Region and Denomination
During the directorship of Zoltán Gombocz , a total of 388 students, on average 55 students a year submitted an application to the Collegium. Compared to the previous period, the drop in the number of applicants by nearly 100 individuals was probably due to the economic crisis reaching Hungary in 1931. 140 applicants became members of the institute and 248 were rejected.
In terms of the territorial distribution of the place of birth of admitted students, processes similar to the previous period can be observed in the Gombocz era: the absolute majority, 56%, of successful applicants were from the western and central parts of the country (19%
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from Transdanubia, 37% from the Danube-Tisza Interfluve) and 13% were from the eastern parts. The share of the capital of those born in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve was 75% (27.8%
overall), which dramatically highlights settlement inequalities and the social recruiting background of Collegium.650 Nearly one third, 28%, of the admitted applicants were born in areas outside of the country border. Most of them, 14% (3.61%),651 were born in Upper Hungary and 11% (4.67%) were of Transylvanian origin and 3% (1.17%) of collegium students were from the southern regions.652 Their admission was made possible by the fact that, according to the practice developed in the Bartoniek period, 5-6 places were usually reserved for applicants applying from the separated regions.
Territorial disparities can also be observed in the ranking of counties. Similarly to the previous period, the relative majority of successful applicants came from Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County, however, their numbers doubled, constituting 34% of admitted students (the share of the capital, taking the category as 100%, was 83%).653 But the proportion of all college students living in the capital was still lower than that of university students. The western counties were also among the top-ranked municipalities: 5% of admitted students were born in Veszprém, 4% in Vas and 4% in Borsod, while 3% respectively in Sopron, Abaúj-Torna, Baranya and Máramaros counties.654 There were only two counties beyond the border and three Transtisza counties among the top fifteen.655
Breakdown of admitted and rejected applicants by region (%) Admitted applicants
By region By county
Name Collegium National Name Collegium National
Dalmatia 0 0 Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun 34 15.6
Délvidék (Southern Hungary) 3 0 Veszprém 5 2.7
Transdanubian Region 19 26.4 Vas 4 3.1
650 In 1930, 16% of the country’s population lived in the capital. Thus, in the case of the Eötvös Collegium, it can be seen from the regional distribution that the institute chose its members mainly from urbanised social groups. (cf. Gyáni 2006: 207).
651 In the brackets I indicate the residence of Royal Hungarian Péter Pázmány University of Sciences students during the second half of the 1927/1928 academic year (Sine nomine 1929: 352).
652 For the breakdown by region of the birth places of those admitted between 1928 and 1935, see Figure 65 of the Appendix. There is no birth data for 3% of applicants applying in the sub-period. See Table 10 for information on the regional and county classification of admitted and rejected applicants.
653 According to the reports of József Asztalos, in the 1929/1930 academic year, 66.8% of students enrolled at Royal Hungarian Péter Pázmány University of Sciences lived in Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County and in the capital (Asztalos 1930: 89).
654 According to the 1930 census, 2.79% of the population lived in Veszprém County, while 3.15% lived in Vas, 3.40% in Borsod, Gömör and Kishont counties combined, with 4.82% living in Sopron, 1.04% in Abaúj-Torna and 2.85% in Baranya (1930 census 1941: 2).
655 See Figure 7 in the Appendix for the map detailing the full distribution of birthplaces of admitted applicants between 1919 and 1944, the colour chart of which shows the dominance of the western and central parts of the country.
