History
The Faculty of Education and Psychology (PPK hence) of this 390-year old university is one of the nine faculties presently. PPK has a brief but rich history and noble traditions. It was created from the union of renowned, historic departments and research workshops. Some parts of our faculty have been functioning as strongholds of the Hungarian pedagogy and psychology for more than a hundred years, being the leading representatives of Hungarian higher education. The “Cathedra Pedagogiae Sublimioris” (Department of Education) founded in 1814 and the Department of Psychology of Péter Pázmány University dating back to the beginning of the previous century are the roots of our young Faculty, as well as its descendant, the previous Institute of Pedagogy and the Institute of Psychology of ELTE.
Our Faculty of Education and Psychology’s holistic approach could not be complete without the cultivation of Sport and Health Sciences. With the integration of these, we can declare that PPK is indeed the holistic faculty of disciplines focusing on human realization in physical and psychological harmony to the fullest possibilities. It teaches and popularizes these disciplines promoting a life-long awareness towards learning, education, and improvement. A great achievement was the creation of the Centre for Intercultural Pedagogy and Psychology. The history of the integrated unity of our faculty, along with the goals and outlines of the relating to the creation of the PPK made it possible for us to become the crossroad of personality-building and developmental sciences. The combined product of these previous institutions was the foundation of PPK in 2003, as ELTE’s innovation.
According to assessments continuously testing for the quality of academic standards, the faculty was rated tenth out of the 176 Hungarian faculties in the past few years. It is a special pleasure to acknowledge that the reason for this high rating is not only due to the crew of excellent teachers, but also the outstanding quality of the student body. According to the latest surveys, our Faculty has the most capable, best prepared students in the country. It has been established that our Faculty has kept up the student appeal, moreover, in certain areas, the interest for enrolment has even increased. Even though the overall enrolment rate has been dropping in Hungary, our student body is continually increasing in numbers. Within ELTE, the Faculty of Education and Psychology has always had the largest number of applicants.