Semmelweis University ( Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, founded in 1769. 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. As the highest listed institution in Hungary in the 2024

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

, Semmelweis University is among the top 300 universities in the world.

History

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 Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

’s court physician, following the Empress’s decree of 7 November 1769, developed the plan of the new faculty, on the basis of the

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

model. In 1770, education began with five departments. In 1777, the university, and thus medical education, moved to

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

, and in 1784, following Joseph II’s personal decree, to the other side of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

: to Pest. The rapidly developing Pest provided a wider range of ‘patient material’, and the departments also multiplied. There was space for a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

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 in

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.

Faculties

Semmelweis University is a specialised university offering undergraduate and graduate courses only in the field of

health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...

. The university has more than 14,000 students from 110 nations, with foreign students accounting for about 37% of the total community. 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. *

András Pető András Pető (11 September 1893 in Szombathely, Hungary – 11 September 1967 in Budapest, Hungary) was a practitioner of Physiotherapy, physical rehabilitation whose work provided the foundation for conductive education. Early life and car ...

Faculty * Faculty of Dentistry * Faculty of Health and Public Services * Faculty of Health Sciences * Faculty of Medicine * Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences * Doctoral College

Academics

Education takes place in six faculties and three languages (Hungarian, English and German). More than 14,000 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.

Integrated master programs (one-tier master programs)

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. Courses in Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy are available in Hungarian, English and German.

Bachelor's programs

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: *

Physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

Nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

Midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...

* Dietetics * Medical diagnostic analysis –

Optometry Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

Public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

supervisor * Health care management *

Conductive education Conductive Education is an educational system, based on the work of Hungarian Professor András Pető, that has been specifically developed for children and adults who have motor disorders of neurological origin such as cerebral palsy. CE is bas ...

(Pető method) The physiotherapy program is available in Italian within the framework of the university's off-campus program run in Lugano, Switzerland.

Master's programs

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: * Physiotherapy * Nursing

Postgraduate education

Semmelweis University's Doctoral College has 11 Divisions: * Cardiovascular Medicine and Research * Dental Research * Health Sciences * János Szentágothai

Neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

s * Károly Rácz Conservative Medicine *

Mental Health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

Sciences * Molecular Medicine *

Pathological Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

and Oncological *

Pharmaceutical Sciences Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links healt ...

and Health Technologies * Surgical Medicine * Theoretical and Translational Medicine 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 the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and are accepted in other countries.

Research

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 Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

, bioimaging,

genomics Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of molecular biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, ...

biobank A biobank is a type of biorepository that stores biological samples (usually human) for use in research. Biobanks have become an important resource in medical research, supporting many types of contemporary research like genomics and personalized ...

), as well as in the research university modules (diagnostics, technology,

therapy A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications a ...

, 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 text e-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.

Patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s connected to the University include the iKnife, a surgical device that is able to tell healthy and cancerous tissues apart immediately after the first cut, or the virtual 3D microscope, a device equipped with a

microscope slide A microscope slide is a thin flat piece of glass, typically 75 by 26 mm (3 by 1 inches) and about 1 mm thick, used to hold objects for examination under a microscope. Typically the object is mounted (secured) on the slide, and then ...

scanner able to scan 300 slides in one run and a 3D viewer that creates a spatial reconstruction of the serial specimen. The university publishes the peer-reviewed journal ('' Kaleidoscope: Journal on the History of Culture, Science and Medicine'') , which is rated

ERIH PLUS ERIH PLUS (originally called the European Reference Index for the Humanities or ERIH) is an index containing bibliographic information on academic journals in the humanities and social sciences (SSH). The index includes all journals that meet the ...

by the European Reference Index for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

International relations

Semmelweis University has a network of international partner agreements with around a hundred universities within the

Erasmus+ Erasmus+ is the European Commission's programme for education, training, youth, and sport for the 2021–2027 period, succeeding the previous programme (2014–2020). As an integrated programme, Erasmus+ offers more opportunities for the mobi ...

network and 40 further universities in joint cooperation based on bilateral agreements.

Off-campus programs

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 including Asklepios Kliniken in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Libera Università degli Studi in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, and the Health Management Academy in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

International joint projects

Semmelweis University runs research and student exchange programmes in collaboration with several universities abroad based on

bilateral agreement Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

s. The programmes offer

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s 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 include Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of California Davis School of Medicine,

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, Medical University of Innsbruck, Saitama Medical University,

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

, University of Ulm,

University of Padua The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

University of Trieste The University of Trieste (, or UniTS, Formerly Regia Università degli Studi or The Royal University of Studies) is a public research university in Trieste in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in northeast Italy. The university consists of 10 ...

, and Jessenius Faculty of Medicine at

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

Academic ranking

As of 2022, the university's pharmacy programme was ranked at 200 by the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

. In the 2024

Semmelweis University was placed between 251 and 300.

