The Czech Republic is becoming more popular among foreign applicants every year. In particular, among students from Slavic-speaking countries. They can learn the Czech language in a year and be admitted to state universities to the free education form.

Only in our school the number of students, studying at the Foundation courses for further admission to the universities of the Czech Republic, has increased twice over the past year.

Does it mean that the competition to the Czech universities has increased and the admission has become harder? Let's find out about the chances for foreign applicants to be admitted to the popular programs of the top universities of the Check Republic.

While the number of foreign students is increasing, the total number of students in the Czech Republic is decreasing. The number of places in the Czech universities still exceeds the number of applicants, and as a result many departments do not get the necessary number of students.

The Czech Republic still needs foreign students

The total number of students currently studying in the universities of the Czech Republic equals to 290 thousands (for comparison, the number of students 11 years ago was 78 thousands more). 45 thousands foreigners are getting higher education in the Czech Republic. Major part among foreign students belong to the Slovaks (22 thousands).

Generally speaking, chances of admission to a Czech university are high. However, it is important to understand that the likelihood of admission may vary depending on the programs and departments. Please, consider the following points:

• The number of places for the program of interest

• The applicants' interest in the program, and number of submitted applications

• Complexity of the entrance exams for foreign applicants

80 % chances for technical programs

You will have the greatest chances for a successful admission if you choose technical specializations. Based on the statistics provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, success rate of the admission to technical programs was 80% last year.

This may be explained by the fact that admission campaign to technical programs was big due to the shortage of technical professionals in the country. Yet, interest of the applicants in the technical programs is not sufficient: admission offices of the technical departments receive less and less applications every year.

Even in the best technical university of the Czech Republic, Czech Technical University in Prague, there is no admission competition as such. All applicants with a passing score on the Maths entrance test will be admitted.

While the interest of the Czech applicants to the technical professions decreases every year, the interest of foreign applicants, vice versa, is growing. The program "Admission to ČVUT (CTU)" is the most popular in our school.

Foreign applicants usually come to our courses having already received fair knowledge of Maths. In addition to the Czech language itself, they study terminology in Czech in order to understand the tasks of the test, reinforce their knowledge of Maths, and, if necessary, learn specific topics (some topics that are taught in Math classes under the Czech school. Apart from the Math entrance test, foreign applicants must pass the Czech language exam at B2 level.

Admission success of the foreign students to technical departments is high. However, it is important to understand, that students of the technical programs in particular have the highest chances to be expelled from the Czech universities.

It is not that difficult to enter Czech Technical University in Prague (good command of the Czech language and fair knowledge of Maths school program would be enough), however, studying there is difficult indeed. That is the reason why, for instance, our program "Admission to ČVUT (CTU)" includes additional course on advanced Maths and Physics in order to prepare our students not only for the entrance exam but for the first term as well.

Admission success to the Bachelor study programs at ČVUT (CTU) in Prague:

• Faculty of Civil Engineering: 1197 applicants / 958 admitted

• Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: 967 / 892

• Faculty of Electrical Engineering: 1852 / 919

• Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering: 533 / 437

• Faculty of Architecture: 675 / 516

• Faculty of Transportation Sciences: 604 / 554

• Faculty of Biomedical Engineering: 910 / 507

• Faculty of Information Technology: 1437 / 1043

**What else you need to know about the admission to the technical programs at the Czech universities**

A number of local technical universities admit students without entrance exams. Applications to technical departments can be submitted until the end of March. Entrance exams are held in June. The majority of technical departments experience shortage of students admitted to study during the first stage of the submission application, so they open the second stage of the submission application in June - August.

Chances to be admitted to Economics - 50 %

Economics programs in the Czech Republic are also considered to provide students relatively high chances to be admitted to. Admission success exceeds 50 %.

As is the case with technical programs, foreign applicants have, in general, equal chances with the Czech ones. Admission procedure to the leading university in the field of economics and business in the Czech Republic, Prague University of Economics and Business, is based on the Maths and English language exams. They are designed to check knowledge of Maths at the level of the school program and knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar at the B2 level. In addition, foreign applicants pass Czech language test in UEB.

It is necessary to get at least 50% of the total scores on Maths and English language tests. Admission to the faculties of the University of Economics and Business is big. There are even programs without any admission competition, thus totally all applicants that scored 50% for each of the entrance tests are admitted to study. Yet there are popular programs with a rating among applicants created during the admission procedure.

