Application

University Placement & Programme Selection

You get exactly two programme choices. Choose wisely — they lock at the application deadline, and transfers during the scholarship are extremely restricted.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 2 min read Updated Oct 5, 2026

The 2-Choice Rule

Stipendium Hungaricum limits you to 2 programme choices, ranked as first and second preference. They can be at the same university or at different ones. PhD applicants can only choose doctoral programmes for both slots; everyone else can mix non-degree, Bachelor's, Master's and one-tier Master's.

First choices are evaluated first, so the chances of winning are relatively higher for the programme you rank first.

Strategy tips

Put your dream programme as first choice. Make your second choice a realistic backup. Consider less competitive programmes for your second choice. Remember that different universities can have different competitiveness levels.

Common mistakes

Avoid

Choosing 2 programmes in completely different fields. Choosing the same programme at 2 universities (risky). Not researching university quality or the city before choosing. Ignoring your sending partner's field restrictions.

Most programmes appear twice in the online system — once as a full degree and once as partial (exchange) studies. Make sure you pick the study mode you actually want.

Transfer Rules

Changing your university, programme or study language is allowed only ONCE, only within the first year of a full-degree programme and only at the same level (with a few exceptions, such as Bachelor’s to one-tier Master’s). It is not possible for partial (exchange) studies. The conditions, from Tempus’s official rules on changes:

1
A detailed, signed request with a valid reason
Sent to Tempus. Not just “I don't like the city”.
2
Approval from your current university, and the stamped approval of the new one
3
A request by the deadline
15 May for the autumn semester, 1 December for the spring semester.
4
A decision by Tempus
Tempus asks your sending partner for its opinion on approved requests.
5
If denied, you stay put
You must continue at your current programme or lose the scholarship.

Choices Lock at the Deadline

Until the application deadline (15 January in the last two cycles) you can still delete a programme, add another, or change the order. Once the deadline passes, your choices are locked. You cannot:

Change your programme selections.
Swap the order of your preferences.
Change the study language or study mode (full degree vs partial).
Add a third choice.
Replace uploaded documents (with rare exceptions, such as certificates you declared you'd submit later).

Triple-check everything before the deadline. Have someone else review your application if possible.