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THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN 2000–2025.: THE FIRST RECTOR'S TERM JANUARY 1st 2000 – JULY 31st 2001
154-191Views:99A new era of higher education in Debrecen began in 2000 – decades after the 1912 founded state university was split into several institutions in 1950 – the Debrecen University was established from four independent institutions, offering the broadest range of study programs in the country with five university faculties, three college faculties, nine institutes and three associated institutions. This study reviews the preliminary steps which had been taken to prepare for the institutional integration within the framework of the Debrecen Universitas Association and the Debrecen University Association, describes the circumstances surrounded the failure of the direct integration of church institutions, and details the events connected to the launch of the new university, also presenting the recollections of those involved in the university leadership at the time. The success of the Debrecen University integration was based on its special characteristics, such as broad-based leadership, close cooperation of rectors elected for a short period from different fields of science, highly decentralized management, the establishment of the Medical and Health Sciences Center and the Agricultural Sciences Center – which combined high-level clinical work and agricultural activities, respectively, with the function of related faculties –, and an infrastructural investment program that enabled advances in the majority of educational areas and focused on support of scientific research. Based on the structural decisions, internal integration processes were launched for consolidated operation of informatics, the libraries and language departments, and in the activities of specialty coordination centers, to facilitate cooperation in educational programs and research work. A constructive and harmonious relationship had been developed with the newly formed university-level students’ union and, within the framework of a collective agreement with the institution's employees. The cooperation agreement with the city of Debrecen, the interconnection with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and participation in the founding of the European University Association were of decisive importance in the university's external relations. The joint works in developing the identity of the University of Debrecen, the creation of symbols and brand images linked to the historical Debrecen Reformed College resulted in trust-based cooperation and breaking down of barriers between the integrating communities of scholars, researchers, students, and employees.
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The STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NAGYSZOMBAT IN THE LIGHT OF MORE CONTEMPORARY SOURCES
146-181Views:241. The University of Nagyszombat, established in 1635, is Hungary's first, continously operating university. It's successors are the Eötvös Loránd University of Budapest and the Pázmány Péter Catholic University. A significant part of the university's archival resources were destroyed in a fire at the Hungarian National Archives during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Therefore it is extremely difficult to compile a list of the students who studied at the first Hungarian university. Recently, in Esztergom, new, previously unknown sources emerged about the students of the university. In this article we summarise the findings that can be drawn from the new documents regarding the students that studied at the Faculty of Arts and Theology of the University. The article analyses the university's geographical area, the evolution of the number of students and the social stratification of the student population and nationality, the proportion of foreign and national students.
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF INDEPENDENT HUNGARIAN-LANGUAGE HIGHER EDUCATION IN TRANSCARPATHIA
92-107Views:199This study aims to present the path leading to the establishment of independent Hungarian-language higher education in Transcarpathia. Transcarpathia, as a region and administrative unit, was established within the territory of the Czechoslovak Republic following World War I. After World War II, the region became part of Soviet Ukraine. The first higher education institution in Transcarpathia was the Uzhhorod State University, established by the Soviet regime in 1945. In 1963, a Hungarian department was established at the university, followed by the Department of Hungarian Philology two years later. The establishment of the Hungarian college of Higher Education in Berehove, which currently operates as the only independent Hungarian-language higher education institution in Transcarpathia, established the power shifts following Ukraine declares its independence and the period of higher education expansion. Local advocacy organizations and the Hungarian government played a decisive role in the establishment of the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education, ensuring the supply of teachers for Hungarian-language schools in Transcarpathia.