Most particularly, graduates from Faculty of Finance and Accounting are ones of the most demanded by employers. Admission statistics for the most popular programs of this faculty is the following:

• Finance (603 applicants / 165 admitted)

• Accounting and Corporate Financial Management (640 / 176)

• Banking and Insurance (369 / 94)

• Taxation and Tax Policy (129 / 25)

Admission to the Faculty of International Relations is more difficult, since, in addition to English, it is necessary to pass exam on a second foreign language. While it is necessary to have knowledge of English at B2 level, the required level for the second language is A2-B1. Statistics on the successful admission is the following:

• Tourism and regional development (249 applicants / 88 admitted)

• International Trade (875 / 412)

• International and Diplomatic Studies (391 / 144)

• Commercial and International Economic Law (147 / 52)

There are graduates who had been studying not only the Czech language but a second foreign language on our courses during the year and were successfully admitted to the Faculty of International Relations at UEB

Last year for the first time in a while the number of applicants to the Faculty of Business Administration who successfully passed the exam (i.e. those who scored 50% at both Maths and English tests) significantly exceeded the number of vacant places. Last year 707 out of 1421 applicants who passed the exams to the program "Corporate Economics and Management" were admitted to study. As for the program "Arts Management", 163 out of 347 participants of the entrance exam were admitted to study.

There is a typically small competition to the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, for instance, 503 applicants out of 791 ones were successfully admitted to the program "Applied Informatics". 50% on each test would be enough. An exception to this rule is the program "Multimedia in the Economic Practice", extremely popular among applicants, with constant competition: for instance, last year only 59 applicants out of 353 ones were admitted to study.

Admission is easier to the Faculty of Management of UEB, located at Jindrichuv Hradec. Foreign applicants do not even have to pass a Czech language test in order to be admitted. Last year 206 applicants out of 299 ones were admitted to the Faculty.

**How to be admitted to a Czech university to Faculty of Economics: advice**

It is possible to be admitted to the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, Faculty of Business Administration and Faculty of International Relations at UEB prior to the entrance exams, provided that an applicant has successfully passed mock exams (přijímačky nanečisto) with the result above 70% and submitted application on the basis of the above mentioned mock exams.

Liberal programs are one of the most popular

While the interest in technical programs in the Czech Republic is decreasing, the interest in the liberal ones, vice versa, is growing. Last year the number of the applications submitted to the liberal programs in the Czech Republic was twice as big as that submitted to technical programs.

At the same time, admission to the liberal programs is significantly smaller than that to technical and economic ones. Along with the arts fields of study and medicine, liberal programs are considered to be one of the most difficult to be admitted to in the Czech Republic. There are five faculties at Charles University that provide liberal education: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Faculty of Social Science, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Humanities, and Faculty of Education.

Czech applicants have privilege over foreign ones of admission to the liberal programs. Good command of the Czech language and ability to interpret complicated texts, knowledge of the Czech history and real facts of social life are often tested during the admission. The most difficult liberal programs for admission in the Czech Republic are law, psychology, marketing communications, and PR.

The Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Charles University is definitely at the top of the rating of liberal programs in the Czech Republic as it has the greatest number of liberal programs in the Czech Republic: you can study psychology, foreign languages, history of art, film, theatre or music theory, archeology or sociology. The Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Charles University is the only faculty in Europe where students can study languages of all the countries in the EU.

Last year 7000 applications to the Bachelor's programs were submitted to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Charles University and only 1600 of them were admitted to study. The most difficult program for admission is "Psychology".

Admission statistics for the most popular programs of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Charles University is the following:

• Andragogy and HR management (178 applicants / 33 admitted)

• English and American studies (397 / 100)

• History of Arts (205 / 31)

• Aesthetics (101 / 27)

• Sociology (138 / 52)

• Psychology (1062 / 66)

• Philosophy (149 / 42)

Admission to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy consists of either one stage (oral exam) or two stages (first, written exam and then oral one), depending on the program. Applicants are expected to study the literature related to their future program on their own. In addition, applicants' motivation to study and genuine interest in the chosen program is usually of a great significance during the admission.

In general, 31% of the applicants were admitted to the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at Charles University last year.

The Faculty of Arts and Philosophy always conducts its own entrance exams, whereas admission to the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Science at Charles University is based on the National Comparative Exam on General Prerequisites for Learning (OSP SCIO). In order to be admitted to such popular programs as "The Law" or "Marketing Communication" it is necessary to write this test superior to 90% of other applicants. Foreign applicants struggle with passing this test as it includes a lot of tasks focused on dealing with vocabulary and interpretation of extensive texts. The statistics is the following:

• Marketing communication and public relations (701 applicants / 84 admitted)

• Law (2579 / 650)

Applicants have reasonably good chances to be admitted to the programs in the field of sociology and political studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences:

• Political Science and Public Policy (186 / 352)

• Social Anthropology (61 / 95)

• Sociology of Contemporary Societies (114 / 207)

• Public and Social Policy Studies (132 / 202)

It is also worth mentioning that foreign students are usually not admitted to neither Journalism nor Interpretation programs. Applicants are expected to have a good command of the Czech language at the level of a native speaker in order to be admitted to these programs.

