9 AM - 10 PM on Weekdays, 2 PM - 8 PM Weekends
    Contact: in the CEU Residence Center, on the 1st floor, in front of the computer lab (phone extension: 5543 or 2000, or at helprequest@ceu.edu)

You will receive a login name and a password at registration or at the beginning of the course. Here you will also receive information about the opening hours and locations of computer labs, about the file, mail, printing service, and the internet, as well as an introduction to the network and other useful do's and don'ts.

Yes. If your laptop is suitable for WiFi connections, you can access the wireless network on the whole CEU teaching site.

Yes, you can: there is free WiFi in all rooms of the Residence Center. If your laptop is suitable for WiFi connections, you can access the wireless network similarly to the Downtown main site.

Travel and visa

You’ll need to apply for a short-term (type C) Schengen visa.

No, it is the responsibility of all participants to obtain a short term tourist visa. Please check our visa page for further information.

Most Schengen Embassies can process applications within 15 working days, however, there can be delays, especially in the summer due to the high season. We, therefore, recommend that you secure your visa interview date via the relevant Embassy website right after getting your notification of acceptance. The earliest visa appointment date you can request is 6 months before the date of your travel.

Travel grant recipients are expected to book and buy their tickets. We will transfer the amount of travel grants to participants before the summer school starts. Those needing a visa to come to Hungary will receive their grants after their visa has been granted.  More information is available on our Travel page.

Miscellaneous

Due to some spam filter settings, some emails may occasionally end up in your spam filtering system. (In order to avoid this, please make sure you put ceu.edu domain on the whitelist in your email client.) We tend to respond to each incoming email within 1-2 business days. If you do not hear back from us after a week, and you cannot find our email in your spam folder either, please contact one of our colleagues via their personal email addresses. Click here for the contact information page.

Yes. These activities are all optional and are organized after 5 pm. and on the weekends.

The supplementary academic events include public lectures, field trips, occasional film screenings, etc. 
Social events usually include welcome and farewell parties, etc. There will be NO centrally organized sightseeing tours, so be prepared to explore the city on your own or with your fellow participants. Your course coordinator may, however, offer the group an optional walking tour. Usually, at the end of the course, there is a farewell party arranged for each course separately.

All summer course participants are expected to get to their hotels on their own. Please check the links on the Accommodation page for directions to the Residence Center. If you stay elsewhere you can use any online map applications to find your way to the hotel.

The workload is high during your course therefore we advise you not to bring your family with you. If, however, you would still like to bring someone, it is your responsibility to find out in advance whether there is a double room available in the Residence Center. You have to take care of the visa arrangements if any and pay for all additional costs.

If you are staying at a hotel, the room price includes breakfast. All other meals should be covered on your own. The SUN Office will offer tips about where you can have lunch at a reasonable price in the university's neighborhood.

All participants are responsible to have valid health insurance during their stay at CEU. If you suffer from a chronic disease, please make sure you bring your medication with you.

With minor problems, you can contact the CEU Medical Center. In case of emergency, you will receive hospital treatment covered by your insurance.

The weather tends to be hot in July (25-35 degrees Celsius). Classrooms, the Residence Center and some of the other hotels are air-conditioned so bring something warm if you find the air-conditioning sometimes too cold inside the buildings.

Faculty and participants tend to dress informally for class. If you wish, you can however bring something formal as well for special occasions that the course may decide to organize.