Prague Universities and Study Options
Prague is an extremely popular place to study for four reasons:
It’s got top universities and alumni!
It’s great value for money!
It’s Safe!
It’s got a thriving student social scene!
It’s definitely not unheard of for people to stay in Prague after their studies are completed and if that’s the case there are ready made Alumni that you can connect with. But first, exactly what Prague university are you interested in. I’m not going into all the different study programs on offer, admission policy or pricing etc, you’ll find all that on the individual website. I concentrate on what the individual universities specialise in, faculties, the area where they are located and the best places to look for accommodation to get to and from them. In some of the private universities look out for the “Double Degree” which means your study credits are effectively common across two degree programs and only require a few additional subject credits in each but are awarded by different partner universities. The sole purpose for a “double” is to have a qualification recognised separately in the US and UK/EU markets. Beware though in Europe, especially Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, that “double” degrees have academic value only if studied separately.
Student Discounts
First get your ISIC card. If you are going to be here for a longer period of time i.e. a month or more then check my Litacka Prague Travel Card page as that will save you money on your travel. The ISIC card will also give you general shop discount and up to 50% entry discount in some popular attractions.
Charles University
It’s probably at the top of everybody’s list especially if you are studying Law, Medicine or the Arts. The third oldest university in the world (after the Sorbonne and Bologna), it has faculties spread out all over the city so make sure you find the best place to stay.
Czech Technical University – CVUT
You can forget the Arts here. It’s one of the oldest technical universities in Europe and rightly has one of the best reputations in the world for training in many engineering disciplines.
Czech University of Life Sciences – CULS
For much of it’s life it was called either the College of Agriculture or the University of Agriculture. Either way, you get the idea that CULS specialises in agriculture, farming and forestry.
Výsoka Skola Ekonomika – VŠE
Don’t be worried about the name. Výsoka literally means “higher” and in this case it means University as foreigners know this as the University of Economics in Prague. Whereas many places teach Economics and Management together, here they are two separate faculties.
Metropolitan University Prague – MUP
One of the few private universities in the city it specialises in Humanities and Foreign Languages. Formed only in 2001 it has proven itself as a high quality education provider and programs like “schools without barriers” show that it is consistently pushing boundaries.
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague – AMU
AMU is three separate faculties for TV/film, dance and music. If you thought it was difficult to get into places like the Charles University or the Czech Technical University then consider that only 1 in 10 applicants here are successful and that’s just to enroll.
University of New York in Prague – UNYP
NOTE: This is the University of New York and NOT the NYU. This formed in 1998 and got Czech Ministry accreditation in 2001. Whereas the NYU above is more aimed at Humanities, the University of New York aims at Business, Marketing and Management.