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Az egyetemi testnevelés kialakulása és fejlődése Debrecenben a két világháború között
32-40Views:187The Formation and Development of Physical Education at the University of Debrecen Between the Two World Wars. This study offers an overview of the beginnings, formation, as well as the production of the institutional and human resources of university-level physical education. The reader is provided with information pertaining to the difficulties relating to the introduction of mandatory university-level physical education and the role Debrecen—and Debrecen’s Gymnastics Association: DTE—played in securing
accommodation for the gymnastics lessons. Thus, we can learn about the changes and shifts, from optional to obligatory, of the university physical education of female students. We can also receive information as to who the first physical education instructors at the university were and additional information concerning those university educators who were the chief supporters of the systematic exercise of students and of university-level sports. It was due to the dedication of these people that it was in Debrecen that a position for sports physician was first created. The duties of the sports physician included the health check-up of students who participated in the gymnastics exercises. In addition, the study also includes information pertaining to how the university sports centre was created and extended as well as how the interest of the student body in exercise was enhanced by the University Athletic Club of Debrecen (DEAC) -
30 éves a debreceni angol nyelvű orvosképzés
173 - 183Views:330The 30th anniversary of the English Program at the Facult y Of Medicine. The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Debrecen celebrated the 30th anniversary of the English Program in medical education in 2017. The program was initiated in 1986 with a one-year premedical course and this training has been upheld with great successes up to now. In the 1987/88 academic year 52 students from 15 countries started their studies on the General Medicine course and eight of them graduated as medical doctor (MD) at the end of the six year training period in 1992. During the 30 years the number of the admitted and then the graduated students had increased yearly. Thus, 307 students started on the first year and 180 sixth year students received MD diploma in 2017 implying the significant development and a continuous interest in medical education in English in Debrecen. From the very beginning, the curriculum of English language programs is identical with that of the Hungarian one. Students apply for admission directly or via recruiting agents while entrance exams are conducted exclusively by the staff members of the University. The English language medical education in Debrecen has been accredited in many countries including some states in the USA. From 2000 to date other medical and health related programs such as Dentistry, Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Public Health, Molecular Biology and Complex Rehabilitation have been started and in the last year altogether 264 students graduated in these courses including also General Medicine. Parallel to the extension of the above programs from 2007 the other faculties also started education in English. By 2017 more than 5000 foreign students from 109 countries study at the University of Debrecen. Now the Coordinating Center for International Education organizes the English programs and its duties, among many other responsibilities, include contracting with recruiting agents, organizing entrance examinations, caring for the incoming students with respect to visa, health control and insurance. The income from the tuition fees has increased during the years and now represent a significant portion of the University budget, therefore it allows the renovation and also the establishment of new facilities at the University to the benefit of students. Although the students of the English Programs have different cultural, political and religious background, they establish good relation with each other and with the students studying in Hungarian. In summary, as a result of the high standards in education in English the University of Debrecen became a well-known and important institution on the educational map of the world and our intention is to uphold and further develop this acquired status in the future. -
To the Critical Period of the History of the University of Pozsony 1914–1923
142-156Views:240Elizabeth University of Arts and Sciences that was founded in 1912 started functioning with opening the Faculty of Law in the autumn of 1914. The first lectures were held only at the beginning of 1918 at the Faculty of Arts and at the autumn of 1918 at the Medical Faculty. On 1st of January in 1919 the Czech Legion marched in Pozsony (later Bratislava), and from this point on the possibility of the further operation of the university was uncertain. In the September of 1919 the Czechoslovak State occupied all real estates of the university, consequently, education at the Faculty of Arts and at Medical Faculty of the Elizabeth University was finished. The university teachers and students of these faculties fled to Hungary. Education at the Faculty of Law was going on until the summer of 1921, and then this faculty was also closed. The university as displaced educational institution together with the similarly displaced University of Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca) continued her activity in Budapest. In 1923, the University gained her final place in Pécs.
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UNIVERSITY ANNIVERSARIES AND THEIR CELEBRATION IN THE HUNGARIAN HIGHER EDUCATION
96-107Views:203In the XXth and XXIst centuries, Hungarian universities have experienced a tremendous transformation as a result of historical changes, and this transformation is still happening today. Not only have the names of the universities changed three or four times, but their organisational structure has also changed countless times. Several institutions have separated from their former universities, others have merged with other higher education institutions. In 2000, several integrated universities were established, but their departmental organisation has changed so many times since then, that it is very difficult to know when and from which institution each university counts its founding and when they have their anniversaries. Understanding the past of Hungarian higher education is also complicated by the fact that some of the predecessors of Hungarian universities were founded before the WWI in cities in now neighbouring countries. In the article below, after giving some examples from Europe, we summarise the changes that have taken place in the organisation of Hungarian universities dating back at least a century. We give a presentation about when and what foundations were celebrated by the Hungarian universities and what historical or more simple jubilee publications were published on these occasions. We also list the universities that have taken such care of their own past resources that have become university archives. Last but not least, we highlight the possible important university anniversaries in the near future.