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Breakdown of admitted and rejected applicants by region (%)
Danube-Tisza Interfluve 37 58 Borsod 4 3.4
Transylvania 11 0 Sopron 3 0.4
Upper Hungary 14 0 Abaúj-Torna 3 1
Transtisza Region 13 15.5 Baranya 3 2.8
No data 3 0 Máramaros 3 0
Rejected applicants
By region By county
Name Collegium National Name Collegium National
Dalmatia 0 0 Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun 19 15.6
Délvidék (Southern Hungary) 5 0 Vas 5 3.1
Transdanubian Region 24 26.4 Borsod 5 3.4
Danube-Tisza Interfluve 32 58 Somogy 4 4.4
Transylvania 9 0 Heves 4 3.6
Upper Hungary 10 0 Csongrád 4 1.7
Transtisza Region 16 15.5 Békés 3 3.7
No data 3 0 Győr 3 2.2
Table 10: Breakdown of admitted and rejected applicants by region and county compared to national population data656
It can be seen from the administrative classification of places of birth that the proportion of people arriving from urbanised settlements increased: 65% of collegium students were born in the municipality (the share of the capital, taking the category as 100%, was 80%) or county towns (21%). This ratio was higher than similar university data, as in the 1929/1930 academic year 55.6% of newly enrolled students lived in municipality towns (50.1% in the capital, 5.5% in other municipality towns) (Asztalos 1930: 89). Similarly to the last phase of the Bartoniek era, almost one third, 32%, of the admitted students were born in large villages with a population of 5–10,000 (6%) and small villages with a population of less than 5,000 (26%).657 The institute therefore chose its members from the small part of the country’s population who were born in the capital or in its immediate vicinity, possibly in Transdanubia and belonged to the upper middle classes. Collegium students who lived in non-urbanised settlements, similarly to their urbanised peers, also had to have a social
656 Provides data on the distribution of the population in the 1930s: 1930 census 1941: 2.
657 There is no data available for 3% of admitted students with regard to the settlement type of their birth place.
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background that enabled spatial mobility. Therefore most collegium students come from urbanised, well-off middle classes or from financially wealthier social groups of smaller settlements. This is also confirmed by data on graduation locations, as 64% of admitted students graduated in locations other than their place of birth and 35% graduated in the settlement where they were born.658 The higher rate of mobility compared to previous sub-periods is most likely due to the high number of guardians in public employment (secondary school teachers, administrative officers) who usually changed their place of residence due to frequent relocations.
Similarly to admitted applicants, the absolute majority, 56%, of rejected applicants was made up of students born in the Danube-Tisza Interfluve (32%) and Transdanubia (24%).
In the case of the former, the share of the capital is only 29% (and only 9% of all rejected applicants). 16% of unsuccessful applicants came from the eastern parts of the country, while 24% of them came from territories annexed in 1920 (10% from Upper Hungary, 9% from Transylvania and 5% from Southern Hungary).659 The doubling of the number of cross-border applicants among those rejected is due to the fact that some of them were already living in Hungary at the time of admission, therefore no special places were held for them at the institute.
Similarly to those admitted, the relative majority of rejected applicants were born in Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun County (19%), but their proportion was still lower than that of successful applicants (34%). Vas (4%)660 and the consistently well performing Borsod (4%) and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok (1%) were also among the leading counties with 5% respectively. Somogy (1%), Heves (1%), Csongrád (2%) and Békés (2%) counties also ranked within the top ten, each with 4%, together with Győr (1%) and Bihar (2%), with 3% respectively.661 Thus, the municipalities of the eastern and southern parts of the country constituted the majority of rejected applicants. This can be explained by the fact that these areas were traditionally less urbanised and industrially less developed than Budapest or the western part of the country. Regarding the status of birthplaces, it can be observed that the relative majority of applicants, 49%, lived in small villages with less than 5,000 inhabitants (41%), or in large villages with 5-10,000 inhabitants (8%) (the same category was 32% among admitted applicants, with 26% and 6% respectively), while 48% of them lived in urban settlements (65% of those admitted). Among municipality towns (26%), the proportion of those born in Budapest was only 35%, which is a significant decline compared to the proportion of admissions. On the other hand, those arriving from county towns (22%) were represented in the same proportion as successful applicants.662 Spatial mobility data indicates similar figures to admitted students, as 37% of rejected applicants graduated at their place of birth,
658 There is no data available for 1% of admitted students regarding their graduation location.
659 There is no data available for 3% of students rejected within the sub-period with regard to the regional classi-fication of their birth place. See Table 10 for information on the regional and county classiclassi-fication of admitted and rejected applicants.
660 In brackets, I provide the similar data of admitted applicants for easier comparison.
661 See Figure 8 in the Appendix for the map detailing the county distribution of birthplaces of rejected applicants between 1919 and 1944.
662 There is no data available for 3% of rejected applicants in relation to the administrative classification of their place of birth.
