Dear Prospective IBS Student,
Thank you for your kind interest in our programmes.
Please find some general information about the spring 2024 intake below, then click on the programme you applied for to find further details.
IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE SPRING INTAKE:
The Hungarian immigration authority announced that it will be closed from January 1, 2024, until February 29, 2024. During this time, no new visa appointments can be made until March 1st and already submitted visa requests will not be processed until March 1 either. The reason for this shutdown is technical, due to harmonisation with EU law.
In order to minimise the inconvenience for our students we have changed our 2024 Spring intake as follows: instead of February, classes will begin for all newcomers on April 15, 2024. This will give each of you plenty of time to obtain your study visa and then attend classes on your chosen programmes. You will be provided with an alternate class schedule as well allowing you to finish your semester in June as you originally planned.
International Business School is a private university with campuses in Budapest (Hungary) and Vienna (Austria) offering comprehensive degree programmes in different fields of business in cooperation with The University of Buckingham (UK) that is rated Top in the UK for student satisfaction since 2006 as well as Top in the UK for Teaching Quality, for Student-Staff Ratio and for Student Experience.
Why IBS?
- Practice-oriented and up-to-date programmes in small interactive classes, focusing on skills development (without lectures)
- All programmes delivered in English
- Accreditations in the EU, UK, USA
- British degree conferred by The University of Buckingham (in addition to the IBS degree)
- University Foundation if your English skills need improvement
- Erasmus or internship option in semester 5 on the BSc programmes
- 3-semester MSc programmes with a work-friendly schedule
- Unique MBA programme in Data-Driven Management
- 3-year, full-time PhD programmes
- Students from over 100 countries
- Personal assistance from staff and faculty
- Campuses in the heart of Europe
Watch videos and photos to have a glimpse of what is awaiting you. Check out the academic life and the IBS clubs.
COVID-19
We intend to start the February intake with face-to-face classes (where the student numbers are sufficient) and will normally offer an online study mode option only for those whose visa is delayed and cannot arrive in Budapest in February.
Admission steps
- Online application.
- IBS provides application fee payment details.
- After application fee payment, IBS checks your documents.
- Those BSc applicants who do not have an English language certificate or MOI do the IBS online English testing (test, listening and oral part).
- MSc applicants take the English test (if necessary) and have an ONLINE MSc interview.
- IBS issues the conditional acceptance letter with the tuition fee invoice.
- After IBS receives the tuition fee payment, we email your visa support certificates.
- You book your visa interview at the nearest Consulate of Hungary.
- You inform IBS when you receive the visa decision.
- You travel to Hungary at the end of January/beginning of February.
- You enroll to the programme and present your original documents.
- You have 1 month upon arrival to pick up your residence permit card in Budapest.
Accommodation in Budapest
Our campus in Graphisoft Park is in the northern part of Budapest, right next to the Danube, just 30 minutes from the city centre by public transport.
It has an on-campus residence hall with single and shared rooms for 5 or 10 months. You can book your accommodation in this residence hall on the online form or write to info@ibs-b.hu.
The RH contact person, Ms Ortiz (osm@ibs-b.hu) will email you the details and rooms will be secured in the order of payment. Only those students will stay in the Residence Hall who have paid for it.
We do NOT recommend that new students book a rent in Budapest from their countries as the authenticity of rents cannot be checked from a distance.
Health Insurance in Hungary
You will buy your health insurance upon arrival in Budapest from our appointed insurance agent. The fee for 12 months is HUF 110,000 (about EUR 280). You will pay cash and receive your insurance policy. This insurance can be used only for newly acquired health problems.
Students under 18
If you are under 18 when you enrol at IBS, you are officially an underage person in Hungary.
As a result, you will have to bear in mind some legal restrictions when starting your IBS studies and stay in Hungary:
- you alone cannot sign any official documents including the IBS Education Contract or your residence permit at the Immigration Office,
- you alone cannot rent a flat by yourself,
- you alone cannot open a bank account in Hungary,
- you alone cannot buy your health insurance at IBS (you should buy it in your home country for 12 months),
- you alone cannot get vaccinated in Hungary etc.
So either one of your parents/legal guardian will accompany you for enrolment to sign all these documents, or you will need to present an official and notarized authorization where your parent/guardian authorizes a person above 18 who is in Budapest and can act/sign on your behalf. Please contact us for the authorization form if you need it.