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The Last School Year of the Hungarian University of Transylvania (1918/19)
32-61Views:354The last School Year of the Hungarian University of Transylvania (1918/19). At the beginning of the 1918–1919 academic year, the use of university buildings for military hospitals, the military service of many young instructors, and the large number of students returning from war caused serious difficulties. On October 1, 2226 enrolled students entered the school year. At the end of October, as a result of the revolutionary news in Budapest, new youth associations were organized by the students, and they became involved in the task of the town guard. As a result of the truce negotiations, the revolutionary government of Budapest resigned completely from the Transylvanian territories and left the University of Cluj (Kolozsvár). On December 24, the Romanian army invaded Cluj. After that, the occupying Romanian army introduced strict press and post censorship, regularly harassed house searches, punishment, internships, and imposed a severe military attack on the Hungarians. It was difficult for students to travel and stay in touch with their parents. Mail and bank transfers have been canceled. The professors and the students were trying to get rid of
it. Only the large-scale donations of the population of Cluj-Napoca saved students from starvation and frost. From January 1919, the Romanian authorities demanded loyalty from the officials. All university professors refused to accept loyalty, since Transylvania was still an occupied area, and the peace-closing war only fixed the attachment of Transylvania to Romania on 4 June 1920. The Romanian army occupied the university buildings, and the professors were deported to Hungary. Professors and students who had been forcibly removed were continuing their work in Budapest first and then in Szeged in 1921. Therefore, the University of Szeged and the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca are the heirs of the same University of Cluj. -
The LEADERS OF THE AGRICULTURAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS OF DEBRECEN BETWEEN 1868 AND 1945
79-88Views:254. In 2018, Debrecen's agricultural higher education celebrated a century and a half since its foundation. In the decades since, it has become the country's leading professional education institute for agriculture. It was born in the post-1867 Reconciliation era, realising the vision of the city's farmer society, in line with the state's engagement, which extended the scope of central power, and gave a new impetus to Hungarian education policy and helped to launch the modernisation of Hungarian agriculture. This special anniversary has inspired the chroniclers of our times to provide an overview of the scholarly teachers of a century and a half who were school founders, who were at the head of the institution for a considerable period of time, and whose activities included enhancing the quality of Hungarian agricultural higher education. The articles in the university history journal, Gerundium, serve this purpose.
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INSTITUTIONAL BOOM IN SOCIALIST HIGHER EDUCATION, OR A COLLEGE IN EVERY TOWN?
113-126Views:77The Hungarian Historical Society and its South-Transdanubian Group organised a conference, titled ’Chapters from the history of education in Hungary’ in Mohács, Hungary, between 13 and 15 August 2025. It was at this conference that a lecture was given on the foundation of colleges that reviewed the evolution and transformation of the institutional network until 1990, with some references to subsequent reorganisations.
No such lecture can provide a complete picture, consequently, it mainly focused on the major junctions relying on bibliographic data. Although the principal topic was the evolution of the college network, the changes affecting universities also had to be mentioned since, during the transformation, integration and foundation attempts, such universities gathered up the colleges eventually often transforming them into university faculties. The first part of the three-part study reviews the fundamental changes until Act III of 1961 on the education system of the Hungarian People’s Republic was enacted; the second part examines the motivations behind the quantitative growth of the institutional network, while the third part showcases the changes in West-Transdanubia through the expansion of the higher education institutions (university, teacher training college) in Pécs, with a particular focus on Zala County, where it was impossible to establish an independent higher education institution.
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COMMON MEMORIES ABOUT THE GREAT PROFESSOR-INDIVIDUALITIES OF AGRICULTURAL HIGHER EDUCATION OF DEBRECEN AND MAGYARÓVÁR.
