AIT Budapest - Computer Science

VISION

The Gordon Computer Science Department encourages its majors to consider a semester's study at Aquincum Institute of Technology in Budapest, Hungary. AIT follows in Budapest's proud tradition of creative computing by offering students the opportunity to work with globally-acclaimed scholars, designers, and entrepreneurs. AIT’s curriculum integrates design, entrepreneurship, and foundational courses in computer science with advanced applications in computational biology and computer vision applications for digital cinema, as well as humanities courses related to Hungary’s culture and history.

In order to take full advantage of the cultural offerings of Hungary as well as the rich CS offerings at AIT, Gordon College's CS faculty encourages students to read about all four areas in which courses are offered, and view course syllabi online (follow links from the pages linked above). The four areas are:

• Foundational courses in Computer Science
• Advanced applications
• Creative design and entrepreneurship
• Humanities courses related to Hungary's rich cultural heritage

Please see under CREDITS for course specifics.

Check out AIT Budapest's Instagram for up-to-date info, photos, and more!

QUALIFICATIONS

Interested CS majors/minors should:

• Must have sophomore standing to attend the program.
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA (each applicant is evaluated individually and there is no automatic GPA cut-off, so long as the student has a minimum 2.5)
• Have completed at least one-course involving programming
• Have been exposed to concepts in data structures
• Possess mathematical maturity developed through a college mathematics course beyond calculus (e.g. linear algebra, discrete mathematics, etc.)

CREDITS

An optional two-week Hungarian language course (not for credit) takes place before the semester begins. At AIT's semester program, all courses (with the exception of the language course) are taught in English. Students can expect to earn 16 to 20 credits.

Course equivalence:

• Theory of Computer fulfills CPS320 Models of Computation (major requirement)
• Mobile Software Development fulfills CPS371 Mobile Devices (major elective)

The following fulfill CS major electives:

• Semantic and Declarative Technologies
• Combinatorial Optimization
• Data Mining – Parts 1 & II (2 credits each – 4 total for both)
• Algorithms and Data Structures  (Gordon students who have taken CPS222 should take the AIT variant for students who have studied data structures)
• Computer Graphics
• Computational Biology
• Computer Vision Applications for Digital Cinema
• Applied Cryptography
• User Interface Design (2 credits)

The following culture courses fulfill the following core areas:

• Hungarian Music in a Central European Context fulfills 2 credits Fine Arts
• Hungary through Hungarian Cinema fulfills 4 credits Fine Arts

COSTS

The Global Education Office will work with Student Financial Services to reassess each applicant's institutional aid for their off-campus semester. Institutional aid includes Gordon-awarded merit scholarships and grants, honors program awards, and major-or department-specific awards. Federal and private aid will not be affected. Factors in the reassessment process include financial need, GEO program flexibility within your major/minor, and program cost. SFS will provide a breakdown of costs to each student after approval has been issued by the GEO.

Regular Gordon tuition and fees cover the following:

• Tuition: 16–20 semester hours
• 0-credit 2-week intensive Hungarian language course
• Airport pickup, Orientation, and assistance in finding apartment housing

Items not covered (please see note regarding starred items):

• Flights
• Housing
• Meals
• Personal expenses
• Independent travel and local transportation
• Mandatory Hungarian health insurance*
• Residence permit fee*
• Books

*Students will pay for room and board directly on the ground. Other expenses students should be prepared to pay are utilities, mandatory Hungarian Health Insurance, and the residence permit fee.