In addition to meeting the general CEU admissions requirements, applicants must provide a 500-word research proposal for the MA thesis (see sample proposal 1 and sample proposal 2), which will be weighted heavily in the admissions decision. The topic is expected to fall within the broad thematic focus of the department, and should be delimited and set out with the greatest possible clarity. Previous work on the subject should also be indicated.
Applicants should also upload a brief, supplementary statement of purpose that explains their interest in our Department. In the statement of purpose applicants can indicate which courses, professors, and research areas they see as especially relevant to their interests. Applicants who consider pursuing one of the specializations and advance certificates offered by the department should also indicate this in the statement of purpose.
In some cases, the department may decide to recommend one-year applicants to pursue a two-year program.
The one-year MA program is a very intensive one, designed for applicants with four or five years of previous university education. Having an undergraduate degree in history is an advantage, but the department also welcomes applications from students in other social science and humanities disciplines and will decide on a case by case basis whether the latter can be accepted in the one-year program, or would be better advised to pursue the two-year program. Holders of three-year BA degrees should apply for the two-year program.
Program Structure
In accordance with the CEU academic calendar the History Department offerings are divided into a Pre-Session (2 weeks: September), the Fall term (12 weeks: late September to December), the Winter term (12 weeks: January-March) and a Spring Session (10 weeks: April-June). The Pre-Session (general orientation about the university and about the curriculum) is designed to introduce students to resources both within CEU and in Budapest. The Fall and Winter terms consist of intensive coursework and lay the groundwork for the Master’s thesis. For the one-year MA the Spring Session is largely research-oriented. During April students do fieldwork or archival research. The university provides modest grants to assist students in accomplishing their research (in early February, information is made available about the application procedure for these grants). In May all students return to CEU to consult with their thesis supervisors, participate in workshops with faculty and fellow students to present their projects, and complete their theses by the second week of June.