229-243Views:293In the history of domestic vocational education in agriculture, the year 2018 has recorded itself onto the pages of history’s golden book with two significant anniversaries. Mosonmagyarovar celebrated the bicentenary of its birth and Debrecen celebrated its existence of a century and a half. These two higher education institutions were called to life by different reasons. While Ovar opened its gates to a private initiative, in Debrecen the local farmer society was the driving force with the binding precondition to which was connected tightly to have the mother tongue education accepted by the Viennese court. The time proved afterwards that the education in Hungarian language did not go to the detriment of expertise at none of the institutions. It must be acknowledged that in the field of vocational training, Magyarovar was the one which gave the first large faculty of teachers but soon Debrecen outgrew itself to the acropolis of vocational training too. The Ministry of Agriculture solved the incidental differences of standards by switching teachers. Owing to this, some professor-individualities had the chance to teach at both places. In our compilation – as a sample – we selected a few meaningful personalities with great authority who are claimed to have by both university faculties.
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Német egyetemi filozófiai hatások Schneller István morálpedagógiai rendszerében
23-33Views:258German Academic Effects on István Schneller’s pedagogical System. Having studied theology at German universities, Schneller István (1847–1939) got to the Department of Education at Kolozsvár University in 1895. He played an important role in having the Transsylvanian Hungarian University, suppressed in May of 1919, transferred to Szeged in the autumn of 1921. Schneller’s approach to the questions of pedagogy was that of an Evangelical theologian. He applied the term „personality pedagogy” to his pedagogy, thus referring to the fact that the process of moulding the individual into a personality was placed in the focus of his pedagogy. When searching the roots of Schneller’s moral anthropological concepts with regard to the history of ideas, the following influences are to be revealed: 1. The Protestant doctrine, the influence of the Herrenhut circle of the Evangelical Pietists, Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher’s influence. The process of becoming a member in the Domain of God is to be supported by the individual’s intimate religious experience. 2. The reception of Pestalozzi’s influence: The Swiss pedagogue’s ethical evolutionary theory is mainly discussed in the study titled „Meine Nachforschungen über den Gang der Natur…”. The three grades described there are as follows: Naturstand (Natural State), Gesellschaftlicher Zustand (Social State), Sittlicher Zustand (Moral State), which might as well be interpreted as the antecedents of Schneller’s conception. Schneller goes further on the road outlined by Pestalozzi, setting the process of ethicizing into a wider context. 3. The Kantian influence is equivalent to that of Pestalozzi. Schneller himself attempts to interpret Kant’ pedagogical conceptions discussed several times and in several ways as a unified system. On the basis of his university lectures, it can be recognized that Schneller reveals the following grades in the process of evolution described by Kant: 1. eudaimonism, 2. legality, 3. morality. Nonetheless, in favour of Schleiermacher’s principle of love, Schneller is reluctant to accept the emotionally rigorous ethical laws and the Kantian categorical imperative. Schneller as a charismatic pedagogue-professor at Kolozsvár, then at Szeged University, gathered a multitude of students around himself, many of whom (Varga Béla, Makkai Sándor, Kemény Ferenc, Imre Sándor), starting from and developing the intellectual world of personality pedagogy, became considerable theoreticians themselves. German Academic Effects on István Schneller’s pedagogical System. Having studied theology at German universities, Schneller István (1847–1939) got to the Department of Education at Kolozsvár University in 1895. He played an important role in having the Transsylvanian Hungarian University, suppressed in May of 1919, transferred to Szeged in the autumn of 1921. Schneller’s approach to the questions of pedagogy was that of an Evangelical theologian. He applied the term „personality pedagogy” to his pedagogy, thus referring to the fact that the process of moulding the individual into a personality was placed in the focus of his pedagogy. When searching the roots of Schneller’s moral anthropological concepts with regard to the history of ideas, the following influences are to be revealed: 1. The Protestant doctrine, the influence of the Herrenhut circle of the Evangelical Pietists, Ernst Daniel Schleiermacher’s influence. The process of becoming a member in the Domain of God is to be supported by the individual’s intimate religious experience. 