Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Budapest University of Technology and Economics

The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungarian: Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short Műegyetem), in Hungarian abbreviated as BME, English official abbreviation BUTE, is the most significant University of Technology in Hungary and is also the oldest Institute of Technology in the world, having been founded in 1782.
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungarian: Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem or in short Műegyetem), in Hungarian abbreviated as BME, English official abbreviation BUTE, is the most significant University of Technology in Hungary and is also the oldest Institute of Technology in the world, having been founded in 1782.
BME is considered the world's oldest Institute of Technology which has university rank and structure. It was the first institute in Europe to train engineers at university level. The legal predecessor of the university was founded in 1782 by Emperor Joseph II, and was named Latin: Institutum Geometrico-Hydrotechnicum ("Institute of Geometry and Hydrotechnics").
The "Berg-Schola," the world's first institute of technology, was founded in Selmecbánya, Kingdom of Hungary (today Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia) in 1735. Many members of the first teaching staff of BME arrived from Selmecbánya.
In 1860, the Hungarian language replaced Latin as the language of instruction.
It was reorganized in 1871 as Royal Joseph Technical University and was elevated to equal rank with other universities in the country. In 1910 it moved to its current site near Gellért square (next to the Art Nouveau Hotel Gellért). In 1934 it was reorganized again as Palatine Joseph University of Technology and Economics and it played a dominant role in the interwar industrialization process, together with engineering and economist training in Hungary.
The university was restructured again after the Second World War. The 1956 Hungarian Revolution was partly launched by students at the university, followed by many professors. In 1967, the two technical universities seated in Budapest were merged to form the Technical University of Budapest, with six faculties. In 2000 – two years after the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences was established – the official name changed to Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
The university has approximately 1,100 faculty members. About a third of its 24,000 students are foreign students, from fifty countries. BME issues about 70% of Hungary's engineering degrees.
In May 2000 the university had 1,024 regular faculty members (more than 50% of whom had a PhD in a scientific field). 34 professors/researchers of the university are members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Training courses are provided in five languages: Hungarian, English, German, French and Russian.
The ECTS credit system was introduced in 1995. This helps students to enroll in the student exchange program of the European Union, the Socrates (also known as Erasmus), and earn a double degree through the Top Industrial Managers for Europe network.
According to webometrics.info, in 2014 BME university was ranked 359th in the top 8000 worldwide.
According to AcademyRank.com, BME ranked first nationally, 96 in Europe and 421 world wide.
The Budapest University of Technology and Economics takes the 254th place among the world’s top 400 universities for engineering and technology, being the only university from Hungary that is listed in Quacquarelli Symonds ranking.
At present the university has eight Faculties (founding date in parentheses):
*Faculty of Natural and Social Sciences was founded in 1987 and separated in 1998.
All Hungarians who pass the Hungarian high school matura with enough points are eligible for admission, as well as for anyone else in possession of an International Baccalaureate (again, with enough points).
As with all Hungarian universities, a tuition fee of around $700 has to be paid each year for the Hungarian program. No extra fee is required for Hungarians for whom it is their first university, unless they spend more than 13 semesters there.
The university offers extensive English language programs on all its faculties, at all levels of study (Preparatory Year, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy). The Tuition fees vary from €2250 - €4500 per semester. 6% of all students come from different countries of the world representing over fifty different countries; the majority of the students in the English Program are from Turkey, Iran, and Cyprus.
The university is located on the right side of the Danube between Szabadság Bridge and Petőfi Bridge and towards Rákóczi Bridge. This makes the university campus especially long and narrow: walking from one side of the university to the other can take as much as 20 minutes.
The Inner City of Budapest (Pest) is just across the river, about 10 minutes' walk by either of the bridges.
The University has one sports club, the Műegyetemi AFC, which played in the first 1901 Hungarian League season. The University hosted the IFIUS 2008 World Interuniversity Games in October.
Coordinates: 47°28′53″N 19°3′20″E / 47.48139°N 19.05556°E / 47.48139; 19.05556
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