One-off opportunity: German-Hungarian bachelor double degree

Europe is diverse, and university years offer many opportunities to learn about this diversity. For János Urbancsek, it was a no-brainer to try to get a degree from another Western European country to go with his bachelor diploma in Business Administration and Management obtained at Corvinus. He speaks good English and German, and Germany was an attractive destination for him. He planned to spend two semesters exploring the opportunities of higher education abroad on a scholarship to avoid burdening the family budget. In this article, he summarises his experiences so far at the European Business School (EBS), located not far from Frankfurt am Main.  

What were your main professional arguments in favour of a double degree when you started? 

The recognition of the university throughout Germany was one of the most important arguments for me. EBS was the first business school in Germany and the university’s citizens have been proud of its reputation ever since. The private nature of the university means that care is taken to ensure that education is practical as well as of high academic quality. I later learned that the EBS alumni network is very broad and cohesive, with former students supporting current ones. I recently found out that Bence Jendruszák, who founded the SEON startup and who, like me, studied economics and management at Corvinus, was also an exchange student at EBS. In addition to these, a strong emphasis is placed on the individual, personal development of students. The aim is not mass education. I targeted the double degree programme because I knew that a two-semester stay, which goes well beyond an exchange semester, does really provide an opportunity to make the most of the privileges mentioned above.  

What I didn’t know when I left was that the university also boasts of a very strong international links and, accordingly, a fully international faculty and student body. I did not expect to have a new international network of contacts as early as my first semester there.  

How did you manage to finance the whole year abroad?  

I don’t know whether it is something positive or rather a difficulty, but EBS has one of the highest bachelor tuition fees in Germany, currently around €8,750 per semester. In this light, studying with a Pannonia Scholarship is a particularly great opportunity, as the tuition fees are not paid by the Corvinus student and most of the other costs are covered by the Pannonia Scholarship itself.  

The first and most important question for me before leaving was housing. I opted for the campus. Unfortunately, this option is surprisingly more expensive (€600 per month), as the ‘dormitory’ next to the university is a misleading name: it actually consists of rooms for rent from private owners completely independent of the university. The most cost-effective option is to move to a WG (shared flat) or a smaller apartment in one of the neighbouring villages (Oestrich-Winkel, Hattenheim, Geisenheim or Eltville) (these cost €350-500 per month). As Germany is in Group 1 of the Pannonia Scholarship, the monthly grant of around €960 is sufficient to cover all accommodation options. 

University years in the heart of Europe: the university is in a small town, but I suppose you can get to many places if you want to. What is student life like at EBS?  

Most of my friends there were exchange students. For the most part, everyone made the argument that one of the reasons they had chosen the EBS was because it was in the heart of Europe and the easiest way to explore our continent. Although the double degree programme is enough to keep you busy, the train station is almost directly in front of the university, so you can be in Frankfurt in 50 minutes by train. Wiesbaden is only 20 minutes away. I have been travelling all over Europe in the last 5 months. But you don’t have to go far for a night out, as the university students typically go to one of the village pubs or to Wiesbaden to have fun and relax. The university also regularly organises all-night on-campus parties, which are a great way to get to know people. 

Application criteria and procedure – could you please write a few sentences about this?  

The EBS is included in Corvinus University’s partner list.  Unfortunately, at the moment you can only apply for a semester abroad, and the DD cooperation is currently suspended by Corvinus University in order to evaluate the first years’ experience. We are very hopeful that this is only a temporary break, as more Corvinus students would like to study at EBS next year.  

I could still apply for a DD. I had to attend a DD oral interview where I was asked mainly about my ideas and motivation. After that, I only had to complete the EBS English language complex IQ and vocabulary test online at a predetermined time. With these steps successfully completed, I was able to plan my trip starting in August. At the EBS, the programme started as early as August. I’m currently in my 2nd semester and will be doing my traineeship abroad during the summer. I was recruited as a trainee at a consultancy in Frankfurt, so in the year I will be in Germany, I will not only be able to complete two semesters abroad of the DD programme, but it looks like I will also be doing my traineeship there. 

The interview was conducted by the Corvinus DSG office in January 2025: https://www.instagram.com/dsg_corvinus/