2. The reception of Pestalozzi’s influence: The Swiss pedagogue’s ethical evolutionary theory is mainly discussed in the study titled „Meine Nachforschungen über den Gang der Natur…”. The three grades described there are as follows: Naturstand (Natural State), Gesellschaftlicher Zustand (Social State), Sittlicher Zustand (Moral State), which might as well be interpreted as the antecedents of Schneller’s conception. Schneller goes further on the road outlined by Pestalozzi, setting the process of ethicizing into a wider context. 3. The Kantian influence is equivalent to that of Pestalozzi. Schneller himself attempts to interpret Kant’ pedagogical conceptions discussed several times and in several ways as a unified system. On the basis of his university lectures, it can be recognized that Schneller reveals the following grades in the process of evolution described by Kant: 1. eudaimonism, 2. legality, 3. morality. Nonetheless, in favour of Schleiermacher’s principle of love, Schneller is reluctant to accept the emotionally rigorous ethical laws and the Kantian categorical imperative. Schneller as a charismatic pedagogue-professor at Kolozsvár, then at Szeged University, gathered a multitude of students around himself, many of whom (Varga Béla, Makkai Sándor, Kemény Ferenc, Imre Sándor), starting from and developing the intellectual world of personality pedagogy, became considerable theoreticians themselves.
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Illyefalvi Vitéz Géza jogászprofesszor, a Debreceni M. Kir. Tisza István Tudományegyetem 1926/27. tanévi rector magnificusa
5-16Views:257Géza Illyefalvi Vitéz Law Professor, the Rector Magnificus of István Tisza Hungarian Royal University in Debrecen During the Academic Year of 1926/27. Illyefalvi Vitéz Géza (1871–1931) studied at a university in Budapest, where he obtained a doctorate in law and political sciences. At the end of 1896 he was elected public ordinary professor of the judicial academy in Sárospatak, where he taught administrative law and statistics. He was a professor of the University of Debrecen after its establishment in 1914. In
1921 he was appointed Dean of the Law Faculty and he was re-elected in 1931. Illyefalvi Vitéz Géza was Rector of the Hungarian Royal Tisza István University of Debrecen in 1926/27, the year when the clinic site was inaugurated, and the laying of the foundation stone of the main building took place. We can say that he was a rector at a destiny-shaping period of the University. He effectively represented the interests of the University, with the help of his contemporary higher education policy and the university development plans of Minister of Education Kunó Klebersberg. Illyefalvi wrote fourteen books and monographs, as well as numerous journal articles. These works are grouped in the two major fields of his interests, statistics and public finance. He also wrote university and judicial academy notes and textbooks. -
Finding Experiments of New twechnical Universities in the First Deacade of the 20th Century- The Almost -Opened Technical University of Timisoara
90-101Views:335The Founding Experiments of New Technical Universities in the first Decade of the 20th Century. The almost-opened Technical University in Timisoara. Due to the need for industrial development in
the era of dualism and the overcrowding of the Royal Joseph Technical University, the founding of the second Hungarian technical university became one of the most pressing problems of higher education at the turn of
the 20th century. The professional public, the Royal Joseph Technical University and the government both imagined the establishment of the institution in Timisoara which was the industrial-commercial center of
Southern Land. They took into consideration economic, educational and national aspects as well. The concrete plans were completed by 1917, but due to historical events, the institution was founded only
in the autumn of 1920 as a Romanian Politechnic. In addition to Timisoara, Košice was the planned seat of the third Hungarian technical university, but the preparations were not as far away as in Timisoara. -
LÓRÁND KESZTYŰS, PROFESSOR OF PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, THE FIRST HEAD AS DEAN (1951), THEN TWO TIMES AS RECTOR (1959-1963, 1967-1973) OF THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL OF DEBRECEN.
