In everyday life, especially at a University, it goes without saying that students intend, besides improving their knowledge, to acquire a diploma. But since when have universities been issuing diplomas?

The word “diploma” comes from Greek and denotes a deed of specified formal and content-related characteristics which testifies that the recipient has successfully completed his or her studies in higher education. The history of diplomas goes back to medieval universities, although it would be difficult to define where and when the first European degree was issued.

It is currently believed that the oldest diploma issued in Hungary is the doctoral diploma of humanities issued for Miklós Maylád citizen of Székhely by the University of Nagyszombat in 1642 (only the text remains). The oldest extant diploma was issued more than a century later, in 1775 by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Nagyszombat. More diplomas have survived from the late 18th century onwards.

Parchment (animal membrane) continued to be in use as a writing material for diplomas not only in the 18th century, but in the 19th and 20th centuries as well, approximately until 1948, although from the second half of the 19th century the use of paper became increasingly common. Until the mid-20th century, diplomas were highly variegated, as each institution made attempts to issue unique diplomas. The Socialist era saw the standardisation of the formal elements of degrees at the national level. The pictures show diplomas issued in three different periods of the University’s history: issued in 1928 (Picture 1), in 1940 (Picture 2) and in 1950 (Picture 3).

In the period from 1920 to 1934, the sample was provided by the Budapest University of Sciences. Between 1934 and 1948, the Faculty of Economics used the standardized diploma of the József Nádor University of Technology and Economics. The independent Hungarian University of Economics was required to use a nationally standardized diploma format, which, if compared to the previous versions, was of lower quality. In the mid-1950s, this format was replaced by a foldable, hardbound blue version. After Hungary’s democratic transition, the colour, the size and the supplement page underwent some changes. The diplomas currently in use first appeared in the early 2000s.

Although the way in which a diploma is acquired, along with its contents and form have changed profoundly during the centuries, its substance has remained the same. Higher education diplomas belong to our medieval European heritage and represent a legacy of enduring value.

Vilmos Zsidi, Director of the Archives