How is a school year structured?

One academic year consists of a spring and an autumn semester. There is one diligence and one exam period in each semester. The diligence period is 14 weeks and the exam period is 7 weeks long.

What is the academic calendar?

The calendar of the academic year includes deadlines regarding study, financial and other student matters in accordance with the relevant regulations. Unless the relevant regulations provide a specific deadline, the date marked in the school calendar is the official deadline. https://semmelweis.hu/english/education/academic-year/

What can I expect during the diligence period?

The diligence period is for you to master each semester`s curriculum during these 14 weeks. At the beginning of the semester, students are assigned into groups marked by numbers. Each group has a specific timetable, based on which they can register for classes in the Neptune system. Most subjects consist of lectures and practicals, possibly seminars. You have to take part in these during the diligence period.

What is a lecture like?

Lectures are theoretical lessons hosted by one or two lecturers at a time for the whole (or half) of the year group. For many subjects the PPT or PDF is pre-uploaded to the institutes website. You might find it helpful to review it before the lectures. Under current rules it is not mandatory to attend lectures, but it might be worth it.

What is a practice like?

Practices are carried out in small groups. During these practices students can directly ask their practice leader all their questions regarding the curriculum. In practices you will perform experiements, dissect and learn how to use different instruments, and learn other manual skills.

What is a seminar like?

Seminars are very similar to lectures, only difference that they are carried out in small groups so you have a chance to ask and discuss your questions regarding the subject.

How, where and when should you register for subjects?

The date of registration will be sent via a Neptun system by the Directory of the English program. Registering and deregistering is possible until midnight on the Friday of the last week before the start of the first diligent week.

Objects must be recorded via the Neptune system under the -> Objects -> Object Recording tab. Here, for the semesters, the appropriate semester must be selected. “Sample Curriculum Subjects” includes compulsory subjects and “Other Elective Subjects” include optional and compulsory elective subjects. When opening the subjects, you have to select the group you belong to, or you also have to choose the lecture next to the exercise / seminar, if there is one, otherwise the system will not allow the subject to be included. There is a separate date for the admission of free and compulsory electives. In this case, the admission date of these subjects will be opened to all students of the MSc at the same time. It is worth entering Neptun a few hours in advance, as the system’s capacity is limited. Many selectable items run out of space quickly, so it’s worth being quick. There are electives that are worth picking up for first-year students, and there is usually enough space on them for all students in the grade to take.

What is a credit?

The credit system was created to quantify the performance of all students. The credit value of a subject equals the estimated time required to complete it – based on that, subjects with lower credit value are easier to complete (of course with some exceptions). Depending on the course you will be taking there may be compulsory subjects worth 5, 7 or even 10 credits. Fulfilling the subject requirements means that you earned the given amount of credit.

How do I know which subjects to register for each semester?

In each given semester you will have compulsory subjects that you are required to register for. You will find a list of these subjects in the admission guide (handed to you at registration), and the Student Directory will send out the list at the beginning of each semester. Most compulsory subjects will have prerequisites (except 1st semester of course), which you have to complete before registering for the next subject.

How do I know where and when will I have to attend classes?

Most subjects will have their classe’s time and location registered in the Neptune system. But to make it easier you can use the Pandora timetable (notice that the locations are abbreviated, you can find the meaning of the abbreviations on the left side of the page): http://pandora.sote.hu/webes/tervezet/

What do I have to complete during my university years to get a degree?

A certain number of credits, consisting of compulsory and elective credits are required to be obtained during your studies. Based on that it is worth taking a few elective subjects each semester since for example to get an MD degree you need 360 credits (averaging 30 credits per semester over 12 semesters) but not all of those are compulsory.

What is the requirement to fulfill a subject and be eligible for taking the exam?

According to the Study and Examination Regulations it is mandatory to be present in 75% of classes, as without that the student cannot get his/her signature and thus does not qualify to attend the exam. Absence cannot be justified but can be made up for. Please follow up on make up classes at the appropriate departments. During the semester midterms are held in many subjects. They can be oral or written. Passing these midterms is not a requirement, but participation might be, so make sure you get informed.

Do all subjects end with an exam?

No, not all subjects end with an exam. There are many subjects where students are graded based on their performance during the semester. You might be required to hand in a paper, host a presentation, or you might have many small midterms throughout the semester that add up to your final grade.

What is a semi-final exam and what is a final exam?

A semi-final exam is usually based on the curriculum of that certain semester, meanwhile a final exam holds together the curriculum of many semesters of one subject. Its important to note that finals and semi-finals have different rules regarding registration and deregistration from the exam dates.

What happens if someone doesn’t show up to an exam they registered for?

In this case you have two options after the absence being registered in the Neptun system.
· Hand in a certificate of the reason of absence at the department within 3 day
· Pay the absence fee of 7500 HUF + 7500 HUF administrative fee

Based on that if you know ahead of time that you won’t be taking the exam, it’s easier to just deregister.
The exam dates missed (without certified reasoning) are to be counted into the max exam opportunities per semester.

