BA Classical Instrumental / Classical Singing (e.g. BA Classical Piano, BA Violin, BA Classical Singing)

About the course

A 6-semester (3-year) bachelor in performance on a classical instrument or in classical singing. It centres on one-to-one main-subject lessons in English, with end-of-semester exam recitals and a diploma concert. Some group classes may be taught in mixed Hungarian-English, or in Hungarian only, when Hungarian and international students are grouped together.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The Liszt Academy does not publish specific Leaving Certificate rules. BA applicants need a school-leaving certificate showing at least 11 or 12 years of schooling that allows university entry in their own country. The Leaving Certificate normally meets this, but no grades or points are converted. Entry depends on the entrance exam. You must send a copy of your Leaving Cert, a certified Hungarian translation made from the original (not a copy) and a transcript. Confirm the details with the International Office.
• Selection is by an entrance exam in Budapest. It covers a main-subject audition (for example, piano: a Bach prelude and fugue, a classical sonata, a romantic piece, a 20th-century piece, a virtuoso étude and a set contemporary piece, all from memory). There are also written and oral tests in solfège and music theory (harmony dictation, sight-singing, form analysis), and an informal talk about your country’s folk music. Singers also take a compulsory piano test and stagecraft tasks. Applicants living in Europe cannot take the exam online. They must attend in person.
• English: non-native speakers need TOEFL iBT 60, IELTS Academic 5.0 or Cambridge 154. The requirement applies to non-native speakers, so native English speakers from Ireland should confirm with admissions whether they need a certificate.

How to apply

1. Check your major and prepareCheck that your instrument or voice is on the Academy’s list of majors taught in English. Prepare the exact audition repertoire and the solfège/music-theory syllabus on its admission requirements page.
2. Get documents ready earlyPrepare your CV and passport copy. You also need your school certificate and transcript with an official Hungarian translation made from the original (OFFI or a stamped agency translation). Pay the €140 non-refundable application fee by bank transfer.
3. Apply by 31 March 2027Send the BA application form and all documents to the Study Department between mid-January and 31 March. Forms are updated each January. In early April you confirm your exam method (in-person for applicants living in Europe).
4. Audition in Budapest, June-JulyYou get your exam date in early May. Exams in Budapest run from mid-June to early July, and decisions come in mid-July. You then pay the first semester fee and enrol for the early September start.

Costs

• The fee is 800,000 HUF per semester (1,600,000 HUF a year) for all bachelor performance majors (piano, strings, woodwind and brass, harp, guitar, accordion, cimbalom, percussion, harpsichord, organ, singing). It is set in Hungarian forint. You can pay in euro at the Hungarian National Bank exchange rate on the first day of classes, so the euro figure (roughly €4,100 a year) changes with the exchange rate. You can pay per semester or per year. There is also a non-refundable application fee of €140. Free, Hungarian-taught state-funded places exist but go through felvi.hu (deadline mid-February) and are taught in Hungarian.

At a glance