Charles University was founded in 1348 and is one of the world's oldest universities. The largest and most famous Czech university, it also ranks highest among Czech schools in international rankings. It is the only Czech university ranking among the world's top 250 universities.

The modern, dynamic and cosmopolitan university has 17 faculties (14 in Prague, two in Hradec Králové and one in Pilsen), four university institutes, five other centres for educational, scientific, research, development and other creative activities, four university-wide special-purpose facilities and the Rector's Office as the executive management unit of the Charles University. It currently has more than 950 accredited study programmes. A number of study programmes are accredited in English.

Charles University has a number of top research teams that collaborate with foreign institutions. Students at individual faculties also have the opportunity to participate in scientific and research activities of the university. CU staff participate in international projects, such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) programme or prestigious ERC grants. The e-book Ninety-nine steps into the Future of CU shows university projects that were funded by the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education (OP Research, Development and Education) in 2014-2023.

The area of international cooperation has a significant role in raising the international profile of the university and its openness. The university strives to achieve high standards in joint international scientific projects, is active in a number of prestigious international organisations and university networks and actively supports international mobility of students and academic staff.

Charles University cooperates with a number of renowned universities around the world and its priority is to enable all students to go on study stays or practical internships abroad. The most important exchange programme, Erasmus +, is used by around two thousand students a year.

The university places great emphasis on the development of inter-university cooperation, to which institutions are bound by bilateral agreements. Currently, this network includes nearly 200 partner universities from all continents. CU's partners are prestigious universities from all over the world. Cooperation with partner universities takes place in a wide range of areas, from joint research projects to the organisation of conferences, seminars and summer schools.

The university is a member of university organisations, in particular the 4EU+ European University Alliance and the Coimbra Group. It chairs the Association of Central European Universities (CE7) and is part of the collaboration between the League of European Research Universities (LERU) and CE7. CU is also part of the Eastern Partnership University Cluster (EaPUC), which brings together leading EU universities and the best universities from the Eastern Partnership countries.