ISES :: Institute for Social and European Studies Foundation

"Thank you for the person I was able to become - an international student in your MA Program from which I gained invaluable knowledge and experience, which I use back home."

Our Institute
The Institute for Social and European Studies Foundation (ISES) is located in a beautiful Sigray palace (The Europe House) in the picturesque medieval city of Köszeg, Hungary. The ISES Foundation, together with the Institute of Global and European Integration Studies (IGES) of the Corvinus University in Budapest offers international multidisciplinary research and educational programmes to train young experts to take leading roles in EU integration and regional cooperation.

At the beginning of the 1990s, it was clear that the great social, economic and political challenges facing  Europe, and particularly  Central Europe, could not be met by the traditional structures of the higher education system or existing research structures. In order to compete successfully in a globalized world and to take part efficiently in the project of European integration,  the need  was clear to develop multidisciplinary educational programmes that would reinvent institutional structures and innnovate regional and international research.

Internationally recognized for its high level of academic achievements, the ISES Foundation was awarded as a Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence in the Summer of 2010. This award is granted to university-level institutions by the European Commission for top quality research  and innovative teaching related to European Integration.

We feel a deep appreciation and responsibility for the local and regional community that has supported our development and are determined to develop Kõszeg into an international meeting point for Hungarian and international scholars and professionals.