About the studies

Preparation for admissions

Overview of medical faculties

Why we have five medical faculties?

Charles University has five faculties of medicine, three of which are in Prague, one is located in Pilsen and one in Hradec Králové. Names of the Prague faculties include numbers signifying the order in which they were established. All of them are independent institutions of equal standing, each having its own medical facilities. They all offer degree programmes in English and the awarded degrees are comparable. Nevertheless, there are differences mainly as to their approach to teaching methods. The curriculum of English-taught courses is fully compatible with the current international standards and is accredited by the European Union.

All medical faculties offer entrance examination in both Czechia and abroad.

See the list of representatives below.

About the studies

Our 6-year programme General Medicine leads you to the Master’s degree MUDr. (Medicinae Universae Doctor = Doctor of General Medicine). Our Dentistry study programme lasts for 5 years and culminates in the Master’s degree MDDr. (Medicinae Dentium Doctor = Doctor of Dental Medicine). Both programmes are not divided into Bachelor’s and Master’s studies; the entire curriculum lasts 5 or 6 years. After completing the Master’s degree, graduates may find a job straight away, continue on to a Ph.D. programme, and/or enrol in a specialisation training (most often).

Furthermore, our Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové offers either a Master’s study programme Pharmacy (5 years) or a post-Bachelor study programme Pharmaceutical Sciences (2 years). Study programmes General Nursing, Paediatric Nursing, and Intensive Care are offered in Czech Language only.

Preparation for admissions

If you want to increase your chances of successfully passing the entrance exams and prepare for your medical studies at Charles University, you may consider taking preparatory courses.

During our preparatory courses, you will improve your knowledge in the field of general biology, biology for doctors, chemistry, physics, and medical ethics. You will also acquire basic knowledge of the Latin language, field-specific English, and Czech. For those who want to study in Czech language, we have intensive preparatory courses, where you can learn Czech language and prepare yourself for the entrance exams.

Overview of our medical faculties

Why we have five medical faculties?

Our faculties of medicine follow the long tradition of medical education at Charles University that constituted one of its four original pillars of knowledge since the foundation in 1348. In the 1882/83 academic year, the Faculty of Medicine was divided into Czech and German institutions, alongside the entire university. Following the events on November 17, 1939, Nazis closed the Czech University altogether and reopened only in May 1945. The following year, the German University was shut down, while the (Czech) Faculty of Medicine acquired the property of the former German Faculty of Medicine.

In 1945, the Faculty of Medicine also established two of its branches outside the capital, which later became independent institutions:

• Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Králové (LFHK) in East Bohemia

• Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen (LFP) in West Bohemia

In 1953, the Ministry of Higher Education split the Faculty of Medicine in Prague into three independent faculties with slightly different focuses:

• Faculty of General Medicine with focus on Stomatology, today's First Faculty of Medicine (LF1)

• Faculty of Pediatric Medicine, today's Second Faculty of Medicine (LF2)

• Medical Faculty of Hygiene, today's Third Faculty of Medicine (LF3)

You may apply to all our medical faculties, but you have to complete a separate application to every faculty. Each faculty has specific entry requirements and entrance exams. For more details about the defferences, please visit this blog post where all the medical faculties of CU are discussed, including their examination criteria.