UNDERGRADUATE STUDY
	ACADEMIC POLICIES AND REGULATIONS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDY Courses on-line APPLICATION FORM for studies at Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague            - (document for Microsoft Word, version 6.0;  45 kB)
POSTGRADUATE DOCTORAL STUDY   (česká verze)
Příručka pro uživatele ECTS - Evropského kreditního transfer systému
ERASMUS at the Faculty of Science   (česká verze)

HISTORY

     The Faculty of Science is part of Charles University, one of the olde st in Europe, founded in 1348 by Charles IV, the King of Bohemia and Roman Emperor. From its very beginning the university was composed of 4 Colleges: Philosophy (Arts), Law, Medicine and Theology. Natural Sciences were taught, either, together with mathematics at the College of Philosophy or at the College of Medicine. The Faculty of Science came into being in 1920 after the foundation of the independent Czechoslovak Republic.
     Charles University had many outstanding scientists and some of them achieved world acknowledgment - among them professor Jaroslav Heyrovský  (1890 - 1967) the first Czech awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1959.
     The faculty is housed in five buildings which, together with the buildings of 1. Medical Faculty and the Technical University, form the university campus Albertov, a loose complex nestling in the picturesque valley close to the center of Prague.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

     The faculty is divided into four sections dealing with five branches of Science, namely,  biology, chemistry, environmental science, geography and geology. The Dean, head of the faculty, is supported by an educational an organizational advising committee composed of the Vice-Deans, the Secretary of the faculty - in charge of economics and administrative affairs - and representatives of the staff and the students.
     The Faculty Scientific Executive Board decides on concepts of scientific work, tuition and on promotion of associate professors and professors. Its members are appointed from various scientific institutions.
     The Faculty Senate has a parliamentary structure within the Faculty. It endorses the Dean´s decisions concerning research, education, economy and inner organization. Staff members and student representatives can be elected to the Senate.
     The Academic staff  is represented by 298 professors, associated professors and assistant professors; research and teaching activities of the Faculty are also supported by 236 technicians.
     The total numbers of students enrolled for the 1998/1999 academic year:

UNDERGRADUATE STUDY ORGANIZATION

     The Faculty of Science prepares graduates in the fields of Biology, Chemistry, Demography, Environmental Science, Geography and Geology.
     Undergraduate students attend the Faculty of Science for five (5) years (ten semesters). Winter and summer semesters last for at least 13 weeks, with examination periods between them; the students are obliged to pass up to five examinations after each semester. The main holidays are in August. The students are enrolled in September.

The study is divided into two successive, integrated steps:

1) The Bachelor of Science degree (abbr.„BSc.“) is awarded after a three-year period of study, on the basis of a bachelor examination (first state examination).
There is also specialized bachelor study: the bachelor certification to professional standard is available in clinical and toxicological analysis or in demography in combination with economics, sociology or social geography.

2) The second step - magister (master) level (abbr. „Mgr.“) lasts two years. Students, who have passed the bachelor examination can only be aemitted.
To obtain a master degree, the students must publicly defend their theses and successfully pass their final state examinations. The graduates obtain their Magister (master) Diploma.
 

     The magister (master) level is highly diversified. The faculty at present offers 22 specialization’s in biology, 7 in chemistry, 5 in geography and demography, 11 in geology and 1 in environmental science:

Biological sciences:
biology specialized in:
     animal and human physiology
     anthropology
     developmental biology
     ecology and ethology
     entomology
     geobotanics
     genetics
     hydrobiology
     immunology
     invertebrates zoology
     microbiology
     molecular biology
     neurobiology
     parazitology
     plant molecular biology
     plant physiology and anatomy
     physiology and biochemistry of the cell
     systematics and ecology of non-vascular plants
     systematics and ecology of vascular plants
     theoretical biology
     vertebrates zoology
     virology

Chemical sciences:
chemistry specialized in:
     analytical chemistry
     biochemistry
     inorganic chemistry
     nuclear chemistry
     organic chemistry
     physical and macromolecular chemistry
     physical chemistry in biology

Environmental science:
specialized in:
     environmental protection

Geographical sciences:
geography and cartography specialized in:
     cartography and geoinformatics
     demography (upgrades the three above-mentioned bachelor
     demography combinations)
     physical geography and geoecology
     regional geography
     social geography and regional development

Geological sciences:
engineering geology hydrogeology, applied geophysics and geology specialized in:
     basic geology
     environmental geology
     geochemistry
     mineral resources
     mineralogy and crystallography
     paleontology
     petrology
     structural geology

     Foreign students (bachelors) can also apply for the magister study in a given specialization (2 years, i.e. 4 semesters) . Moreover, short term courses in specialized subjects at the magister level can be offered.