Where can the absence fee be paid?

Neptun-> Finances-> Deposit-> Select a specific semester-> Actions: Item listing -> Payment of an item by ticking the given item and pressing the Deposit button. You can do this on an online credit card payment interface. Neptune will redirect you here.

How long can I take and take the exams?

According to current regulations you can deregister from exams until midnight the day before the exam. You can register for the exam until 6 am the morning of the exam.

What is TVSZ (Hungarian abbreviation for Tanulmányi és Vizsgaszabályzat)?

TVSZ stands for Study and Examination Regulations. In this policy, you will find the most important rules for your studies. You can download it here: https://semmelweis.hu/jogigfoig/dokumentumtar/szabalyzattar/szervezet-es-mukodesi-szabalyzat/iii-konyv-hkr/

What is the August-September exam period?

The August examination period is organized outside the school year. It usually takes place in late August or early September. If you did not pass a certain exam in the spring-summer exam period, but you still have some tries left, you have the opportunity to take the exam in this period.

Who can I turn to if i have any questions or problems?

In matters related to education HÖK (Student Union) can help you navigate the rules and represent the common interest of all students. You should contact us first if you have any questions via our HÖK (Student Union) Facebook page and Messenger, or you can also ask us by e-mail at hok.education@semmelweis.hu.

In many matters, e.g. submission of objects after the deadline, request for fairness, collection of objects after the deadline during the first diligent week, passivation of the semester, student ID card sticker, application to august exam period, application for registration without a requirement, etc. you can contact your study administrator at the Dean’s Office. They are also at your disposal.

There are cases when it is worthwhile to go directly to institutes, departments, clinics. For example, if you want to ask for an educational aid to learn the curriculum, or if you want extra space for a particular group in the Neptune system, you may want to inquire about a study competition or an exam on the subject being taught.

What is the public scholarship?

It rewards public activities in addition to studies, i.e. participation in the work of the HÖK (Students’ Union).

What makes up your study average?

Depending on your study average, you have the opportunity to win a scholarship. You can calculate the study average as follows: multiply the credit value of the subjects and the grade and then divide the sum by the total number of credits you have taken. E.g. subject “A” with a grade of 6 credits, subject “B” with a grade of 4 credits, their average: (6 x 3 + 4 x 4) / 10 = 3.4).

This value can also be found in Neptune after the end of that semester. If you fail to complete an item but have 0 credits or electives, you may still receive a scholarship. However, it is worth noting that the subjects taken but not absolute worsen the average, so at the beginning of the semester, be sure to rethink how much time and energy you can invest in completing.

When are you fired from university for academic reasons?

If:
– you do not obtain a diploma in a duration twice of training period,
– in the first four semesters after your enrollment, the number of your compulsory subjects and compulsory credit points does not reach 50% of the credits that can be obtained until then,
– you fail an exam six times, or register for a subject three times and fail.

Precise control:
‘(1) The latest date for re-acquisition of credits missing due to a compulsory subject due to drop-out is the semester of the second re-announcement of the subject, unless the student’s student status is terminated.
(2) If the student was unable to obtain the credits of an admitted subject in the given semester, he / she may re-admit the subject in two subsequent semesters, taking into account the pre-study order and the provisions of paragraph (1).
(3) If the student has still not been able to complete the subject, he / she may request the re-admission of the subject from fairness once during his / her studies. Once the student has obtained the signature, the student only needs to take an exam in the following semester. The student may request the opportunity to obtain the signature again.’

What is OMHV and why should it be completed?

OMVH is a questionnaire, it translates to “Students Opinion of the Teacher”. This can be completed at the end of each semester in the Neptun system under the questionnaires tab. It is worth filling in, because according to the current OMHV regulations, students who fill in the questionnaires can register for exams 2 hours earlier at the time of registration than the time given for the whole year group

What compulsory practices are required outside the school year?

This may vary from faculty to faculty.

– for Medicine in I., III., And IV. there is a compulsory summer internship at the end of the year. These exercises usually last for 4 weeks (in the last two years, the shifts have been intensified due to the viral situation, 3 weeks have had to be spent at the practice site). From the shifts, you can choose whether the student wants to complete in July or August. Internships can be completed in clinics or in hospitals accredited by the SE or other medical schools. It is worth negotiating with external venues in time to receive them, and clinical venues are usually registered at the end of May or the beginning of summer through the Neptun system, by adding an object for the given grade on the Objects -> Admission tab. Anyone who completes the internship at an outdoor location also needs to pick up the summer internship subject at Neptune by taking the appropriate course. In addition, the internship can also be spent abroad, this must of course be agreed in advance with your study administrator. You can find information about the summer internship here: https://semmelweis.hu/english/education/english-language-program/english-secretariat/official-forms/general-medicine/