The Department is responsible for the Teacher Training (teacher of economics) Master’s (MA) program, the Vocational Technical Instructor and the Community Coordination Bachelor (BA) programmes, and the Workplace Mental Hygiene postgraduate specialist training programme.
There are two branches in the Teacher of Economics training at the university: Tourism-Catering and Commerce and Marketing. The Department is responsible for organising the entrance examinations for the teacher training courses, teaching the theoretical and practical pedagogical-psychological subjects that are part of teacher training, organising, and managing the teaching practice in the final semester, and organising and conducting the final examinations. The Teacher of Economics Programme is currently a 3-semester-correspondence course, open to BSc or MSc level economics or a Vocational Instruction in Business (BA) graduates. The aim of the programme is to deepen the professional theoretical and methodological knowledge acquired in the framework of the undergraduate programme in economics, as well as to prepare students for teaching economics, courses and modules related to their specialisation and solving pedagogical and psychological tasks related to teaching.
The duration of the part-time Vocational Technical Instructor BA programme is 6 semesters. Candidates with a vocational secondary school diploma or a certificate issued under the framework of the National Qualifications Register in commerce or tourism and catering and at least 2 years' professional experience corresponding to their qualification may be admitted to this course. The aim of the training is to train business teachers who are prepared to teach, organise, conduct, and manage related professional sessions in regular and non-regular vocational education and training in the relevant specialisation in the field of commerce or catering and tourism, in accordance with the Register of Vocational Occupations, and to meet the competence requirements of teachers and to continue their studies in a master’s degree course.
The Community Coordination degree programme lasts 6 semesters, both full-time and part-time. The two specialisations are Cultural Community Coordination and Human Development. Admission requirements are a school-leaving certificate with the examination of at least one of the following high school subjects taken at an advanced level: biology, Hungarian language and literature, mathematics, social studies, history, a foreign language (English, French, German, Russian). The aim of the BA program is to train community coordinators and community development professionals performing cultural, human, community-based social and economic organisational work, who are able to manage cultural, religious, civil, entrepreneurial and non-profit organisations, state or municipal institutions, integrated, multifunctional organisations, institutions, and who are able to organise the provision of public services at local and community level in connection with the development of the social and economic situation of culture, youth and adult education, and to manage these services at specific levels of institutions.
In parallel with teacher training, the Department is responsible for teaching psychology, sociology, learning methodology (in Hungarian and English) and research methodology, career development, business ethics, business etiquette and protocol in the undergraduate programmes of Tourism and Catering, and Commerce and Marketing.
The programmes offered by the Department include the Workplace Mental Hygiene postgraduate specialist training programme, which has become one of the most popular courses. The aim of the programme is to train professionals, who can preserve and develop the psychological and mental health of employees in a workplace environment, thus increasing the efficiency of work. The programme provides techniques and knowledge that can be applied in diverse ways in management, work organisation, employee management as well as education and training. Through extensive practice (training, self-reflection, case studies and supervision) and the necessary theoretical background, students will acquire the knowledge and skills to contribute effectively to the development and maintenance of mental health and the prevention of mental health problems both in their own lives and workplace. (The Department of Pedagogy is only responsible for the content of the program; the Office for Lifelong Learning is part of the organisational tasks.)