24-66Views:291In 1951 Lóránd Kesztyűs as dean became the first head of the University Medical School of Debrecen formed from the Faculty of Medicine of the Debrecen University, and then he was elected rector of the institution for two periods (1959-1963, 1967-1973). He had determining roles in the infrastructural extension of departments and clincics, in modernisation of medical education with increased number of medical students, in enhancing productivity of scientific research, in developing clinical service with high regional and national reputation and in shaping a performance based, democratic leadership managament under restrictive conditions of a state party centralized political system. His internationally recognised research activity and national science policy achievements led to foundation of immunology and allergy research in Hungary. He was elected to member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Establishing the related department, with text book writing and creating his school of scientists, made him a momentous professor of pathophysiology. His friendly, direct and open persionality had an important role in realisation of a succesful leadership and organizational climate at the departmental and institutional level. Presentation of his achievements is based on a monograph of his past co-worker with reflections of three professors (two of them also served as rectors).
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DEVELOPMENT OF THE MODERN INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DEBRECEN
127-153Views:77At the end of the 20th century, information technology initiated revolutionary changes. The first inter-university networks, established by American universities, rapidly transformed the internet into a global system, soon reaching Europe and countries behind the Iron Curtain. In Hungary, higher education institutions were the first to recognize the opportunities presented by this new technology, and in the early 1990s, they commenced the development of internationally competitive networks. At that time, Debrecen was home to several independent universities and colleges, which set the objective of creating a unified IT infrastructure. This development was facilitated by state funding and the lifting of the Eastern technology embargo, which enabled the adoption of advanced Western network devices and protocols. By the autumn of 1994, a city-wide optical fiber backbone network had been completed, providing high-speed data transmission between campuses using FDDI technology. The implemented system integrated 12 kilometers of optical cable, more than twenty connected buildings, and over one thousand computers, offering a bandwidth of 100 Mbit/s—ten times the capacity of contemporary Ethernet networks. Initially, the network provided essential services such as internet access, email, and shared printing, while also laying the groundwork for future integrated systems, including academic and administrative records. The city network, named UDNet, thus represented not only a significant technological innovation but also established a stable foundation for the long-term development of information technology at the University of Debrecen.
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THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
100-112Views:69The College of Physical Education was established at the end of 1925, thanks to the support of Minister Kuno Count Klebelsberg as the further development of the course of the National Gymnastics Association, which had started in 1868. At that time, it was placed in the building of the Civil School Teacher Training College (Paedagogium) on Győri Street in Buda, where it still operates today, with gradual expansions. Thanks to its excellent teaching staff, the new institution quickly rose to international status. Although the years of war and the communist dictatorship set back its development, it was elevated to university status in 1975, and then slowly regained its international reputation. In 2000, during the reorganization of higher education, it temporarily lost its independence, which it regained in 2014. Soon, the largest development in its history began, which is now nearing its end.
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Az eperjesi evangélikus kollégium tanárainak egyetemjárása a 19. század közepéig
177-189Views:200University Studies of Professors at the evangelical Colleg of Presov up to 19th century. Evangelical College in Presov, as one of the most important evangelical schools in Hungary, considered the high quality education of its teachers to be very important since its establishment, and as a rule, the positions of professors were occupied by the graduates of German universities. Before establishment of the College, the Town Council likewise had seen to it that the humanistic „gymnasium” had been lead by rectors with high quality university education. This paper aims at creating a portrait of studies of professors at Evangelical College in Presov, and at its predecessor – the Municipal Lutheran Gymnasium over a period of three centuries, from the half of the 16 th to the half of the 19 th centuries whereby the data about its rectors, conrecors and subrectors were used as a source. In the period of these three centuries 111 Presov Evangelical rectors, conrectors and subrectors acquired their education at 26 universities or colleges. Most of them, 34, studied at Wittenberg (30%), followed by Jena (11), Tübingen (7), Thorn (6), Halle (4), Vienna (4) and Frankfurt (4). Three of them graduated from the University in Altdorf, two in Greifswald and the Reformed College in Sarospatak and by one in Rostock, Prague, Gdansk, Graz, Strassburg, Helmstädt, Erfurt, Giessen, Erlangen, Rinteln, Paris, Vratislav, Dresden and Göttingen. Other 16 professors studied at unknown places, eventually did not obtained higher education. 20 professors obtained their education at more than one university or college, most of them (7) in the first period of existence of the College (1667–1711), and least of them (2) in the first half of the 19 th century.
