Why US Graduate Students Love Hungary on Sabbatical

After years of academia, grad students often need a sabbatical between graduate degrees. Going from a master’s to an online doctor of education degree is no easy feat, especially when students have worked throughout their college years to subsidize their studies. Going to university is not cheap and after working hard to excel in school while eking out a living, a sabbatical in Hungary seems like a sabbatical in heaven. Here is some of what graduate students love about a Hungarian sabbatical.

Sabbatical Home Exchange in Major Cities throughout Hungary

Actually, many grad students don’t take a traditional sabbatical because they can continue their education in a foreign country as long as there is Internet. With a home exchange program like the one in Hungary, grad students can take limited classes for an online doctor of education degree, for example, and still take time to rest and see the sights. Not only is Hungary steeped in history, it has beautiful countryside and much to explore while breaking away from studies to get that much needed rest.

A Glimpse of What Communism Was Like in Europe

While staying in Budapest, a student working towards a higher education leadership degree is immersed in what life was like during a Communist regime. There are even tours that take students through areas that were central to the Communist movement and tour guides describe what it was like as the first Soviet country to join the Russian Soviet Republic. Hungarians are proud of being the only country under Soviet rule that developed a special relationship with high ranking Russian leaders and so enjoyed greater freedoms than other nations of the Soviet bloc. As a result, their special form of government became known as ‘Goulash Communism’ and a grad student studying for a doctorate in higher education can take a tour through cities like Budapest, which reveals this rich past to visitors on sabbatical.