 Semmelweis University Coat Of Arms | |
| Motto | Servamus Vitam Atque Servimus |
|---|---|
Motto in English | Protecting And Serving Life |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1769; 256 years ago (1769) |
| Rector | Béla Merkely |
| Students | about 14,000 (in 2023/2024)[1] |
| Location | , |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | NCFMEA,EUA,WHO |
| Website | semmelweis.hu |
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Semmelweis University (Hungarian:Semmelweis Egyetem,Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈsɛmːɛlvɛjsˈɛɟɛtɛm]) is a research-ledmedical school inBudapest,Hungary, founded in 1769.[2] With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences.
The university is also the largest provider of health care services in Hungary. Most of the departments cater for the most serious cases and patients requiring complex treatment.[2]
As the highest listed institution in Hungary in the 2024Times Higher Education World University Rankings,[3] Semmelweis University is among the top 300 universities in the world.
The University of Trnava, founded in 1635, was lacking medical training for a long time, so Hungarian doctors were only able to study at foreign universities or in private schools, and surgeons were trained in guilds.Maria Theresa’s court physician, following the Empress’s decree of 7 November 1769, developed the plan of the new faculty, on the basis of theVienna model. In 1770, education began with five departments.[4]
In 1777, the university, and thus medical education, moved toBuda, and in 1784, followingJoseph II’s personal decree, to the other side of theDanube: to Pest. The rapidly developing Pest provided a wider range of ‘patient material’, and the departments also multiplied. There was space for abotanical garden, andanatomy as well actual patient care could also be taught more effectively.
At the end of the 19th century the establishment of the present theoretical institutes and clinical departments started. Those buildings inBudapest are still in use after reconstruction and modernization. During the 20th and 21st centuries new clinics and institutes were built.
From 1951, the Faculty of Medicine continued as an independent medical school and in 1955, Faculties of Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences were incorporated into the new medical University. In 1969, it adopted the name of its most famous professor,Ignáz Semmelweis.
Semmelweis University was the first Hungarian higher educational institution, which started to offer an international program at the Faculty of Medicine in German in 1983, while its international program in English started in 1987, at the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
From 1 August 2021, the founder’s, owner’s and operator’s rights of Semmelweis University are exercised by the Foundation for National Health Care and Medical Education following the model change in higher education.[5]
Semmelweis University is a specialised university offering undergraduate and graduate courses only in the field ofhealth sciences. The university has more than 14,000 students from 110 nations, with foreign students accounting for about 37% of the total community.[6] The largest and oldest faculty of the university is the Faculty of Medicine with 5,300 students accounting for 37% of the total number of students.[7]
Education takes place in six faculties and three languages (Hungarian, English and German). More than 15,000 students are taking courses in One-tier Master Programmes and at Bachelor, Master's and Postgradual levels and 1,500 of them are granted a diploma each year.[8]
Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy run as one-tier master programs (integrated master) with a degree awarded at the end of five years of study in Dentistry and Pharmacy and six years in Medicine. These courses are one-tier degree courses, without intermediate exit, and are in alternative to the two-tier degree course scheme.[9]
Courses in Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are available in Hungarian, English and German.
Bachelor's Programs of Semmelweis University are offered at the Faculty of Health Sciences and at Pető andrás Faculty. The length of the programs is 8 semesters (4 years) with a total of 240 credit points.
The following Bachelor's programs are available in English:
The physiotherapy program is available in Italian within the framework of the university's off-campus program run in Lugano, Switzerland.
Master's programs are offered at the Faculty of Health and Public Services and the Faculty of Health Sciences. The length of the programs is 3 semesters (1.5 years) with a total of 90 credit points.
The following Master's Programs are available in English at the Faculty of Health Sciences:
Semmelweis University's Doctoral College has 11 Divisions:
Each school comprises 2 to 17 study programs that add up to over 100 topics. The Doctoral College of Semmelweis University integrates the research groups and programs of all Faculties entitled to issue Ph.D. degrees. The Doctoral College has around a hundred students obtaining their Ph.D. diplomas every year. The degrees are recognized by theEuropean Union and are accepted in other countries.[12]
Research, development, and innovation at Semmelweis University take place in the areas of living natural sciences, and social sciences. Within these, life science R&D activities are the most prominent. The scientific areas connected to the Ph.D. programme are theoretical, clinical, molecular and multidisciplinary medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, mental health sciences, and pathological sciences. Physical science research is limited to certain segments of theoretical medicine and social science research is employed in the areas of mental health.