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ARISTOCRATIC STUDENTS IN THE "ATHENS OF HUNGARY": THE HIGH NOBLE STUDENTS OF THE GYMNASIUM AND UNIVERSITY OF NAGYSZOMBAT (1616–1773)
126-145Views:239Tyrnau (Nagyszombat, Trnava) was a location of great importance in the Jesuit school network of the Kingdom of Hungary, which provided students with various levels of education, from primary to university studies. The country's premier Catholic school centre also played a very important role in the education of the noble and aristocratic families. The aim of this study is to outline and examine the high noble-born student body of the University and Gymnasium of Tyrnau, using the new school records available. In the paper I will try to reconstruct how the function of Tyrnau in the educational practices of the nobility changed over the decades and centuries, which families attended the institution, and through some case studies I will also discuss the role of the knowledge acquired in shaping later careers.
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PAST – PRESENT – FUTURE: 15 YEARS OF THE KERPELY KÁLMÁN COLLEGE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES
Views:228Student organizations – and within them, colleges for advanced studies – play a special role in the life of higher education institutions. These communities offer not only opportunities for talented and motivated students to deepen their academic pursuits, but also convey core values: a commitment to science, a sense of social responsibility, and a persistent drive for intellectual growth. Colleges for advanced studies build bridges between theoretical knowledge and practical experience, between individual ambition and shared purpose – all within a supportive, inspiring environment. Throughout our university years, these communities become spaces where we learn not only to study, but to think, create, debate, and collaborate. This is why such colleges are not merely academic forums – they are transformative communities. They are places where friendships are forged, life-long connections are made, and professional journeys begin. Since its founding in 2010, the Kálmán Kerpely College for Advanced Studies at the University of Debrecen has played a distinguished role in fulfilling this mission. Following the intellectual legacy of its namesake, the College has provided its members with both high-level academic enrichment and meaningful community experiences over the past fifteen years. Its anniversary offers a fitting opportunity to reflect on its history, its impact, and all it has contributed – to individuals, to communities, and, in a broader sense, to the university as a whole.
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Jenő Bacsó, Professor of Civil Procedures the Rector Magnificus of the Hungarian Royal István Tisza University of Debrecen during the Academic Year 1938/39
3-32Views:356Jenő Bacsó, Professor of Civil Procedure the Rector Magnificus of the Hungarian Royal István Tisza University of Debrecen during the Academic Year 1938/39. Jenő Bacsó was the emblematic figure of the jurist training and university life in Debrecen. The editor of the „Debreceni Képes Kalendárium” told that Jenő Bácsó should have been elected rector for the academic year 1938/39 even if someone else could be the next, since he was the person who joined the city, the College and the university. Besides Béla Szentpéteri Kun he was the other professor at the faculty who taught and took part actively in the university life from the establishment of the faculty (1914) to the suspension of the jurist training (1949). He held several positions and educated during his active 33 years as well as during two years after his retirement: he was one of the major figures of the committee which was responsible for handing-receiving of the office of the dean, he took part in Mensa Academica, the committee of the university territorial planning, furthermore, as Rector he was a member of the commission of inquiry sent at the time of the student rioting. He was one of the members of the National Council of the Higher Education from Debrecen. He was the dean of the Faculty of Law during three academic years: 1922/23, 1934/35, 1946/47.
