Széchenyi István University was established on the 1^st January 2002 with two faculties, the Faculty of Legal and Economic Sciences and the Faculty of Engineering Sciences. Deák Ferenc Faculty of Law and Political Sciences and Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics have been operating separately since the 1^st January 2007.

Pursuant to the resolution no. 2003/7/II./1/1. of the HAC, the Multidisciplinary Doctoral School of Social Sciences launched its doctoral programme in 2004 at Széchenyi István University with the title “Economy, law, regionalism and society in an integrated Central Europe”. Although the faculties of law and economics have been working separately since the beginning of 2007, the two faculties jointly operated the doctoral programme until 2008. The Doctoral School at the Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics has been operating under the name Doctoral School of Regional Sciences and Business Administration since the 1^st September 2008.

The doctoral school and the related research programme aims at exploring future directions for cooperation, as well as all the push and pull factors of this cooperation within the East-Central European region. Our further mission is to search for the right conditions for interweaving the economic, social and institutional relations, since if the various players of the economy feel more and more the need for interdependence, then future cooperation can be more and more active and its successes more lasting, thus contributing to European integration itself.

Therefore, it is necessary to explore current and future possibilities of cooperation in the region. However, this can only become stable within the appropriate economic framework, so it is essential to study this economic environment, as well as to examine the behaviour of all the players involved in its formation (European Union, states, regional and local communities, civil society) and to compare them within the greater region.  Beyond regional factors, our analyses have an increasing emphasis on the research of market relations, corporate cooperation, and the human factors in the management of this cooperation, as well as strategy development and implementation on different levels.

The School's profile focuses on, and it is licensed to award, doctoral degrees in the fields of regional sciences and economic and organizational sciences. Within the latter, we include the increasingly significant specialization in marketing and management sciences.

During the formal training programme (6 semesters), foundation and professional courses contribute to the theoretical and methodological background of the students' academic work. A wide range of optional courses provide knowledge development and extra professional skills. Scientific conferences, workshop discussions and publication opportunities (yearbook, journal) also constitute an integral part of the doctoral programme. We also regularly invite foreign lecturers, each of whom presents a novel research direction or scientific problem.  We support our students' field trips and publication opportunities abroad. It is continuously ensured that they participate in different research programmes.

The Doctoral School is well-organized, students are continuously provided with professional information and they can continuously consult with their supervisors, acknowledged researchers and lecturers of the topics.

Our efficiency is marked by the fact that since the foundation of the Doctoral School (2004), one student in five has obtained their degree (23%). 13-15 students are admitted to the doctoral programme annually, from whom 3-4 can participate in a state-financed training, while the others are correspondent (part-time) students.