R&D and training are incorporated into clinical and health sciences as well as into the university's educational activities and the curriculum. They are also included in the specialised networks operating at the university (e.g.nanotechnology,bioimaging,genomics,biobank), as well as in the research university modules (diagnostics, technology,therapy, prevention) and the collaborations which have been developing within these areas.
Semmelweis University's collection of academic journals comprises printed material, online resources (databases, full texte-journals, e-books, etc.) that may be accessed both on-campus and off-campus. The Central Library provides access to more than 5,000 full text e-journals and specialised databases through its website.[13]
Patents connected to the University include theiKnife, a surgical device that is able to tell healthy and cancerous tissues apart immediately after the first cut,[14] or the virtual 3D microscope, a device equipped with amicroscope slide scanner able to scan 300 slides in one run and a 3D viewer that creates a spatial reconstruction of the serial specimen.[15]
The university publishes the peer-reviewed journalKaleidoscope: Művelődés- Tudomány- és Orvostörténeti Folyóirat (Kaleidoscope: Journal on the History of Culture, Science and Medicine)ISSN 2062-2597, which is ratedERIH PLUS by the European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences.[16]
Semmelweis University has a network of international partner agreements with around a hundred universities within theErasmus+ network and 40 further universities in joint cooperation based on bilateral agreements.
The university operates cross-border programs allowing foreign students to follow the Semmelweis curriculum while undertaking their studies at the partner institution abroad. Venues of Semmelweis University's off-campus programs includingAsklepios Kliniken inHamburg, Westpfalz-Klinikum in Kaiserslauten, Libera Università degli Studi inLugano, and the Health Management Academy inBratislava.[17]
Semmelweis University runs research andstudent exchange programmes in collaboration with several universities abroad based onbilateral agreements. The programmes offerscholarships to students with outstanding academic results and staff to study or do research at the partner institutions. The programmes are based on reciprocity and the length of exchange programmes may vary from one week to three months. Partner institutions includeJacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences,University of California Davis School of Medicine,Rutgers University,Medical University of Innsbruck,Saitama Medical University,University of Freiburg,Heidelberg University,University of Ulm,University of Padua,University of Trieste, andJessenius Faculty of Medicine atComenius University.[18]
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[19] | 601–700 (2023) |
| THE World[20] | 251–300 (2024) |
| USNWR Global[21] | =653 (2023) |
InQS World University Rankings[22] 2025 subject rankings, Semmelweis University is among the world's top 300 universities in the fields of medicine, pharmaceutical training, and life and medical sciences.
In the 2026Times Higher Education World University Rankings Semmelweis University was placed between 251 and 300.[23]
The university does not have a campus. Instead, its faculties, departments, hospitals, clinics, libraries, sport and accommodation facilities are scattered throughout the capital cityBudapest. Some facilities are clustered, and most of its clinical departments belong to one of the three clinical blocks.
The university's Theoretical Building atNagyvárad tér is one of the tallesthigh rise in Hungary. It houses several research institutions, a student centre, the office of the Students’ Union, auditoriums, conference halls and the country's largeststained glass installations.[24]
The previously fragmented Faculty of Health Sciences was united in 2003 in the newly renovated Art Nouveau building of a formersanatorium. The faculty's building houses clinical skills laboratories and contains various social spaces for students to use, such as an atrium with couches and a garden.[25]
The Dental Clinical and Training Centre was completed in 2007, accommodating clinics and institutions.
The Basic Medical Science Centre was built in 2008. Over a third of its area is used for scientific research, and it also has auditoriums and smaller lecture halls. The building is also home to several research groups that participate in international collaborations.[26]
The Inner Clinical Block is located close to theCorvin-negyed metro station and contains the main building and some of the university's hospitals. The main building houses the Rector's Office, the Deans’ Offices and other organisational and administrative units, as well as Semmelweis Salon, a venue for scientific symposia.
The main governing body of Semmelweis University is theSenate, with therector as its president. It is endowed with the authority to make decisions and recommendations, to form opinions, and to supervise. The Senate determines the course of the university's educational and research activities and sees to their realisation, with due regard to the Founding Charter.
The leadership of Semmelweis University consists of theRector, responsible for educational and scientific affairs and theChancellor, overseeing the financial matters of the university. The Rector is aided by fiveVice-Rectors: the Vice-Rector for General Affairs, the Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, the Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation, the Vice-Rector for Clinical Affairs and the Vice-Rector for Strategy and Development.
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47°29′14″N19°04′02″E / 47.48722°N 19.06722°E /47.48722; 19.06722