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PORTRAIT OF DEZSŐ SZABÓ, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
38-53Views:202Dezső Szabó was professor of history at the University of Debrecen for 35 years from 1924 to 1959. He graduated from the University of Budapest with a degree in History and Latin. It was at the instigation of his patron, Henrik Marczali, that he began his research on the Hungarian assemblies of the pre-Mohács period. He also wrote his doctoral dissertation on this topic. Thanks to his excellent academic achievements, he graduated from the university with a royal gold ring of honour (sub auspiciis regis). He taught for many years in secondary schools and in 1912 became a privatdocent at the Budapest University of Science. In February 1924, Governor Miklós Horthy appointed him full professor of medieval and modern (universal) history at the University of Debrecen. At that time, his research was already focused on the Urbarium of Maria Theresa. In 1931 he was elected a corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He published relatively little and concentrated his activities on secondary school teacher training. He was the dean of the Faculty of Humanities for four academic years. He made an invaluable contribution to the reorganisation of university education in 1944. Despite this, he was repeatedly persecuted under the new regime and was only able to retain his chair thanks to the intervention of his influential students. He retired at the age of 77. The second and third volumes of his work, A magyarországi úrbérrendezés története Mária Terézia korában, which is considered the major work of his life, are still awaiting publication.
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Debreceni Református Kollégium teológiai oktatásának története 1850–1912. A Teológiai Akadémia a Kollégium oktatási rendszerében
30-51Views:296The History of Theological Education at Debrecen Reformed College between 1850 and 1912. The changes in the educational system of Theology at Reformed College of Debrecen were heavily influenced by the political-social events of historic Hungary between 1850 and 1912. The first date signals the introduction of arbitrary rule of the Habsburg monarch who suppressed the Hungarians during the War of Independence in 1848-49. The closing date is the emergence of a new state run university in Debrecen. The study throws light on how the Organisations Entwurf tried to modernize as well as Germanize the education system in the Habsburg Empire. As a result, the traditional education structure at the College was entirely restructured. It brought about the disintegration of humanity and art faculty into a grammar school thereby only the law and theological faculties were left intact for a while. The Reformed Church District strongly protested against the dismantling its more than 300 years old education system. It is the irony of history what the oppressing Austrian could not achieve, it was realized after the Compromise by József Eötvös, the Hungarian minister of culture, religion and education. Needless to say that education at all levels needed to be modernized and standardized. It is clear that it had a positive impact on the curricula of Reformed theological education in the long run. The paper introduces briefly the life of theological professors, their career with a view to their studies abroad and finally their works at various departments of theology.
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ON THE HISTORY AND SITUATION OF THE HUNGARIAN RECTORS’S CONFERENCE – SEEN FROM DEBRECEN
143-163Views:269The Hungarian Rectors’ Conference was established in 1988 by the rectors of 19 universities in the spirit of intensifying self-organization and representation of the interests of higher education. HRC undertook and played a decisive role in the change of our higher education, in consolidating its autonomy and social role, as well as in the preparation and implementation of the first Higher Education Act. The framework of its operation, the impact and effectiveness of its activities were further shaped partly by its own aspirations and partly by the frameworks provided or limited by the current government. Recently, the role and weight of HRC both in the radically modified domestic and the changing authoritative international higher education space has sharply decreased, although its active role would be important for our institutions, science and society: the voice of universities must be heard and recognized everywhere.
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Városjáró jogászképzés a debreceni jogi oktatás helyszíneinek alakulása, különös tekintettel a mai Kassai úti Campus történetére
88-103Views:277Moving Legal Education – The Evolution of Locality of the Legal Education in Debrecen with special regard to the History of Campus Kassai. The legal education in Debrecen has a long history. It started in the Reformed Collage of Debrecen in the middle of the 18th century. As a state university, it was established by the Act XXXVI of 1912. Until the main building of the University of Debrecen was completed (1932) the Faculty of Law had been operating in many places in the city. First, in the building of Reformed Collage, but some legal departments were in an apartment house on the main street. After 1932, the faculty of law had suitable offices in the main building of the University. Between 1949 and 1996 the legal education was suspended, and its offices were occupied by other departments. In the year of 1996 a solution had to be found, the restarted legal education needed new buildings. The new place was found on the field of ex-soviet barrack on the Kassai Street. This site was a cavalry barrack before the WWII. Some of the original buildings can still be found today, and many new buildings were built in the last couple of years e. g. library, student hostel, educational buildings.
The faculty of law has also found its place on this campus. Its last moving was in the year of 2015, and it has a nice old-style group of buildings now.