Buildings and sites

The university does not have a campus. Instead, its faculties, departments, hospitals, clinics, libraries, sport and accommodation facilities are scattered throughout the capital city

. Some facilities are clustered, and most of its clinical departments belong to one of the three clinical blocks. Nagyvarad ter uvegfal

The university's Theoretical Building at Nagyvárad tér is one of the tallest

high rise A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdiction ...

in Hungary. It houses several research institutions, a student centre, the office of the Students’ Union, auditoriums, conference halls and the country's largest

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

installations. The previously fragmented Faculty of Health Sciences was united in 2003 in the newly renovated Art Nouveau building of a former

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

. 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. 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. The Inner Clinical Block is located close to the Corvin-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.

Administration

The main governing body of Semmelweis University is the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, with the rector 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.

Leaders

The leadership of Semmelweis University consists of the Rector, responsible for educational and scientific affairs and the

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

, overseeing the financial matters of the university. The Rector is aided by five Vice-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. * Rector: Dr. Béla Merkely * Chancellor: Dr. Lívia Pavlik * Vice-Rector for General Affairs: Dr. Ferenc Bánhidy * Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs: Dr. Péter Hermann * Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation: Dr. Péter Ferdinandy * Vice-Rector for Clinical Affairs: Dr. Attila Szabó * Vice-Rector for Strategy and Development: Dr. Éva Szabó Feketéné *Vice-Rector for International Studies: Dr. Alán Alpár

Notable people

* Ignác Semmelweis (1818–1865), popularly known as “the saviour of mothers”. He began his career in

; it was there that he discovered the cause of

puerperal fever The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to last for six to eight weeks. There are three distinct phases of the postnatal period; the acute phase, lasting for six to twelve hours after birth; the ...

. He left Vienna for the Medical Faculty of the Imperial and Royal University of Pest (now Semmelweis University), where he served as professor and director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from 1855 to 1865. *

Albert Szent-Györgyi Albert Imre Szent-Györgyi de Rapoltu Mare, Nagyrápolt (; September 16, 1893 – October 22, 1986) was a Hungarian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937. He is credited with first isolating vitamin C and disc ...

(1893–1986) is the only Hungarian

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

who received the distinction for research conducted in Hungary. He earned his diploma at the medical faculty in Budapest (now Semmelweis University). He successfully isolated

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

and discovered the components and reactions of the

citric acid cycle The citric acid cycle—also known as the Krebs cycle, Szent–Györgyi–Krebs cycle, or TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reaction, biochemical reactions that release the energy stored in nutrients through acetyl-Co ...

at the

University of Szeged The University of Szeged () is a Public university, public research university in Szeged, Hungary. Established as the Jesuit Academy of Kolozsvár in present-day Cluj-Napoca in 1581, the institution was re-established as a university in 1872 by ...

. Szent-Györgyi returned to the University of Budapest's Faculty of Medicine after the war, but emigrated to the US in 1947. * Gheorghe Constantin Roja (1786–1847), Aromanian doctor, philologist and historian * Árpád Lengyel (physician) (1886–1940), RMS ''Carpathia'' ship's medical officer instrumental in the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

rescue effort * László Szollás (1907–1980), world champion and Olympic medalist pair skater. * Judith Forrai (born 1949), Hungarian historian of science, medical historian, dentist, professor, doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, and journal editor-in-chief. * Zoltán Kovács (born 1962), vice-president of the Hungarian Ice Hockey Federation and Paul Loicq Award recipient, graduated with Master of Physical Education degree in 1992 at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences.

Gallery

File:RS146149 C19A5391.jpg, The Central Building of Semmelweis University (Rector"s Office) - Budapest, Üllői út 26. File:SOTE Anatomical Institute 1878.jpg, Building of the Anatomical Institute, inaugurated in 1878 File:Budapest, VIII. Korányi Sándor utca 2A - Semmelweis Egyetem, Belgyógyászati klinika épülete.jpg, Department of Internal Medicine and Oncology, Józsefvárosi Clinical Complex File:Nagyváradtéri Elméleti Tömb.jpg, Semmelweis University Tower - Nagyvárad téri Theoretical Building File:Elméleti Orvostudományi Központ.jpg, Basic Medical Science Center - Budapest, Tűzoltó street 37-47. File:Basic medical science center aula, Semmelweis University, Budapest.jpg, Basic Medical Science Center - Budapest, Tűzoltó street 37-47. (interior) File:Semmelweis University, 1st Department of Paediatrics, 2016 Józsefváros.jpg, 1 st Department of Paediatrics File:Az egykori Pajor Szanatórium homlokzati szobrai (Maróti Géza, 1908), 2017 Palotanegyed.jpg, Facade of the Faculty of Health Sciences File:Fogorvostudományi Oktatási Centrum.jpg, Dental Clinical and Training Centre - Budapest, Szentkirályi street

References

External links

*
Spanish Representative of Semmelweis UniversityInternational Semmelweis Student Association (ISSA)
{{coord, 47, 29, 14, N, 19, 04, 02, E, type:edu_source:kolossus-ruwiki, display=title Medical schools in Hungary Semmelweis University Educational institutions established in 1769 1760s establishments in the Habsburg monarchy 18th-century establishments in Hungary Universities and colleges in Hungary