The Social Composition of Medical Students at the Erzsébet University in the 1920s

Abstract

The study presents the social composition of students who graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the Erzsébet University in Pozsony (Bratislava) from 1918 and then after a temporary stay in Budapest, in Pécs from the autumn of 1923 until the academic year 1929/1930. The article specifically examines the output of university education, excluding students who dropped out or transferred to another institution. It presents the recruitment and mobility of the student body by statistical analysis of the religion, place of birth and father/guardian occupation of the medical graduates of the selected period. The statistical survey shows a large number of Israelites and those born in Budapest. The occupational composition of the father/guardian largely consists of three groups: public and private officials – professionals – traders and large business owners. A separate subchapter deals with the changes resulting from the numerus clausus law in the composition of medical students in Pécs, as well as the attitude of the university in Pécs and its impact on the Hungarian higher education market. The clear goal of the university management was to ensure the survival of the university by increasing the number of students. The main reason for applying numerus clausus as loosely as possible was also the fact that the number of Christian students remained low, often failing to fill in the allotted numbers. Finally, the paper presents possible further research opportunities.