If your parent cannot come with you and you do not have a person who can sign instead of you, please contact Mr. Zsolt Dukkon at the DUKKON Law Firm in Budapest at dukkon.zsolt@dukkon.hu and he can assist you with that for some fee.
Residence Permit to Hungary for non-EU citizens
After payment and receiving our Visa Support Certificate, you will need to apply for a residence permit (Type D visa) at the nearest Hungarian Consulate.
Please contact the Consulate for the exact requirements, you can find further details on the website of the Office of Immigration and Nationality.
Please note that for the visa application the Hungarian Consulate will want to see among others:
- official and original school and ID documents,
- considerable financial background on your or parents’ bank account (enough for one year’s stay in Budapest, around EUR 8000, coming from a regular income whose origin you have to prove), if your parents are sponsoring your stay, you have to prove that you are related by presenting their birth certificates,
- only parents and no other relative are accepted as sponsors,
- some knowledge about Hungary, IBS and our programmes,
- health insurance (HUF 102,000 to be paid upon arrival in IBS),
- accommodation details (we certify your accommodation in the on-campus Residence Hall for the visa application, but please make sure you have a place to stay that you have paid for),
- a language certificate of English skills is an asset for the Consulate.
Please consult our visa information page and go through this list of key visa points compiled from reasons for visa refusals, the most common of which are financial matters.
International University Foundation programme
One academic year-long including 400 hours of English and university study skills.
Students are grouped according to their level of English which IBS determines with the English Placement test; the levels range from Pre-intermediate to Upper-Intermediate.
At the end of the programme, all students take a Placement test and if they pass they can continue their studies on our Bachelor or Master programme. You can do our sample test for practice.
- High school diploma and its official English translation (please note that you will need to present your original high school diploma and its official English translation when you enrol at IBS in Budapest)
The tuition fee for the one-year programme is 5,500 EUR and there is a 900 EUR one-off registration fee for non-EU citizens. Non-EU students should pay the whole programme fee in one amount prior to receiving our Visa Support Certificate.
Upon the online application, you will have to transfer EUR 100 application fee (non-refundable).
If your documents have been accepted, you will proceed with the payment of the programme fee, EUR 6,400 and after receiving your payment, we will issue our Visa Support Certificate for the visa application.
Intake:
The programme starts in September each year, but it is possible to join it in the second semester starting in February if the applicant’s English level is at least pre-intermediate.
BSc programmes
Our BSc programmes - delivered in English – are highly practical and equip you with all the basic skills and knowledge for a successful international business career.
3-year undergraduate programmes:
specialisations after the common first year:
- Management with Arts
- Management with Marketing
- Management with HRM and Business Psychology
- Management with Tourism
All programmes start with a common first year, so the final programme choice is at the end of the first year only. In the fifth semester, all students have the possibility to choose either to study abroad or do an internship, which is a great asset to your future career prospects.
- High school diploma (please note that you will need to present your original high school diploma and its official English translation when you enrol at IBS in Budapest)
- Sufficient level of English that IBS checks with an ONLINE English test, listening comprehension and interview.
Semester fee: EUR 3,700 (non-EU citizens will need to transfer the whole one-year fee of EUR 8,300 - including the registration fee of EUR 900 - prior to receiving our admission certificate for the visa application)
Application fee: EUR 100 (non-refundable)
Please note that we will process your application only after having received the application fee.
Scholarships:
- IBS offers a Starter Scholarship for BSc applicants. Please find details on our website.
Application deadline for the February intake: 30 November 2023 - The IBS academic scholarship for enrolled students is based on your academic achievement at IBS after the first semester.
English testing:
In order to start the BSc programme, you will need to pass our own ONLINE English language test. You can write the IBS English test online only once at any time. Test-writing time is a maximum of 100 minutes and no aid can be used!
The speaking part and listening comprehension will be ONLINE. If you must take the speaking part and listening comprehension, we will register you for the next available date and inform you about the details by email a few days before your oral date.
You can do our sample English test for practice. Passing the test+listening and interview is a requirement for all Bachelor programmes.
If you have an English language certificate with a sufficient score, you are exempt from our English testing. However, neither of these certificates are required.
Please note that if you do not pass the IBS English test, listening and interview, first you will have to start the University Foundation programme and then continue with the BSc programme.
MSc programmes
The programmes - delivered in English – are highly practical and aims to equip students with all the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful international business career. Please click on them to find further details.
