Sociology

Doctoral Programme

Learn more about the admission requirements

The Corvinus Sociology Doctoral Programme prepares you for the international academic and professional labour market. The hallmark of our programme is its dissertation-focused approach: we have minimized traditional coursework that addresses broad, general topics, and instead offer courses that directly support the writing of the dissertation. Our aim is to train researchers who are capable of conducting socially relevant, theoretically grounded research that meets international methodological standards.

The language of instruction is English, allowing our students to integrate into the global scientific community from day one of their doctoral journey.

Why Choose Corvinus Sociology?

Innovative Research Topics: Engage with the most pressing global issues, from the ethical questions of Artificial Intelligence and migration to gender inequalities and corruption research. Our faculty members and supervisors are recognized experts in their fields and have strong international publication records.
A Supportive Community: We pay special attention to the “human side of doctoral work”. Community building is a priority, and we strive to create conditions that foster long-term motivation, focused work, and well-being.
Personalized Development: Beyond our internal faculty, our extensive network helps you find the most suitable external experts for your specific project. Our proposed dissertation topics are available on doktori.hu, but you may also choose a different topic.
Funding & Security: In addition to state scholarships, the Corvinus Doctoral Scholarship offers further possibility for Hungarian applicants. Various research funding and conference grants are also available.

The program requires only 5 mandatory subjects in total:

Research Seminars: Dedicated support for refining your research plan during Semesters 1–4.
Practical and theory Building: Mastering good and critical academic practices in relation to research.
Elective compulsory courses (minimum three): You may choose from a range of methodological courses according to your interests.
Flexibility: We recognize elective subjects from other doctoral schools or courses from international summer universities.

The entire structure of the doctoral program is designed to support the writing of the dissertation. Students engage in regular consultations with their supervisors. At the end of each semester, students submit a brief written report summarizing the progress of their research, conference presentations, publications, and their work plan for the upcoming period. Twice a year, students present their results at research forums at the university, and at the end of the second year they defend their research proposal, which outlines their core research ideas.

If you have any questions, please contact Lilla Vicsek, Programme Director (lilla.vicsek@uni-corvinus.hu).

Curious about the student experience? Feel free to reach out to our current PhD student, Vanda Pózner (vanda.pozner@stud.uni-corvinus.hu), for first-hand insights.

Follow Us for Updates:

Lilla Mária Vicsek

Director of the Sociology Doctoral Programme

Beáta Nagy

Head of the Doctoral School

Admission Information

The general rules of the admission procedure are set out in Sections 21–22 of the University Doctoral Regulations (EDSZ), which can be accessed by clicking here.

The list of required documents is available by clicking here!

General Admission Information

Language: The research plan must be submitted in English, and the oral interview will also be conducted in English.
Length: The expected length of the research plan is between 10,000 and 20,000 characters (including references).
Dual Application: If you apply to both programs, the leadership of the Doctoral School and the admission committees will determine the relevance of each. If both programs accept the application, the candidate may submit two separate research plans and participate in both admission processes.

Admission Evaluation Criteria

The Admission Committee bases its decision on three main pillars:

Prior Performance: Academic records, previous research experience, publications, and the professional relevance of prior studies.
Research Plan: The quality and detail of the plan, the relevance and timeliness of the topic, and its alignment with the program’s profile.
In-person/Online Interview: Professional preparedness, communication skills, and English language proficiency.

Scoring System


Criterion	Score
Prior Achievements (including the test)	20 points
Research Plan	40 points
Oral Interview	40 points
Total	100 points

Stay Informed!

Sign up for our newsletter to receive first-hand updates on the admission process, key deadlines, and the latest news regarding our doctoral programmes.

Oktatók, témavezetők

Research topics

Culture matters: Cultural components in social stratification – Luca KRISTÓF
Why do elites fail? Empirical studies of local and national political, economic and cultural elites – Luca KRISTÓF
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Elite grammar school students’ choosing between elite universities at home or abroad – Adél PÁSZTOR
Post-doctorates: Another Stage in the Academic Pipeline? – Adél PÁSZTOR
Moving up or moving away? East-European PhD holders in the European academic workforce – Adél PÁSZTOR
Current social trends in Europe. Lessons from the European Social Survey (ESS) – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Computational Social Science in action: exploring human behavior from digital traces – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Social perception of the new digital world: attitudes and expectations towards artificial intelligence and related technologies – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Expectations around artificial intelligence and robotics and the role of these projections in the present – Lilla VICSEK
Framing, Identity and Social Attitudes – Béla JANKY
Adolescents at risk: Nature and reasons of risk behaviours, leisure time activities, health consciousness of young people – Zsuzsanna ELEKES
Gender, organization and management – Beáta NAGY
Gender and academia: Is gender equality in science being achieved? – Beáta NAGY
Do educational hierarchies shape parenting strategies and fertility intentions? – Tamás BARTUS
How do social norms and reputation support cooperation? – Károly TAKÁCS and Szabolcs SZÁMADÓ
Educational hierarchies, family practices and fertility – Tamás BARTUS

Research topics

Cultural production/cultural labour and society – Róza Emília Barna
Culture matters: Cultural components in social stratification – Luca KRISTÓF
Why do elites fail? Empirical studies of local and national political, economic and cultural elites – Luca KRISTÓF
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Elite grammar school students’ choosing between elite universities at home or abroad – Adél PÁSZTOR
Post-doctorates: Another Stage in the Academic Pipeline? – Adél PÁSZTOR
Moving up or moving away? East-European PhD holders in the European academic workforce – Adél PÁSZTOR
Current social trends in Europe. Lessons from the European Social Survey (ESS) – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Computational Social Science in action: exploring human behavior from digital traces – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Social perception of the new digital world: attitudes and expectations towards artificial intelligence and related technologies – Bence SÁGVÁRI
Expectations around artificial intelligence and robotics and the role of these projections in the present – Lilla VICSEK
Framing, Identity and Social Attitudes – Béla JANKY
Adolescents at risk: Nature and reasons of risk behaviours, leisure time activities, health consciousness of young people – Zsuzsanna ELEKES
Gender, organization and management – Beáta NAGY
Gender and academia: Is gender equality in science being achieved? – Beáta NAGY
Do educational hierarchies shape parenting strategies and fertility intentions? – Tamás BARTUS
How do social norms and reputation support cooperation? – Károly TAKÁCS and Szabolcs SZÁMADÓ
Educational hierarchies, family practices and fertility – Tamás BARTUS