Study in Czechia

Czech higher education includes public universities, state universities (military and police) and private institutions, all governed by the Higher Education Act and national accreditation. It follows the Bologna structure with ECTS credits: • Bachelor’s (Bc.): 3–4 years (180–240 ECTS). • Follow-up master’s (navazující magisterský): 1–3 years, usually 2 (120 ECTS); medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law and veterinary medicine are long master’s programmes of 5–6 years. • PhD: usually 4 years, with a guaranteed monthly income for full-time candidates since the 2025–26 academic year. The academic year officially starts on 1 September, with classes usually beginning in late September or early October; it is split into a winter semester (to January–February) and a summer semester (February–June). Czech-taught programmes require good Czech, and universities run fee-paying one-year Czech preparatory courses.

1) There is no national portal: apply directly on the university’s or faculty’s online system, with an application fee usually between CZK 600 and 3,000 (for example CZK 700 at VŠB, CZK 750 at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Economics, EUR 50 at Palacký University’s Faculty of Science and CZK 3,000 at the University of Chemistry and Technology). 2) Recognition: for a bachelor’s you need your secondary-school diploma recognised (nostrification) by a regional authority, or assessed by the admitting university during admission (valid for that university only). For a master’s or PhD, a foreign degree is recognised by a public university. The legal deadline is 30 days, extendable to 60. Degrees from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia are valid without recognition. 3) Deadlines vary by faculty and mostly fall between November and April for a September 2027 start, for example: • University of Chemistry and Technology Prague: 1 December – 31 January (2026 cycle). • Palacký University Faculty of Science: 1 November 2026 – 15 March 2027 (PhD until 30 April 2027). • Masaryk University Faculty of Economics: 15 December – 30 April. • English-taught medicine in Olomouc: until 31 July 2027. Universities advise applicants who need a visa to apply early, as visa processing can take up to 60 days.

Tuition: studying in Czech at public and state universities is free by law for all nationalities, apart from an admission fee and extra fees if you exceed the standard length of study. English-taught programmes mostly cost EUR 0–6,000 a year, and up to EUR 8,000–25,000 in medicine, the arts and some specialised fields. Examples: • Masaryk University (2026–27): EUR 3,000–14,000 a year; medicine CZK 150,000–400,000. • Palacký University: about EUR 1,700–8,000; general medicine EUR 12,500 and dentistry EUR 14,000. • University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (2026–27): CZK 84,500 (about EUR 3,500) for chemistry; the PhD is free. • VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava: CZK 50,000 per semester. English-taught PhDs are free or nominally priced at many faculties. Living costs: the official Study in Czechia site estimates basic costs at EUR 500–800 a month in student housing, including EUR 160–450 for a dormitory and EUR 150–230 for food, with more in Prague and Brno and in private flats. The minimum wage is CZK 22,400 a month in 2026.

EU/EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa. Everyone else needs a long-term visa or long-term residence permit for study from the Czech Ministry of the Interior to study for more than 90 days: 1) After admission, apply by appointment at the Czech embassy or consulate and pay the CZK 2,500 consular fee. Processing usually takes up to 60 days. Some universities nominate students from selected countries for the Student Facilitation Programme (Režim Student), which speeds up appointments. 2) Documents: application form, passport, photo, original confirmation of studies, proof of accommodation, proof of funds and a criminal record extract from your country, with certified Czech translations where required. 3) Money: the Ministry calculates it from the subsistence minimum (CZK 3,130): CZK 115,810 for a full 12-month academic year or CZK 78,250 for one semester, in an account in your name or on an internationally recognised payment card, or a commitment from your university or scholarship provider to cover your costs. 4) Health insurance: travel medical insurance for the first 90 days and comprehensive health insurance for the rest of the stay, or comprehensive insurance for the whole stay, shown when you collect the visa. 5) After arrival, register with the Foreign Police within 3 working days. The visa is valid for at most one year; after that you apply for a long-term residence permit, renewable for up to two years at a time while you study (CZK 1,000 fee). In September 2026 the Chamber of Deputies passed a new Foreigners Act expected to take effect in 2029 after Senate approval; the current rules apply until then.

If you study full time in an accredited university programme, you need no separate work permit for any job: your employer only has to report your employment. You can work on a regular employment contract with no hour limit set in law, as long as your studies remain the main purpose of your stay. Short agreements are also common: a DPP of up to 300 hours a year per employer, and a DPČ averaging up to 20 hours a week. The minimum wage is CZK 134.40 an hour (CZK 22,400 a month) in 2026, and jobs are easier to find if you speak Czech. After graduation: you can apply for a long-term residence permit to seek employment or start a business for up to 9 months, provided you apply before your current permit expires. Once you find work, you switch to an Employee Card or, for highly qualified jobs, an EU Blue Card, or to a study permit if you continue to a PhD.