The mission of the Faculty of Theology of the Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary is to train pastors and theologians who would – through their teachings and personal examples – serve both society and the Reformed Church in Hungary.

The Faculty offers an opportunity to study the Old and New Testament in ancient languages, such as Hebrew and Ancient Greek, to learn about theological and ethical thinking in depth, to explore church history in a wider context and to obtain pastoral practice. The theology that is studied and researched at the Faculty today is rooted in the Christian religious reform, which developed from the renaissance and humanist culture of the 16th century.

The forerunner of the Faculty of Theology is the Reformed Theological Academy in Budapest, which was founded in 1855. The Academy (the Faculty of Theology of Károli University since 1993) has been issuing theological doctoral degrees since the end of World War II. The Doctoral School of Theology and the Doctoral Council, which are recognised by the Hungarian Accreditation Committee as well, were established in 1992. For a long period of time the Doctoral School of Theology was the only doctoral school of the University. Besides the Ph.D in Theology  titles, the Doctoral Council regularly awards Hungarian and international personalities with the title of doctor honris causa as well.

The strong points of the Faculty:

• a balanced combination of theoretical and practical knowledge
• highly qualified academic staff
• international recognition and reputation of the Doctoral School of Theology

Courses offered at the Faculty:

First cycle (BA) programmes

• Teacher of Reformed Religious Education

Single-cycle programmes

• Theology with Pastor Specialisation
• Theology
• Protestant Theology

Single-cycle teacher training programmes

• Teacher of Religious Education

Second cycle (MA) teacher training programme

• Teacher of Religious Education

Doctoral studies

• Doctor of Theology

With 4563 students, 305 faculty members, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is the biggest faculty of Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary. The faculty is known for academic excellence, the personalised attention paid to students and its friendly yet vibrant atmosphere.

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is ranked 7th among all faculties nationwide (HVG Rankings 2025). The quality of education is ensured by dedicated faculty members, out of whom 91% hold a PhD degree. Talent development is an important mission of the faculty, which is well reflected in the 46 awards its students won at the 36th National Scholarly Competition held in 2023, in the third place for the total number of applicants and in the sixth place for student excellence among faculties in Hungary, and in the 94% employer satisfaction rate for its graduates.

To help students respond to the challenges they may face during their studies and in life, the faculty operates a Career Office, a Student Counselling Center, a Sports Office and an international buddy system.

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences offers first-cycle (BA) programmes in English and American Studies, German Studies, Dutch Studies, East Asian Studies (Japanese, Chinese and Korean track), Communication and Media Studies, Hungarian Studies, Psychology, Sociology, International Relations, General Humanities and History, and second-cycle (MA) programmes in English Studies, German Studies, Dutch Studies, Japanese Studies, Communication and Media Studies, Psychology, Social Behaviour Analysis, and History as well as one-cycle and short-cycle Teacher Training Programmes in various subject areas. History and Psychology are also offered at doctoral level.

51 active research groups conduct research at the faculty both at national and at international level. Established in 2015, Benda Kálmán College of Excellence runs a boarding-school type talent nurturing programme emphasising community and Christian values, providing opportunities for the most talented students to participate in its eight workshops: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Psychology, History, Philosophy and Religions, Arts, Media and Art Pedagogy, Teacher Training and Social Sciences.   

The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences has five programmes that have been designed to host international students: a two-year MA program in English Studies, a two-year MA programme in German Language, Literature and Culture, a three-year BA programme in Psychology, a three-year BA programme in English and American Studies and an MA in Teacher of English Language and Culture. In addition, the faculty also offers a two-year joint degree programme in lexicography (EMLex) in German and English, with Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC) as the coordinator institution of the consortium. Erasmus and overseas exchange students can choose from approximately 100-120 courses offered in a foreign language every semester.

Our students can take language courses in eleven foreign languages at the Language Education Center: English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Italian, Norwegian, Finnish, Portuguese, Chinese.

The faculty has on-going Erasmus + KA131, KA171 and CEEPUS projects. It also participates in the EUTELL EMDM, the EMLex EMJM programme, the Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme and Scholarship for Christian Young People Programme, just as it offers its own Károli Christian Scholarship Programme.