The University of Public Service is higher educational institution in Budapest, Hungary. The university’s primary goal is to educate future public administration officials, military and law enforcement officers (through BA and MA programmes) and to develop the skills and know-how of current members of public service (through further training programmes). Moreover, UPS also functions as a think tank for public service (through PhD programmes, joint conferences and individual research activities of lecturers).
Faculties
The University of Public Service operates with four faculties: the Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training, the Faculty of Law Enforcement, the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies and the Faculty of Water Sciences.
Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training
The Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training educates professional military officers in the fields of infantry, armour, artillery, reconnaissance, maintenance, logistics, military engineering, signalling, nuclear, biological chemical defence and air defence. Besides gaining the highest standard of professional education, cadets learn about proper military traditions and get familiar with the commitments required to become able to deal with the complex challenges of the unfolding century.
The Faculty is also responsible for educating civil experts for the national and international defence spheres in the fields of defence C3 systems management, radicalism and religious extremism, and security and defence policy. Graduates are guaranteed a job in the defence sector or other sectors of the state administration, but many of them make an international career in notable international organisations, such as the NATO and the EU. The highest level of further education is also incorporated in the Faculty – graduates of the so-called General Staff Training Centre regularly coat high positions in the Hungarian Defence Forces.
The Faculty’s main Campus, the Miklós Zrínyi Barracks and University Campus (1101 Budapest, Hungária körút 9-11) is located near downtown Budapest, guaranteeing spectacular views from many of the classrooms. Seminar rooms, special language labs, a library with more than 500 thousand books, sport facilities, a restaurant and a buffet are all at the disposal of the cadets and students. The department of Air Force of the Faculty is located in Szolnok.
The Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training provides the following degree programmes:
– Military Maintenance BSc
– Military Logistics BSc
– Military Leadership BSc
– State Aviation BSc
– Logistics of Military Operations MSc
– Military Maintenance MSc (for military officers)
– Military Leadership MSc
– Defence C3 Systems Manager MSc (open for civilians)
– Radicalism and Religious Extremism (open for civilians)
– Advanced Military Leadership (open for civilians / foreigners)
Faculty of Law Enforcement
Similarly to the Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training, the Faculty of Law Enforcement has the exclusive task of training future law enforcement officers in Hungary. In accordance, the faculty’s graduates can begin their career as police officers or public officials of related organizations, including the Hungarian Police Force, the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Hungarian Prison Service, the National Directorate-General for Disaster Management and the Office of Immigration and Nationality. However, the knowledge and know-how acquired through the trainings can be applied in the private security sector as well.
The Faculty of Law Enforcement provides the following degree programmes:
– Criminal Administration BA
– Law Enforcement Administration BA
– Law Enforcement MA
Established in 2015 the Doctoral School of Law Enforcement is currently the single doctoral school in Hungary explicitly focusing on research issues of law enforcement. In addition to the other faculties, institutes and organisational bodies of UPS, the Doctoral School intends to involve scholars from external partners (international partners, universities and research institutes) in order to enhance the research programmes in law enforcement. The Doctoral School offers several formats of education, hence PhD students have the choice of full time (scholarship or self-financed) studies, part-time (self-financed) studies and individual training (self-financed) or individual preparation.
Research topics of the doctoral school:
- law enforcement theory, history of law enforcement, national security and law enforcement;
- specialized fields of law enforcement, the international and European Union law and policy aspects of law enforcement;
- the legal, criminological, forensic and social sciences aspects of law enforcement.
Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies
After several changes in its history and name, the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies is now one of the four faculties of the University of Public Service. The Faculty provides a vibrant community designed to ensure that students at undergraduate level acquire highly developed professional skills, while they also learn the basics of political and legal sciences and classical international relations and diplomacy from practitioners. The Faculty aims at educating professional civil servants for all levels of state administration as its predecessor has done so since 1977.
The core task of the Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies Faculty of Public Administration is to provide professionals for the administration at the central and local government level in Hungary on the one hand and to prepare students for public service on an international level and in Hungarian diplomacy on the other. The Faculty’s objective is to train high-performing professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to engage successfully in the job market for civil service both national and international, including EU institutions the diplomatic service or military administration.
The Faculty is located in the modern Educational Centre and also in the beautifully renovated historic building of the Ludovika Academy – the core of the University’s central Ludovika Campus. The campus offers up-to-date teaching facilities within a green recreational zone of the city.
The Faculty of Public Governance and International Studies provides the following degree courses:
– BA in International Administration
– BA in International Security and Defence Policy
– BA in Public Administration Management
– BA in Public Governance
– MA in International Public Service Relations (in English)
– MA in International Studies
– MA in International Security and Defence Policy
– MA in international Economics
– MA in Public Administration
– MA in Public Policy and Management
– MA in (Science of) Public Governance
– MA in Cyber-Security
– MA in Development Policy and Programme Management
The Faculty operates its PhD programmes since 2013. The Doctoral School for Public Administration Studies is Hungary’s first and only doctoral school with this profile, enhancing doctoral students’ academic advancement. The research curriculum encompasses inter alia sociology, public management, economics, governance studies, international and European studies.
Faculty of Water Sciences
The Faculty of Water Sciences is the youngest faculty of the University of Public Service, beginning its operation in the Southern Hungarian city called Baja on 1 February 2017. Thanks to the University’s predecessors, the Faculty has a heritage of over 50 years in higher education. Water science education in Baja has nationwide significance and appreciation and the faculty is an internationally recognised training centre.
The educational building of the Faculty is located in one of the most scenic areas of Baja, where the university provides training on modern water management procedures in its facilities and laboratories. The Faculty has two measuring stations, one in the Eastern Mecsek area, one in Érsekcsanád, which both serve as field training facilities. Ludovika – UPS provides modern technology and measuring instruments that students can use to acquire practical knowledge.
In the Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering degree programmes of UPS, students are trained to answer the greatest environmental and social challenges of the 21st century and to handle the problems of water shortage and water management.
The Faculty of Water Sciences provides the following degree courses:
– Civil Engineering (Bsc, in English)
o Regional Water Management Specialisation
o Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Specialisation
– Environmental Engineering (Bsc, in English)
o Water Management Specialization
o Water Treatment – Wastewater Treatment Specialization
– International Water Governance and Diplomacy (Msc, In English)