There are three types of courses:
- compulsory subjects (“A”)
- compulsory electives (“B”) and
- optional electives (“C”).
Courses in the “A” category form the basis of the programme. All students in the given programme must register for and pass these courses. Registration for some courses, both at the undergraduate and Master’s degree levels, is compulsory. In this case, the order in which the courses are taken is also pre-determined. In justified cases, courses in the “A” category may be taken more than once, but you can only register for courses that build upon them if you have completed the pre-requisites specified in the curriculum for the given study programme.
Pre-requisites for a course may be partial or total. Partial pre-requisite: you may register for the course requiring the pre-requisite once you have obtained a signature for your semester, but you may only sit for the exam after you have completed the subject specified as a pre-requisite. Total pre-requisite: you must have already passed the exam in the pre-requisite course before registering for the course that requires a pre-requisite.
Compulsory electives (“B”) courses are oriented towards your area of specialisation for each recommended semester. You can usually register for them after having passed the exam in the corresponding pre-requisite “A” subject. If a compulsory elective is required for any given specialisation, then you will not be given a final grade transcript (abszolutórium) and will not be able to attend the final student exam unless you complete the given course.
Optional electives (“C”) courses may be chosen freely in accordance with the student’s area of interest, the development of academic knowledge, and the needs of society. Each faculty offers a very wide range of optional electives among which students are free to choose, and this list is updated each academic year. To see the list of optional electives for your programme in any given semester, look under the “Subjects – Register for subject” menu on Neptun. Under that menu, select “other elective subjects” to see the list of all the optional electives available for your model curriculum.
Students may also choose any of the courses offered by the institution as optional electives (by selecting the “All other subjects in the institution” option). However, these courses are often compulsory for other study programmes, or are not taught at the Buda campus, or are posted within other types of study programmes (i.e. evening or correspondence courses). If you wish to register for an optional elective from another faculty under the “All other subjects in the institution” option, it is highly recommended that you first contact the instructor of that course to make sure that you are aware of course pre-requisites and requirements.
Students enrolled in full-time daytime study programmes may not select courses from correspondence courses as optional electives. However, students enrolled in correspondence courses may, as long as they are able to meet the class-time course requirements, may choose electives from daytime study programmes.
Elective courses are only held if the set minimum number of students register for them. Accordingly, during the registration period, you must monitor whether the course will be held or not, and if it is not, you must register for another elective to ensure that you are taking the required number of credits.
Minimal enrolment for optional electives for each faculty:
- Faculty of Food Science: 15 students for full-time programme courses in Hungarian, 10 students for full-time programme courses in English.
- Faculty of Horticultural Science: 10 students for full-time programme courses in Hungarian, 5 students for full-time programme courses in English, 5 students for correspondence courses.
- Faculty of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism: 4 students for courses in Hungarian or in English.
At the Faculty of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism and at the Faculty of Horticulture, there are field trips (i.e. to processing plants) connected with compulsory and compulsory elective courses as well as practical service days during seasons favourable for phenology or based on other criteria. This consists of a week or several days blocked off during the academic year. Participation in other practical field courses is not determined in accordance with the class groups for courses, as separate registration for these courses is required through the Neptun system, under the given course. Field practice courses are compulsory!
Each course has a corresponding number of credits. The credit is the unit used to measure the presumed number of study time used to fulfil academic requirements, and is thus also an indication of progress in one’s studies. Credits are cumulated until the end of your studies. Credits are counted once you have received a signature certifying your completion of the relevant study requirements in the given semester and after you have completed the required evaluation process.