Thank you for visiting us. We appreciate your efforts that –before starting your college career- you visited our homepage to study our life and on-going programmes at Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training College of the Reformed Church. You have made the right move. We are one of the largest institutions of higher education of the Reformed Church of Hungary. We have a long historical tradition in teacher training, exciting venues for practical training, and a faculty of knowledgeable, open-minded and devoted trainers, and bright and cheerful students.

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Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training College of the Reformed Church of Hungary is heir to the legacy of the Reformed College of Debrecen, the oldest college of its kind in Hungary. Teacher training in its earliest phase was done together with the training of pastors. This phase was replaced by a one-year course teacher training in 1855. This course was further developed after 1867. State run tertiary teacher training followed grammar-school graduation between 1959 and 1976. It was then provided the status of a higher education college. In 1990 the college took the name of its one-time student, the poet of the national anthem, Kölcsey Ferenc. In 1992 a government decree placed the college under the control of the Eastern Hungarian Diocese of the Reformed Church of Hungary.

Its past and present contributions both play a considerable part in the history of teacher training in Hungary. All its noted professors –like Maróthi György (author of the best school book on Mathematics at the time), Hatvani István (The first teacher to carry out experiments in physics in Hungary), Zákány József (established the department of pedagogy at the local seminary) - contributed to the fame and reputation of the college.

From the building behind Csokonai Theatre the College moved to the building of the former Calvinist Grammar School. The building was provided by the state, and was returned together with its entire faculty, students and staff to the Reformed Church by the above mentioned government decree. The building-originally a grammar school, the college at present-was built by the plans of Pecz Samu, professor of engineering and former president of the Society of Architects. Groundwork was started in September 1911 and the building was inaugurated in November 1913.

„Built by the Eastern Hungarian Diocese of the Reformed Church of Hungary with the help of the state and the city of Debrecen to serve national public education” as it stands on the bronze memorial by the entrance door. Karai Sándor, School Head of the time could well say that the new building was equipped with everything science and technology could use to serve pedagogy. Among others, there were two large studio-windowed art rooms and a large gymnasium. Its school collection held a piece of the famous meteorite of Kaba. (At present it can be found in the school history exhibition of the Faculty of Theology). With one of the nicest raw brick buildings in town the College building – with some minor adjustments – is still a great venue for up-to-date teacher training. In the past decades the value of the work going on at College has been characterized by setting up a special classroom for teaching the history of education and the Maróthi room, by the publication of several volumes of studies and by participating in national and international conferences. Lower primary teacher training has been a four-year training since 1995/96. This also means a greater prestige for the teaching profession. Besides general teacher training the college offers training in the lower primary teacher- religious educator, lower primary teacher-cantor, and lower primary teacher-computer librarian majors as well.

Our college has introduced the Hungarian national curriculum in its teaching programme, which provides our students with the opportunity to choose from several specializations. Our students do their teaching practice either in the demonstration school built next to the college building or in other primary schools in town. The 90.000 volume college library is housed in Maróthi Student Hostel (15 Blaháné Street). Students coming from the region have their accommodation in Maróthi Student Hostel and Kossuth Lajos Student Hostel of the University of Debrecen.

Having its roots in the Debrecen College of the Reformed Church and the oldest tradition of teacher training in Hungary Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training College of the Reformed Church holds a most significant position in the history of Hungarian teacher training. Our college has widened its range of academic programmes, we train media specialists, computer librarians, cantors and educators of religion.

The introduction of the new educational structure guarantees the connection of educational careers and training cycles with each other and with the world of work. Kölcsey Ferenc Teacher Training College of the Reformed Church offers the following BA programmes, single undivided training courses, and higher educational vocational courses in the academic year 2007/2008:

• Teacher (BA in Education / 8 semesters)
• BA in Communication and Media Sciences (6 semesters)
• Computer Librarian (BA in Library and Computer Science / 6 semesters)
• Cantor (BA in Liturgical Music / 6 semesters)
• Catecheta (BA in Christian Education / 6 semesters)
• higher professional training in youth assistance (4 semesters)

We welcome applications from students who have got acquainted with our programme offer, the particulars of the admissions, and the student life at the College; and who would thus like to become citizens of the College.

For further information: www.kfrtkf.hu; tel.: 52-518-536, 52-518-537.