1.5-year (3-semester) postgraduate programmes:
- Strategic International Management
- Strategic Human Resource Management
- Strategic Finance
- Strategic Marketing
- IT for Business Data Analytics
The programmes are delivered in teaching blocks and the study period including the dissertation takes 2 semesters. The schedule makes it possible for students with a full-time job to participate as classes are on weekday evenings. There are no lectures, just seminars in small groups. The programmes result in 90 ECTS.
Indicative schedule of the programme:
- February - May 2024: Semester 1
- September - December 2024: Semester 2
- January - May 2025: dissertation writing (no need to be on the campus)
Tuition fees on Budapest campus:
The overall MSc programme fee is EUR 11,800 and there is a one-time registration fee of EUR 900 for non-EU citizens.
Upon the online application, you will have to transfer EUR 100 application fee (non-refundable).
After a successful online interview, you will transfer the first-semester fee (including the registration fee) and the second-semester fee is due in August 2024.
- a first or second class Bachelor degree in any field of studies for the Strategic International Management /Strategic Human Resource Management / IT for Business Data Analytics (as they also make career change possible),
- a first or second class Bachelor degree related to business/finance/marketing for Strategic Finance or Strategic Marketing (as they deepen your knowledge in these areas),
- passport,
- sufficient English skills and motivation that we check with an Orientation Interview (conducted via Zoom after the application fee payment) and the ONLINE English language test of IBS. If you are a native speaker of English, have studied in English or have an English language certificate with sufficient points, you do not need to write our online English test, just have the Orientation interview. However, neither of these certificates are required.
Please note that you will have to present your original BA degree and its English translation when you enrol at IBS before the programme starts!
Work besides MSc studies:
With a study residence permit, you can work up to 24 hours/week. There is a possibility to extend your study permit for 6-month after graduation if you are looking for a job and are registered with an employment agency.
You will have classes in the evenings, so you can start looking for a job right from the start of the MSc programme. Our Career Office can assist you with their database of partner companies after enrolment and you can also check out this public website: http://www.profession.hu/en/
Please note that doing your MSc besides work is highly demanding.
The Career Office organises online job fairs regularly where our corporate partners present their job offers.
PhD programme
We offer two PhD programmes in English, all leading to the degree conferred by our British partner, The University of Buckingham. These are degrees by research that require an original contribution to the body of knowledge in a particular academic or professional discipline.
Please be informed that we do NOT offer online PhD programmes.
3-year, full-time PhD programmes:
The PhD is an advanced research degree during which students undertake supervised but independent research that leads to a thesis of not more than 100,000 words embodying the results of that research. The thesis must demonstrate extended familiarity with and a comprehensive understanding of the subject and the academic literature in the area; show an ability to construct and execute a plan for primary research, including the collection and critical analysis of data; and embody an original contribution to knowledge in the field of business and management or international affairs.
Postgraduate students on our PhD programme will first be enrolled on a Probationary PhD Status and at the end of the first year when their research proposal is assessed, the decision is made on the conversion to Full PhD Status.
During the programme, the student must have at least 12 face-to-face consultation meetings/year with the supervisor on the Budapest Campus of IBS. The degree will be conferred by The University of Buckingham, acknowledged and appreciated worldwide.
- the first or second class, upper division Master's degree,
- sufficient English skills and academic knowledge and detailed research proposal that the IBS Research Officer checks with an Orientation Interview online after the application fee payment,
- one academic referee’s report,
- if the proposal is accepted and IBS can provide a supervisor, you will proceed with a consultation with the Supervisor followed by payment transfer of the first year’s fee.
Admission steps:
- After the online application, you will need to pay EUR 100 application fee.
- If your proposal is accepted by IBS, you will have an online interview with the Research Officer (by 15 November).
- After the interview, you pay a EUR 1200 validation fee (until 10 December).
- After The University of Buckingham has approved your proposal, you pay the remaining fee for the first year, EUR 5,000 (until 15 January).
- IBS sends you the visa support certificate by email and you start the visa process.
Tuition fee:
must be paid by the year: EUR 6,200/year (the programme lasts 3 years)
Validation fee: EUR 1,200 EUR
Upon the online application, you will have to transfer EUR 100 application fee (non-refundable).
IBS offers a discount on the tuition fee for those who wish to teach on regular BSc modules (2-8 classes/week) and have been selected by IBS. Please indicate in your online interview with the Research Officer if you are interested in teaching at IBS.