A Brief History of Hungary by The World Factbook 2006

Hungary was part of the polyglot Austro-Hungarian Empire, which collapsed during World War I. The country fell under Communist rule following World War II. In 1956, a revolt and announced withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact were met with a massive military intervention by Moscow. Under the leadership of Janos KADAR in 1968, Hungary began liberalizing its economy, introducing so-called "Goulash Communism." Hungary held its first multiparty elections in 1990 and initiated a free market economy. It joined NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004. Read More

Medical studies take six years (twelve semesters). For foreign students the language of the instructions is English. However, foreign students are required to learn Hungarian in order to be able to communicate with the patients from the third year on. Those students who are fluent in Hungarian may join the Hungarian Program of the University.

During the first two years the curriculum focuses on theoretical aspects of medicine that lay the foundation for subsequent medical subjects.

In the 3rd year, disciplines exploring the theoretical foundations of diseases are offered together with preliminaries of internal medicine and surgery.

In the 4th and 5th years the training in pharmacology begins and that of various clinical subjects progresses.

During the 6th, final year students take their final examinations in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, neurology and pediatrics. Each final exam is preceded by a two-or three-month internship period. Students in the final year are supposed to submit a thesis on which they start working as early as in the forth year. The last academic year is concluded with a comprehensive final state examination when would-be medical doctors have to prove their competence in the most important practical and theoretical aspects of general medicine.

Students having passed all examinations and having an accepted thesis are granted an M.D. degree.

The history of higher education in Debrecen goes back to the 16th century. The city established the Calvinist College of Debrecen in 1538. The College became soon the most important cultural center of the whole country, where a great number of writers, scientists and politicians received their education.

In the 18th century the schools of Law and Theology were founded and although no separate School of Medicine existed, physicians were also trained in the College.

Today's University Medical School is rooted in this spiritual heritage. The present day Debrecen is also famous for its schools and higher educational establishments. The Medical School of the University of Debrecen is Central Europe’s first campus medical school. It was in the year of the millennium (1896) of Hungary’s foundation when the establishment of a modern University was decided upon in Debrecen. The University was officially inaugurated on October 23, 1918 and at that time consisted of four faculties: Arts, Science, Theology and Medicine. The Faculty of Medicine became an independent University Medical School under the supervision of the Ministry of Health in 1951.

The Medical School has 22 departments of basic sciences and 25 clinical departments specializing in various fields e.g. clinical chemistry, internal medicine, surgery, orthopedics, radiology, neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiology and pulmonology, oto-rhino-laryngology, dermatology, ophthalmology, stomatology and urology. The Medical School serves as the city hospital for Debrecen therefore students of upper terms may also obtain their clinical training here.

The history of higher education in Debrecen goes back to the 16th century when the College of the Reformed Church was established. The University Medical School is rooted in this spiritual heritage. It was in the year of the millennium (1896) of the country's birth that the establishment of the present University was decided. The University of Debrecen was established in 1912 with four faculties (Arts, Law, Medicine and Theology). Constructive work itself began only in the early 1910's, and the University was officially inaugurated by Charles IV. of Hungary, on October 23, 1918.

Educational work in the University started in 1924 and the construction works of the whole university finished only in 1932. In 1951 the Faculty of Medicine became a self-contained, independent Medical University for training medical doctors.

Special training of dentists started in 1976. The Medical School established the Health College of Nyíregyháza in 1991. In 1993, as a part of a nationwide program the University was given the rights to issue scientific qualifications and new Ph.D. programs have been launched. Several new programs (e.g., training of molecular biologists, pharmacists, family doctors) were started in the '90s. A new faculty, the School of Public Health was established in 1999.

The architectural and instrumental development of the University Medical School of Debrecen (UMSD) was completed in stages. In the 70s the Theoretical Building and the new building of Dentistry were completed. The second development phase was the establishment of the new Dialysis Center and the Cardiac Surgery Unit in the early '90s. The next stage was the construction of the 3rd Department of Medicine and various radiological units (PET, linear accelerator, etc.) in the second part of this decade. Recently, we are planning a Life Sciences Building and a new Library (with lecture halls, reading rooms and 200 computer terminals for students) and also the Debrecen Building of the Health College.

The University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science celebrated the 80th anniversary of its foundation in October last year with an international scientific conference.