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8.1. Breakdown of Applicants Admitted and Rejected Between 1928 and 1935 8.1. Breakdown of Applicants Admitted and Rejected Between 1928 and 1935
while 56% of them graduated at a different location.663 On the whole, it can be concluded that, similarly to the previous periods of the Collegium’s history, successful applicants came from the more middle-class layers of towns (the capital), while among those rejected, the number of people born in the eastern or southern parts of the country who were probably less wealthy and were typically not part of the urbanised population, was higher.
As with the previous periods of the institution’s history, the largest denomination belonged to the Roman Catholics, which included 52% of the collegium students (60.25% of the students on faculties of arts).664 As in previous periods, this indicated under-representation, not only compared to the data of the University of Budapest, but also in relation to their ratio in society (cf. Gyáni 2006: 216). Therefore the tradition of their under-representation continued, together with the tendency of over-representation of protestant denominations in the institute. 22% of collegium students (13.62% on faculties of arts) declared themselves to be Reformists, which somewhat exceeds university data, and Evangelical-Lutherans (19% among collegium students, 8.82% on faculties of arts) were two and a half times over-represented compared to their social and university proportions. Collegium students belonging to the Greek Catholic denomination were also over-represented in the institute in relation to similar proportions of university students (1.41% on faculties of arts), thus almost reaching their social rates (cf. Gyáni 2006: 216). 1% of admitted students belonged to the Judaist denomination (8.12% on faculties of arts), which was far behind their social and university proportions.665 The explanation for this was not just that they were less enthusiastic in pursuing teaching carriers, but also that the Numerus Clausus was amended and Act XIV of 1928 kept a significant number of the Jewish population from pursuing a university education, not because of denominations, but based on professions (Gyurgyák 2001: 129–130). Its specifications were usually enforced during collegium recruitment.
Among rejected applicants the proportion of Roman Catholics was 63% (52%),666 which was almost at the level of their social and university proportions (cf. Gyáni 2006: 216).
However, pre-selection had hit them very hard: although their number among the overall number of applicants (57.5%) was lower than their numbers within the university popula-tion, the recruitment process lowered this rate even more among admitted applicants. At the same time, students belonging to the Protestant denominations were more successful, as 20%
(22%) of rejected applicants were Reformists and 12% (19%) were Evangelical-Lutheran (on average 21% of the applicants were Reformists and 15.5% were Evangelical-Lutheran, with both denominations admitted to the institute with higher numbers than average). Students belonging to the Greek Catholic and Judaist denominations made up 1% of unsuccessful applicants respectively (2% of admitted applicants), while Unitarians (1 person) constituted 0.4% (1% of admitted applicants) thereof.667 Thus, among the small denominations, the
663 There is no data available for 7% of rejected applicants in relation to mobility willingness.
664 In the brackets, I refer to denominational distribution of 1st year students of faculties of arts in the 1929/1930 academic year based on the reports of József Asztalos (Asztalos 1930: 78).
665 There is no information available for 4% of admitted applicants that would enable the establishing of their religious affiliation. See Table 11 for information on the denomination classification of admitted and rejected applicants.
666 Here, I indicate in brackets the denomination data of admitted applicants for easier comparison.
667 There is no data available for 3% of rejected applicants that would enable the establishing of their religious affiliation.
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Greek Catholics applied in numbers exceeding their national ratio, but in terms of their success, they still exceeded their proportion among university students.
The denominational breakdown of admitted and rejected applicants (%)
Denominations Admitted applicants
Rejected applicants
Data of the Faculty of Arts of Royal Hungarian Péter
Pázmány University of Sciences
National data
Roman Catholic 52 63 60.2 64.8
Greek Catholic 2 1 1.4 2.3
Greek Orthodox 0 0 0.3 0.5
Reformed 22 20 13.6 20.7
Evangelical-Lutheran 19 12 8.8 6.14
Judaist 1 1 8.1 5.1
Unitarian 0 0.4 0.6 n.d.
No data 4 3 0 0
Table 11: The denominational breakdown of admitted and rejected applicants compared to data relating to students of the University’s Faculty of Arts and national data668