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Admission Procedure

Information on the Admission Procedure

Master’s Programmes in English, 2019/2020

Conditions for Admission

The goal of the admissions review process is to select from the pool of applicants those individuals who have shown the capability and diligence expected of Charles University students. To apply for our Computer Science or Mathematics Master's programmes given in English you must

• hold or be working towards a Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma and provide a certified copy thereof;
• have sufficient command of the English language; this can be demonstrated by providing your results in one of the standardized English tests that we recognize (see below for details).

Bachelor’s or Master’s Diploma Each applicant into a Master’s programme must deliver an officially authorized copy of a Bachelor’s or Master’s diploma, or a confirmation of a faculty or university concerning a successful completion of Bachelor’s or Master’s studies. This requirement does not apply to students and graduates of Bachelor’s or Master’s studies at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the Charles University.

The applicants who graduated from a higher education institution abroad, must deliver one of the following documents in order to prove their previous education: a document about a general recognition of foreign higher education in the Czech Republic obtained according to § 89 and 90 of the higher education law of the Czech Republic (so called „nostrification“), or a foreign document about a foreign higher education if it is automatically recognized in the Czech Republic, according to its international agreements, without further official processing (diploma and diploma supplements from Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia), or a foreign document about completing higher education which will be assessed by the faculty itself (no fee is being charged). Detailed information on how the condition of obtaining previous Bachelor’s or Master’s degree should be proven by the alumni of foreign higher education institutions, as well as additional information, may be found on faculty webpages, here. The officially authorized documents must be physically sent to the Study Office of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics by June 30, 2019 at the latest. If you do not deliver the document about a completed education, you will be neither accepted nor enrolled for Master’s studies.

In addition to this, depending on the programme for which you are applying, you also must

• Computer Science programme: have sufficient academic background in the relevant fields (see below for details); this can be demonstrated by solving a given take-home assignment correctly and on time, and by providing transcripts (academic records) of your previous education accompanied by syllabi of the completed courses (i.e., you must submit both the assignment and the transcript). For the take-home assignment, you may consult your notes, textbooks, Internet resources, friends etc. but the submitted solution must be your own work. To correctly solve the take-home assignment means to obtain at least 70 per cent of the maximum score.
• Mathematics programme: have sufficient academic background in the relevant fields (see below for details); this can be demonstrated by providing transcripts (academic records) of your previous education accompanied by syllabi of the completed courses.

You are also welcome to accompany your application by:

• a statement of purpose in which you describe your reasons for applying to the proposed programme, your study, and possibly also research interests and future career plans;
• letters of recommendation as recent as possible from professors and employers who can comment on your recent professional accomplishments and your qualifications for pursuing a master’s degree in mathematics or computer science.

Academic background

In this paragraph we summarize the minimum knowledge required for applicants in the various study programmes and study branches offered at our faculty.

Master’s Degree in Computer Science Study branches Theoretical Computer Science, Computational Linguistics, Discrete Models and Algorithms, Computer Graphics and Game Development, Software and Data Engineering, Software Systems, Artificial Intelligence: background in calculus, linear algebra, discrete mathematics, probability, logic, computer programming, algorithms and data structures, computer organization, and the theory of automata and formal grammars.

Master’s Degree in Mathematics

Common requirements: a sound background in linear algebra, real and complex analysis, measure theory, and probability theory.

Study branch Mathematical Structures: common requirements + group theory, mathematical logic.

Study branch Mathematical Analysis: common requirements + general topology, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.

Study branch Numerical and Computational Mathematics: common requirements + numerical mathematics, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.

Study branch Mathematical Modelling in Physics and Technology: common requirements + classical mechanics, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.

Study branch Probability, Mathematical Statistics and Econometrics: common requirements + mathematical statistics, Markov chains.

Study branch Financial and Insurance Mathematics: common requirements + mathematical statistics, Markov chains, financial mathematics.

Study branch Mathematics for Information Technologies: common requirements + commutative and computer algebra, theoretical and applied cryptography.

Academic records demonstrating the necessary background must show the dates of enrolment and the subjects or courses taken, together with the units of credit or time allotted to each subject. These records must also include a complete description of the institution’s grading scale or other standard of evaluation. Unless academic records and diplomas are routinely issued in English by the institution concerned, the official records in their original language must be submitted with an authorized, complete, and exact English translation.

English Language Proficiency

An applicant must have an adequate command of English in order to enroll on an English-taught programme at Charles University. Proficiency in English may be demonstrated by one of the standard language tests listed below; any language test results should not be older than two years. Students who have completed at least two years of their previous education with English as the sole language of instruction in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, UK, Republic of South Africa or USA are exempt from this requirement. Applicants who provide us with comparable qualifications demonstrating proficiency in English also meet our requirements.

The table below lists the various tests of English that we recognize, and gives the minimum score that should be obtained.

Test Minimum Score
TOEFL Paper/Computer/Internet based 550/213/80
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) 6.5
Cambridge ESOL FCE A level
Cambridge ESOL CPE, or Cambridge ESOL CAE Passed
City&Guilds International ESOL, or City&Guilds International Spoken ESOL Expert level
The European Language Certificates Level TELC English C1
UNIcert English for Mathematicians Level C1
Melab 77
Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE) Pass
Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) 605
General State Language Examination in English in the Czech Republic Pass

Information on the Admission Procedure

How to apply:

1. Take the language tests (IELTS, TOEFL, …) and submit your scores. We strongly recommend that applicants complete their tests in time.
2. Collect all required documents and information, including personal details (name, date and place of birth, citizenship, permanent address, correspondence address, email address, passport number), name and address of your secondary school, school leaving certificate and related documents, standardized test scores.
3. Fill in the electronic application form. Here you can view a sample application in pdf; it consists of a Czech and English part. Please note that the pdf that is generated from your online application is for your reference only; in particular, please do not send it to us.
4. Submit the application online. If you have any questions regarding your application, please write to admission@mff.cuni.cz. Please make sure to upload with your application all required documents as specified above. For TOEFL, you should have your test scores sent directly to Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. Our institution code for TOEFL is 3184.

Please note that an application cannot be processed without the required documents having been received, nor can it be processed if the application fee has not been paid. Also, for enrolment we require an official copy of every document that you have submitted with your application (i.e., to submit your application a scanned copy of the relevant document is sufficient, but to complete the admission process you must provide an official document – e.g., a copy verified by a notary, or an original).