NDA@SZTAKI

The Effect of the Bologna Process on the Cartographic Courses in the Hungarian Higher Education

Zentai, László

2009

G Geography (General) / Földrajz általában

GA Mathematical geography. Cartography / földméréstan, geodézia, térképészet

L1 Education (General) / oktatás általában

LB2300 Higher Education / felsőoktatás

After the 1990 political reforms, it took several years until Hungary officially signed
the Bologna Declaration (1999). The progress was very slow: the implementation of
the Bologna principles only started in 2002. The nation-wide introduction of the BA
and BSc system began in 2006 and will be continued at master level in 2009. One
of the most important bodies in this process has been the Hungarian Accreditation
Committee. This Board consists of university professors and academics and has
control over the establishment and introduction of curricula at all higher education
institutions in Hungary.
As for cartography and geodesy, we had two independent 5-year degree
programmes in the pre-Bologna system (Cartography at Eötvös Loránd University,
and Surveying and Geoinformatical Engineering at the Budapest University of
Technology and Economics) and two 3-year degree programmes in the College
of Surveying and Land Administration in Székesfehérvár. Due to the integration
of Hungarian higher education institutions in 2000, this college was incorporated
into the University of West Hungary as a faculty. These institutions had worked
a lot on establishing and developing their own programmes. However, due to the
implementation of the Bologna process, these individual programmes have lost their independence. It is only natural that all these institutions were interested in finding a
solution to keep as much of their original curricula as only possible.
Although about 140 BA and BSc programmes were established at national
level, the Bologna system in Hungary did not allow any cartography-related BSc
programme. However, Eötvös Loránd University and the Budapest University of
Technology and Economics have established their MSc programmes that are related
to cartography. Four universities also agreed on starting a new MSc in GIS, but the
Hungarian Accreditation Committee refused the approval of their joint proposal.
There are further cartography-related MSc programmes waiting for decision by the
Hungarian Accreditation Committee. Some BSc and MSc programmes (such as
geography and informatics) established specialization in GIS, and this gives us the
opportunity of teaching cartography and GIS to a larger number of students.

Conference or Workshop Item

NonPeerReviewed

text

http://real.mtak.hu/6600/1/1185787.pdf

Zentai, László (2009) The Effect of the Bologna Process on the Cartographic Courses in the Hungarian Higher Education. In: First ICA Symposium on Cartography for Central and Eastern Europe 2009, 2009.02.16-2009.02.17., Vienna, Ausztria.

http://real.mtak.hu/6600/