Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (Hungarian: Károli Gáspár Református Egyetem), also known as KRE, is a Christian university in Budapest, Hungary. The university has more than 8000 students. The university has five faculties and offer courses leading to degrees at the bachelor, master and doctoral levels. The university is named after Gáspár Károlyi.[7] The university, which is among Hungary's top 10 universities in 2024, blends the heritage of Protestant Christian learning with modern professional advancements.[8]
Faculties
Károli Gáspár University comprises the following faculties:
• Faculty of Economics, Health Sciences and Social Studies
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Pedagogy
• Faculty of Theology
Education and research activities are carried out by 15 institutes and 52 departments belong to the five faculties altogether.
The university has three Doctoral Schools which offer Ph.D programmes in history, law and theology.[9]
Campuses
Main campus in Budapest, Hungary.Kálvin tér building of the Rector's Office
Five different faculties of the Károli Gáspár University have their campuses in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and in the cities of Nagykőrös.[10]
There are five student residence halls at Károli Gáspár University with the capacity to house around 500 students. If students require a place to study for their exams, it is possible to visit a university library and access over 150,000 books for research or enroll in Szabó Ervin Library near the Reviczky Building (Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences).[11]
The new campus of the KRE will be built in the vicinity of Markusovszky Square with state and church funding, and will accommodate the Faculty of Law and the Institute of Psychology, which will simultaneously host more than 2,000 students. The Reformed Church of Hungary announced previously an open architectural competition for the design of the new campus in Ferencváros. Total of 42 architectural firms submitted their proposals. The winning entry was selected by a jury of experts from Archikon Architects, Budapest.[12]
The University also offers International students a place in one of its dormitories located in central Budapest:
The university has partnerships with 158 international institutions in 37 countries.[14] For instance, Utrecht University names it as an exchange destination for its Bachelor and Master students of the faculty of Humanities.[15]
Its main focus, as a Christian university, is to establish connections with other Christian higher education institutions globally. In order to make this easier, the University has become a part of the International Network for Christian Higher Education (INCHE) and is affiliated with the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) as an associate member. From 2015 onwards, Károli Gáspár University, along with more than 900 universities globally, has signed the Magna Charta Universitatum to uphold academic freedom and autonomy in higher education institutions.[16]
Enikő Sepsi, Péter Balla, Márton Csanády (2014). Confessionality and University in the Modern World - 20th Anniversary of the "Károli" University. Studio Caroliensia
