Faculty of Law
The primary reason for establishing the Faculty of Law was to ease the regional shortage of lawyers and to improve the quality of the next generation of lawyers. Education in the Faculty began on 1 September 1981 as an institute with 120 full-time law students and 60 part-time law students. In 1983 the institute was formed into a faculty. The instructors were recruited from other law schools and professional workplaces. In the last 25 years a stable, experienced teaching staff has evolved in the Faculty. Numerous alumni have become teachers of the Faculty, with many of them being among the leaders of the Faculty. Our Faculty of Law was given a “Place of Excellence” award in 2006 along with three other different Law Faculties. We are also recipients of the very first “Higher Education Quality Award”, awarded to Miskolc University at the opening ceremony on 6th September 2008.
The structure of the Faculty changed significantly in 1987. Currently there are five institutes in different academic fields, containing a total of 14 departments. Educational programmes and research work have been extended further since then. PhD training was accredited in 1992, and it is now called the Deák Ferenc Doctoral School. The Doctoral School, alone in Hungary, was awarded the “Place of Excellence” award in 2006. This training provides our students with the necessary framework for their academic advancement and for obtaining their doctoral degrees. Currently 11 professors, 24 associate professors, 13 senior lecturers and 17 lecturers are involved in teaching and research. Some of them are also working in professional fields as constitutional judges, judges, prosecutors, lawyers or in the field of public administration.
In 2001 the Faculty extended its training to advanced vocational training. We currently supervise the training of legal assistants in six secondary schools, and from 2008 the Faculty also directly offers advances vocational training to its students. This course offers training to high-school graduates, providing them with a better chance to find a job, while also functioning as a preparation course for participation in bachelor studies in law and public administration at the Faculty.
Our Faculty has constantly extended its offer of academic programmes. Bachelor-level programmes in Public Administration Management, Judicial System Administration, Public Employment and Social Insurance Administration studies assist in the training of office administrators and associates in public administration and other areas requiring legal skills. In 2008 we started the new Public Administration Management master’s course, which provides a chance to graduates of the three-year Bachelor’s courses – our graduates or those of other universities or colleges – to earn a master’s degree. Within the framework of legal training, we also provide the opportunity to acquire professional language knowledge. Our students can take part in courses in English and German for eight semesters. The practical style of our education is ensured by the small groups in the seminars and by the model courtroom. This gives an opportunity to organize moot competitions and hold mock trials under “life-like” conditions, thus increasing the chances of our graduates in the job market.
Since 1993 the opportunities for postgraduate courses have been extended. Within the framework of our post-graduate specialist training courses, the Faculty organizes education not only for students with legal qualifications, but also for engineers, doctors, pharmacists and teachers.
Thanks to the interest in our courses, the number of students has been increasing. At present, there are nearly 2,500 students studying in our various courses.
The extension of our international relations also adds to the improvement of the Faculty. Besides the universities of the neighbouring countries, we keep up professional contact with other renowned universities of other countries. Our teachers and students regularly take part in further education courses abroad, in the Erasmus program, in moot competitions, conferences and study trips. Many of them study for a second degree in a university abroad. The international cooperation of our Faculty with institutions in Germany, Finland, France and England is especially significant, although our professors have been guest lecturers in the United States and in the Far East as well. Thanks to our international relations, foreign professors also give lectures to our students. The Leonardo program offers the opportunity for students to spend their required internship period abroad.
The various events organized by the students, including Faculty parties cherishing the traditions of Selmec and student conferences, help to support the good relationship between the students and the teachers.