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Hungary's higher education system is being transformed fundamentally for a second time after the regime change in 1989–90. The first Higher Education Act was passed in 1993. An entirely new law issued in December 2005 involved fundamental changes in the entire higher education system. The most sweeping change was the introduction of the two‐cycle programme structure which, with a few exceptions, began in September 2006. National qualification requirements were replaced by education and outcome requirements, focusing on set competences defined for each study programme. This article provides a background, with facts and figures, of the Hungarian higher education system and an overview of the process and problems encountered that led up to the implementation of the Bachelor/Master structure. The reception of the system, based on interviews with various actors affected by higher education, reveals mixed responses, with respondents stressing the opportunity and their hope for a fundamental reform. The article also elaborates the goals and consequences of the ‘Bologna structure’. The traditional binary institutional structure of colleges and universities remains in place, but with both permitted to launch Bachelor and Master programmes. How colleges will be able to compete with more theoretically oriented universities in preparing for Master studies and, vice versa, how universities will be able to offer education at the Bachelor level that will be competitive in the job market remain to be seen. The final sections of the article deal with other aspects of the Bologna Process, such as ECTS, and the Diploma Supplement. One of the main concerns is that the quality of higher education, which was perceived to be at a high level in Hungary, even in the 15 years since mass education overtook what was previously an elite sector, should not deteriorate. The reciprocal effects of the new degrees and the job market are challenges Hungarian higher education will face a few years down the road.

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