The criteria and procedure for applying for membership are specified in the Statutes of HYA .

Young researchers wishing to apply for HYA membership must be members of the public body of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, with less than 12 years having passed since their obtaining their first PhD degree. Applicants must be below the age of 40 in the year of application. Upon individual consideration, the age limit can be extended to 45 years of age in the event of a verifiable leave of absence for child-rearing purposes (24 months per child), as well as for the length of other verifiable absences from work. Members are elected for a period of 5 years, after which they become alumni.

In 2019, HYA was launched with an initial membership of 24 young researchers. Each year 12 new members were admitted – representing the fields of Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as Natural Sciences – until the number of members reached 60. After that, as many new members are elected each year as needed to maintain a membership of 60.

The procedure of electing new members consists of three stages. As a first step, young researchers wishing to join HYA must submit their motivation letter and professional biography through MTA’s electronic application system. In the second stage, members of MTA’s public body below the age of 45 vote about the applicants from their own scientific section through the e-election system of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Finally, the approximately 60-70 finalists having received the most votes are ranked by the Election Committee set up for this purpose from the members of the HYA, and the 12 new members are elected among them. The Election Committee strives to maintain a balance between scientific disciplines, genders, and geographical regions represented by the membership. Elected persons become members by signing the declaration of acceptance of the HYA Statutes.