ADMISSION TO THE FACULTY OF SCIENCE

     Anyone interested in attending the Faculty of Science as an undergraduate student should mail the appropriate Application form to the Student Department before 15 June, to the address : Na Slupi 2, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic.
     In addition to the Application form, the application should provide the following documents in English:

1. A certified list of subjects taken in the high school.
2. A certified copy of the high school diploma.
3. A health examination certificate, not older than one month.

LANGUAGE OF STUDY

     Lectures, laboratory courses and seminars included in the bachelor and magister curricula are available in the English.

ENROLLMENT OF FOREIGN APPLICANTS

     The applicants who successfully passed their entrance examination are enrolled for the study.
Before arrival in Prague the student is obliged
- to send a copy of the cheque covering the tuition fee
- to complete an application form for accommodation at the college
- to provide information pertaining to the expected time of arrival (by mail or fax or e-mail). The fees and the number of the bank account to which they should be paid, as well as the accommodation application form, will be sent to the applicants after their entrance examination.
     Permission to enter the Czech Republic is only granted after all these preconditions have been met and the applicants have obtained the relevant letter or fax from the Student Department. The Faculty accepts no responsibility for the applicant travel expenses, their accommodation or any inconvenience caused by their unexpected arrival.

TUITION FEES

a)  The Faculty of Science tuition fees per annum for the regular undergraduate study in the English are as follows:
 

	USD
Bachelor study	4 900
Master study	6 900

b)  The tuition fees for shorter programs in the magister curriculum are decided on an individual basis, according to the following guidelines:
     A sum of 200 US$ for one lecture course per semester if four or fewer courses are taken in the English.
     One week of laboratory or field training equals two lecture courses.
     When the number of courses  per semester exceeds four, the tuition fees under paragraph a) are applicable.

     The tuition fees are to be paid by money order in any convertible currency or by cheque to the account No. 38533021/0100 Komerční banka Praha - Město, Václavské náměstí 42, Prague 1 prior to the beginning of the academic year, and a record of the payment must be presented to the Students Department prior to the enrollment. Only in special cases may the tuition fees be paid on a semester-by-semester basis.

c)  In accordance with paragraph six under the Law of the Universities  n. 172 from May 1990, the tuition fees are free of tax.

d)  In the case of absence and / or failing to fulfill course requirements, the Faculty of Science will not reimburse the fees already paid. In the case of illness or absence for other health reasons, the Faculty will reimburse the appropriate proportion of the fee.

e)  Once the foreign students comply with the tuition fee requirements, they hold the same rights as the Czech students. No scholarship can be deduced from the tuition fees and the latter do not cover room and board and travel expenses.

f)  The financial policies described above are applicable for 1998-99 academic year and may be subject to alteration in the future.

OTHER EXPENSES

a)  The cost of accommodation in the University halls of residence varies according to comfort and does not at present exceed 150 US$ per month. All accommodation fees are covered by foreign students themselves.

b)  Other living expenses are derived from the Czech Republic subsistence minimum, which in 1997 is approx. 80 US$ monthly (2600 Czech crowns).

CZECH REPUBLIC RESIDENTS
 

ADDRESS OF THE FACULTY: Albertov 6, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic		ADDRESS OF THE STUDENTS DEPARTMENT: Na Slupi 16, 128 16 Praha 2, Czech Republic
Phone:  Fax:  E-mail:  Internet page:	420 2 21 95 11 11  420 2 29 60 84  dekan@natur.cuni.cz http://www.natur.cuni.cz	Phone:  e-mail:	420 2 2195 3144  study@natur.cuni.cz

     Throughout their studies, all foreign students must observe all the laws regarding foreigner's residence in the Czech Republic. Permission for long-term residence is to be.