J. Selye University was founded on 23 October 2003 through the passing of law No. 465/2003 on its establishment by the National Council of the Slovak Republic. The act came into force on 1 January 2004. J. Selye University is the only independent legal entity in Slovakia, which offers academic study programs to an ethnic minority in their mother tongue, i.e., Hungarian. It serves as a public institution providing education for the Hungarian minority on the highest educational level. Not only was the establishment of J. Selye University a significant step in the development of Slovak higher education, but it was also a unique event in the history of the EU.
The mission of J. Selye University is to offer high priority to quality study programs at Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. levels and to boost research programs, preserve and respect universal ethical norms, promote the development of harmonious personality and ensure freedom of thought and opinion. Our university was established to increase the qualification level of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Higher qualification levels can create equal opportunities for ethnic Hungarians on the labor market and decrease unemployment in the regions with a significant Hungarian population. Our institution can act as a catalyst for social and economic development.
J. Selye University aims to educate young intellectuals who can become the pillars of our national community and whose language skills will enable them to succeed at home and abroad. Our university is an institution where multiculturalism, the freedom of thought and opinion, responsibility, human dignity, democracy, creativity, the originality of academic research, and efficient instructor-student communication are basic principles. Besides providing high-quality education, our institution also contributes to developing science and research by building cooperation with the international network of institutions, thus providing an opportunity for Hungarian researchers in Slovakia to join international research projects. Our institution is a regional center of science and research, taking an active role in the region's economic, social, and cultural life.
