Charles University

Charles University was founded in the year 1398 and is one of the oldest and largest universities in the world. It has a reputation of being the most renowned university in the Czech Republic and is known to be the best university in Central Europe. Their teaching methods, as well as infrastructure, are modern and dynamic. It is one of the most prestigious institutions for higher studies and offers a wide range of study courses and programs in multiple fields in both Czech and English (including pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, humanities, computer science, social sciences, physiotherapy, and many more). The universities educate almost 50,000 students including 9,000 international students coming to university from different areas to obtain their degrees. In this review article, we discussed the admission process, entrance exams, visa application process as well as scholarships of Charles University in more detail.

1.) Charles University Rankings

  • Ranked 401-500 in THE 2021 World University Rankings.
  • Ranked 260 in QS 2021 Global World Rankings.

2.) Charles University admission process

Following qualifications are required for students to apply for admission to Charles University

  • For Bachelors degree program – completed secondary education.
  • For Masters degree program – Undergraduate degree equivalent to bachelor’s program.
  • For Doctoral programs – completed Master’s degree in the relevant field of study.

2.1  How to apply?

  • Before selecting a study program, check the requirements for admission in the database.
  • Study in Czech (free of charge)
  • Study in French, English, German or Russian (with tuition fees)
  • Medicine in English (with tuition fees)
  • You may get ready for identification of your previous education while applying which is a part of the admission procedure. Three different arrangements mentioned below were accepted by Charles University –
  • General recognition of foreign secondary school diplomas – foreign schools graduates who have received a certificate may apply for identification to the regional authority.
  • Recognition of foreign education for applicants to study programs at Charles University – for the purpose of admission procedure to study programs for applicants at Charles University only.
  • General recognition of foreign higher education (University Diplomas and Certificates) – for all graduates of foreign higher education institutions that need the recognition for study at another university, for the purpose of employment or other reasons.
  • Fill and submit the application form together with all the documents.
  • Pay the application fee and get ready for the admission process and the entrance exam if required.

The last date for submission of all the documents for candidates is September 30 or October 23 who get their secondary school leaving certificate at the beginning of the autumn term.

2.2  Application deadline of Charles University

  • Degree programs taught in Czech.
  • for bachelor’s and master’s degree programs (February 28 or March 31).
  • for doctoral programs (April 30)
  • the deadline of application for degree programs taught in English can vary from February to June for each faculty.

3.) Entrance Exams

Entrance exams are normally held within the period of May to June or July and are conducted primarily in the Czech language with the exception of exams for English-taught study programs. Foreign nationals who are applying for a study program taught in Czech but did not attend high school in the Czech Republic may be required to take an additional test to demonstrate their Czech language ability.

4.) Visa application process for international students

Information for international students regarding the visa process is available at

  • Website of Czech Ministry of the Interior.
  • New Immigration portal of the ministry of the instructor.

You can apply for two different types of immigration documents under recent Czech immigration law before you came to Prague. In general, the long-term visa is mainly intended for students who expect to stay in the Czech Republic for several months (study program lasting several months, etc) whereas a long-term residence permit is mainly intended for students who expect a longer stay in the Czech Republic (study in a university program, employment, etc). After receiving the acceptance documents, students can begin the visa application process.

5.) Charles University Scholarships

  • D. scholarships range from CZK 10,500 to CZK 25,000 per month and are awarded to all those students who enrolled in full-time doctoral study programs during the standard length of study (usually 3 – 4 years).
  • Faculty of Physics and Mathematics – offers scholarships to qualified applicants –
  • Computer Science tuition fee scholarships – in case of Bachelor’s students include direct coverage of tuition fees for academic years 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/2024 and 2021/22 and 2022/23 whereas in case of Master’s students, which amounts to 84 000 CZK (around 3 240 EUR) per academic year for students from EU, and 140 000 CZK (around 5 400 EUR) per academic year for students outside the EU, etc and many more.

To summarize the above work, we can conclude that Charles University has been established a long ago and is one of the most prestigious institutions for higher studies. The quality of education meets the highest European standards at Charles University and offers a broad range of study options and services to students.

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