ELTE Centre for Social Sciences

The ELTE Centre for Social Sciences is a research institution where 200 Hungarian and international researchers engage in exploratory and innovative national and international research projects in the Social Sciences. Founded by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Centre’s charter established its freedom to research without political influence. As of 1 August, 2025, the Centre is part of Eötvös Loránd University but remained an independent legal body. Comprising four institutes – Political Science, Minority Studies, Legal Studies, Sociology and other research units – the Centre has greatly contributed to understanding and addressing far-reaching societal issues that pertain to Hungarian and European societies.

The institutes, research groups, research centres and other units of CSS.

The Centre’s research activities focus on sociology, political science, computational social science, network science, minority studies, and law. Researchers take an interdisciplinary approach in their scientific work. The Centre’s main goals are to extend the quality of Hungarian research to Europe and beyond, to take a prominent regional lead in social science research, and to serve as a point of scientific reference in Hungary.