Charles University (Univerzita Karlova) in Prague was founded in 1348, making it the oldest university in Central Europe. It has 17 faculties: 14 in Prague, two in Hradec Králové and one in Plzeň. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published in June 2026, it was 273rd in the world and the highest-ranked university in Czechia. It’s known for medicine, the natural sciences, mathematics and physics, the humanities and the social sciences.
Most of its programmes are taught in Czech, but it also offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programmes in English. Here are 10 things you can do to give yourself the best chance, based on Charles University’s own guidance and official Czech information.
1. Choose your faculty and programme
Charles University has no single central admissions office for degree programmes: each faculty runs its own admission procedure, with its own deadlines, fees and requirements. English-taught options include General Medicine and Dentistry at its medical faculties, computer science, mathematics and physics at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, and economics, political science and international relations at the Faculty of Social Sciences. Programmes taught in Czech are free, but you’ll need a good command of Czech. Read your faculty’s admission rules carefully, because requirements can differ even within the same faculty.
2. Get your previous education recognised
If your previous education is from outside Czechia, you must show that it’s equivalent to the Czech level needed for your programme: your secondary school leaving certificate for a bachelor’s degree, or your bachelor’s degree for a master’s. You can do this through general recognition, known as nostrification, from the relevant Czech authority, or, at many universities, through a recognition procedure that is part of your admission. Recognition within your admission is usually valid only at that university. Your documents usually need an apostille or superlegalisation, depending on the country that issued them, so start early. Diplomas from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia are usually recognised automatically. At the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, for example, master’s applicants can submit a nostrification certificate, a diploma that is recognised automatically, or ask the faculty to assess their degree itself, free of charge. Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics: master’s admission requirements 2027-28.
3. Check your faculty’s deadline, and apply early
Each faculty sets its own dates. The Faculty of Social Sciences opens applications for its 2027-28 bachelor’s and master’s programmes in November 2026. At the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, the deadline for English-taught master’s programmes is 30 April 2027. At the First Faculty of Medicine, admissions for General Medicine and Dentistry open on 1 November 2026 and close on 30 April 2027. You apply online through the university’s electronic application system. If you’re from outside the EU, apply as early as you can: the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics warns that the visa process can take up to 90 working days.
4. Pay the application fee on time
The fee is set by each faculty. For 2026-27 entry, the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics charged CZK 1,500 (around €60) for each application, paid by card, and the First Faculty of Medicine charges €285 to sit its entrance exam. At the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, if the fee hasn’t been paid in full by the third day after the application deadline, your application is treated as withdrawn.
5. Prepare for the entrance exam or assessment
Medicine and Dentistry have a compulsory entrance examination. For the English-taught computer science master’s programmes at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, you must solve a take-home assignment by 31 May 2027 and score at least 70 per cent, as well as sending your transcripts with the syllabi of the courses you’ve completed. Applicants to the mathematics and physics master’s programmes are assessed on their academic records. You can also send a statement of purpose and letters of recommendation, which your referees should email by 30 April 2027.
6. Prove your English
The Faculty of Mathematics and Physics asks master’s applicants for an IELTS score of at least 7, or an equivalent result in another test it recognises, such as TELC English C1. Results mustn’t be more than two years old, and applicants who have studied for at least two years in English in certain English-speaking countries are exempt. Other faculties set their own minimums.
Czechia has no single national English rule, so each university and faculty sets its own requirements, usually at level B2 or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Test results usually mustn’t be more than two or three years old, and some faculties exempt you if your previous studies were taught in English. Practise with our free IELTS and TOEFL practice tests.
7. Send your documents and get your decision
Many faculties ask you to send officially certified copies of your documents by post, as well as uploading them. At the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, master’s applicants should deliver them preferably by 30 June 2027, and by 30 September 2027 at the latest; without them, you can’t be admitted or enrolled. Once you’re admitted, the faculty sends you the confirmation you’ll need for your visa application.
8. Understand the fees and look for scholarships
Programmes taught in English charge tuition fees, which vary by faculty. At the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, fees from 2026-27 are €4,200 a year for EU students and €7,100 a year for students from outside the EU. At the First Faculty of Medicine, General Medicine and Dentistry cost €24,250 a year for students starting in 2026-27. The Faculty of Mathematics and Physics estimates living costs in Prague at €600 to €750 a month. If you study in Czech at a public university, you pay no tuition fees, whatever your nationality, and many universities offer a one-year preparatory Czech course. The Czech Government also offers scholarships to students from selected countries, mostly for study in Czech with a preparatory language year, and for selected English-taught programmes in priority fields. Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics: costs and dates.
9. Apply for your long-term visa or residence permit
EU/EEA and Swiss citizens don’t need a visa; if they stay longer than 30 days, they register their address with the Foreign Police, although student dormitories often do this for you. If you’re from outside the EU/EEA, you apply in person at a Czech embassy or consulate, usually in your own country, for a long-term visa for studies (valid for up to a year) or a long-term residence permit for studies (usually issued for up to two years). You’ll need Charles University’s confirmation of your studies, proof of accommodation and proof of funds. Under Czech law, the funds you must show are 15 times the official “existential minimum” for the first month plus twice that amount for each further month, and the figure changes, so check it with your embassy. You’ll also need comprehensive travel medical insurance for your whole stay before the visa is issued. Foreign documents must have an officially certified Czech translation. Processing usually takes up to 60 days, and embassy appointments can be hard to get, so apply as soon as you’re admitted. Some Czech universities can nominate students from selected countries for the Student Mode (Režim Student) programme, which gives faster embassy appointments; you can’t apply for it yourself. After you arrive, register with the Foreign Police within 3 working days unless your accommodation provider does it for you. EU Immigration Portal: studying in Czechia.
10. Plan for work during and after your studies
If you’re a non-EU student on a full-time accredited degree programme with a long-term visa or residence permit for studies, you can work in Czechia without a separate work permit, although your employer must report your job to the authorities. There’s no fixed weekly limit, but your studies must come first, and many part-time jobs need Czech, apart from those in international companies, mostly in Prague and Brno. In May 2026, the national minimum wage was CZK 134.40 an hour. After graduating, if you hold a residence permit for studies, you can apply once for a 9-month residence permit to look for a job or start a business. You apply in person at a Ministry of the Interior office, no earlier than 120 days before your current permit expires and no later than its last day, and the permit can’t be renewed. Graduates of Czech universities also have free access to the labour market, so an employer doesn’t need a work permit to hire you, although you’ll still need a valid residence permit, such as an Employee Card or EU Blue Card, to stay longer. Charles University’s careers centre can help you find internships and jobs.
Applying for a PhD at Charles University?
Doctoral programmes are run by the faculties, and many are taught in English. You’ll usually need a master’s degree, a research proposal and a supervisor who agrees to work with you, and some faculties hold an entrance examination. Deadlines are often earlier than for other programmes: at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, for example, the deadline for PhD programmes starting in spring 2026 was 30 November 2025. See our 50 sample SOPs and free GRE practice tests.
Be ambitious, but apply to a balanced list
Apply to more than one university to give yourself options. Read our guides to the Czech Technical University in Prague, Masaryk University, the Brno University of Technology and the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague. Our guide to studying in Czechia explains how the Czech system works, and our free study abroad assessment can help you build a shortlist.
Information was taken from Charles University’s official faculty admissions and fee pages, Czech government and EU sources and the QS World University Rankings 2027, and checked in October 2026. Admissions rules, deadlines, fees and immigration rules can change, so always confirm the details on Charles University’s website and your faculty’s admissions pages before you apply. StudyAbroadMarket is not affiliated with Charles University.