The American International School of Budapest is an independent, coeducational, nonprofit day school, which offers an educational program from multiage 3 through grade 12 for students (three to 18-year-olds) of all nationalities. The school was founded in 1973.
Organization: The board of trustees has 11 voting members, three are elected and eight are appointed.
Curriculum: The curriculum is similar to that in U.S. private schools. In addition, the International Baccalaureate Program is offered to students in grades 11 and 12. Instruction is in English. German, French, and Spanish are taught as world languages in grades 4-12. Music, art, technology, and physical education are offered at all grade levels. Hungarian culture is studied through classwork, projects, field trips, and/or speakers at all grade levels. A rich variety of extracurricular activities are available. English-as-an-Additional-Language is provided to students for whom English is not their native language. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Council of International Schools. The curriculum at AISB emphasizes critical thinking skills and creativity through an inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning. Our curriculum is developed using an Understanding by Design framework and organized around Essential Questions and Enduring Understandings. From the Early Childhood program to the IB Diploma program, our teachers employ engaging, research-based instructional methodologies.
Faculty: In the 2022-2023 school year, AISB has 251 total staff including 120 teachers, 42 of whom are U.S. citizens, 17 host-country nationals, and 12 third-country nationals. Our faculty represent a number of nationalities, including Canadian, UK, Hungarian, Australian, New Zealand, French, Brazilian, Peruvian, German, Spanish and Chinese. All teaching faculty have degrees and maintain a teaching credential, 78% of faculty have advanced degrees including five doctorates.
Enrollment: At the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year, enrollment was 941 (elementary – 387, middle – 228, high – 326, representing over 55 nationalities). Of the total, 271 were U.S. citizens, 248 were host-country nationals, and 153 were third-country nationals.
Facilities: AISB operates three divisions on one 33-acre rural campus in Nagykovácsi (on the outskirts of Budapest). Whilst settled in amongst an expansive national park, the campus is close to the leafy residential suburbs of Budapest and within easy reach of central Budapest’s business, commerce and tourist districts. The school has two main buildings linked by a bridge, which provide a high-quality educational environment for students aged three to 18. The first building houses students from grades 6 to 12 and is complete with 51 classrooms, a library, a cafeteria, four computer rooms, a double-sized gymnasium, an auxiliary gymnasium, a 25-meter indoor swimming pool, performing and visual arts facilities, and a 350-seat theater. Within the grounds are tennis courts, outside basketball courts, soccer fields, running track and beautiful playing fields. The second building houses students MA3 to grade 5. The building is very “age-appropriate.” The classroom cluster concept and the early years center help create the small, cozy, and inviting environment that is important for young children. Students move to specialized rooms elsewhere in the building for music, art, drama, technology, and PE. Throughout the school, there is flexible use of IT to support the technology integration programs. The design features of the buildings include efficient energy use, solar panels, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and increased use of natural light. The purpose-built campus has often been referred to as “the most beautiful school campus in the world.”
Finances: Annual tuition rates are as follows: Multiage (age 3-4) $12,900; K-grade 5: $21,500; grades 6-8: $23,350; grades 9-10: $24,650; and grades 11-12: $25,350. Additional fees are a non-refundable application fee of $650 (not applicable for US Embassy affiliated families) and non-refundable registration fee of $1,000 payable on first enrollment in the school and a building fund fee of $2,500 per year. (All fees are payable in U.S. dollars.)
Special Needs: Download the Special Needs Profile (2023 Special Needs Profile- Hungary, Budapest) for this school to learn more about their capability to support students with exceptionalities.
This Fact Sheet is intended to provide general information. Prospective users of the schools may wish to inquire further of A/OPR/OS or contact the school directly for more specific and up-to-the-minute information. Information and statistics are current as of September 2022 and provided by the school.