Applicants to the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University have relatively high chances (43 %) of admission. The Faculty of Humanities offers one Bachelor's broad study program "Liberal Arts and Humanities".

**How to be admitted to a Czech university to the liberal program: advice**

Whatever liberal program you choose, the Bachelor's program provided by the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University may be a reasonable plan B. The Bachelor's program offers a standard liberal education (you will take courses in the field of philosophy, history, culture, social anthropology, economics, psychology and sociology), and then you may choose a narrow specialization among Master's study programs.

The entrance exam to the Bachelor's program "Liberal Arts and Humanities" consists of the summary of a special text in Czech language (applicants may also choose between English, French or German languages) and answering questions to the text.

Last year 589 applicants out of 1367 ones were admitted to the Bachelor's program of the Faculty of Humanities.

Admission success to the Faculty of Education is approximately 50 %. Key feature of the admission to the education departments in the Czech Republic is that future teachers receive two specializations simultaneously (are prepared to be teachers of two subjects).

How to be admitted to a university of the Czech Republic on a medical department

Admission to a Czech university on a medical department is difficult for both foreign and Czech applicants. The competition is high: from 5 to 10 people per place. At the same time, Czech applicants may be admitted to the First Faculty of Medicine without any entrance exams, provided that they have good grades in their secondary school diploma. Foreign applicants must pass tests on Chemistry, Physics and Biology as entrance exams. Some faculties also include a logic test and an interview.

Admission success to the program "General Medicine" at the Faculty of Medicine of Charles University is the following:

• First Faculty of Medicine at Charles University (3037 applicants / 984 admitted)

• Second Faculty of Medicine at Charles University (2096 / 172)

• Third Faculty of Medicine at Charles University (2278 / 196)

• Faculty of Medicine in Plzeň at Charles University (1772 / 510)

• Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové at Charles University (1801 / 398)

Admission process for foreign applicants is complicated by the fact that faculties of medicine have the highest requirements for foreign applicants in terms of knowledge of the Czech language. If Czech departments usually require knowledge of the Czech language at B2 level, First faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové of Charles University require level B2+ / C1.

C1 is a level of language proficiency that may be achieved only after several years of active communication (70%) in Czech language and life in the Czech Republic. However, the C1 exam for the Faculties of Medicine is a special exam, in fact, a B2 level + knowledge of special terminology that can be achieved during a one-year course are tested.

Our school offers the program "Admission to medical departments" where students are prepared to the B2+ level in accordance with the requirements of the medical departments. Students study terminology in the field of natural sciences and medicine and work a lot with scientific texts in the Czech language.

Exclusive creative arts fields of study

Artistic education is exclusive in the Czech Republic, and only 3-4 people are admitted to the majority of arts fields of study.

The chances of admission depend on the program and may vary from 10 to 40%. Both foreign and Czech applicants have equal chances. The majority of student are admitted to study to Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design (UMPRUM), Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) and The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague at the third attempt.

We have our talented graduates who were admitted to study at the most prestigious art schools

For this reason a lot of students of our course "Admission to art schools" apply not to Prague art schools, but to regional ones, most particularly, to Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design and Art at University of West Bohemia and Faculty of Multimedia

Communications at Tomas Bata University in Zlín. These faculties offer high-standard education but admission is not that difficult as to the art schools in Prague.

Students have the highest admission chances among all arts fields of study when applying to Architecture (more than 60%), that can be studied not only in the artistic academies but on the architecture departments at art schools. 70% of the applicants are successfully admitted to the Faculty of Architecture at ČVUT (CTU).

What you need to know about the admission to the arts fields of study at the Czech universities

Admission to the art schools of the Czech Republic is conducted during shifted - earlier terms due to the high competition among applicants. The applications to the arts fields of study are submitted till the end of November; the exams are conducted in January. This allows applicants who have not been admitted to the arts fields of study to apply for other study programs the same year.

We can advise considering private artistic schools as a plan B to the applicants interested in the arts fields of study. For instance, you can be admitted to Scholastika, a school created by the graduates of the top art schools in the Czech Republic UMPRUM and AVU, in order to study graphic or product design.