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Admission Procedure

Information on the Admission Procedure

Master’s Programmes in English, 2021/2022

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: https://www.mff.cuni.cz/en/students/general-rules/assessment-of-university-degrees-and-studies-for-applicants-to-master-s-and-doctoral-studies. The officially authorized documents must be physically sent to the Study Office of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics preferably by June 30, 2021, and by September 30, 2021 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 programmes: have sufficient academic background in the relevant fields (see below for details); this should 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. The deadline for submitting the take-home assignment is May 31, 2021. Solving the take-home assignment is not obligatory for the applicants for the study programme Computer Science – Language Technologies and Computational Linguistics.

• Mathematics programmes: 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 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. You should arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent directly by your referees to the email address admission@mff.cuni.cz by May 31, 2021 at latest. Please ask your referees to state “Recommendation letter for [your name], CS/Math programme” in the Subject of the email.

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 programmes Computer Science – Theoretical Computer Science, Computer Science – Language Technologies and Computational Linguistics, Computer Science – Discrete Models and Algorithms, Computer Science – Visual Computing and Game Development, Computer Science – Software and Data Engineering, Computer Science – Software Systems, Computer Science – 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 programme Mathematical Structures: common requirements + group theory, mathematical logic.
Study programme Mathematical Analysis: common requirements + general topology, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.
Study programme Computational Mathematics: common requirements + numerical mathematics, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.
Study programme Mathematical Modelling in Physics and Technology: common requirements + classical mechanics, functional analysis, ordinary and partial differential equations.
Study programme Probability, Mathematical Statistics and Econometrics: common requirements + mathematical statistics, Markov chains.
Study programme Financial and Insurance Mathematics: common requirements + mathematical statistics, Markov chains, financial mathematics.
Study programme 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.

Master’s Degree in Physics

• All Physics programmes: 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 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. You should arrange for letters of recommendation to be sent directly by your referees to the email address admission@mff.cuni.cz by May 31, 2021 at latest. Please ask your referees to state “Recommendation letter for [your name], CS/Math programme” in the Subject of the email.

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 Physics

Common requirements: a sound background in physics: mechanics, molecular physics, electricity and magnetism, electrodynamics, optics, theoretical mechanics, thermodynamics, statistical physics, atomic physics, and quantum theory. Appropriate knowledge of mathematical apparatus is expected.
Study programme: Particle and Nuclear Physics
Common requirements + basic knowledge of nuclear and particle physics and intermediate knowledge of quantum mechanics.
Nuclear and particle physics: Knowledge on the level of an elementary course of nuclear and particle physics (main features and basic models of atomic nuclei, nuclear decays and reactions, elementary particles and their interactions, principles of modern particle experiments and accelerators).
Quantum mechanics: Knowledge on the level of an intermediate course of non-relativistic quantum mechanics (basic formalism based on the Hilbert space, stationary and nonstationary problems, perturbative approaches, theory of angular momentum, basic scattering theory, systems composed of identical particles and second-quantization formalism).

Study programme: Atmospheric Physics, Meteorology and Climatology
Common requirements +
Hydrodynamics – ideal and real fluids motion, concepts of flow field, hydrodynamic equations, viscous fluid flow.
Meteorology and Climatology – basic characteristics of meteorological elements and physical interactions in the climate system.

Study programme: Surface and Plasma Physics
Common requirements + fundamentals of condensed matter physics, kinetic theory of gases, and plasma physics.

Study programme : Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials
Common requirements + Fundamentals of condensed matter physics – atomic and electronic structure of matter, basics of quantum physics, experimental methods in condensed matter physics.

Study programme: Optics and optoelectronics
Common requirements + fundamentals of Fourier optics, gaussian beams, radiation detectors and methods of measurements of optical properties of matter.

Study programme: Biophysics and Chemical Physics
Common requirements +
Quantum theory – formal scheme of quantum theory, angular momentum. approximate methods – variational and perturbation methods, structure of atomic spectral lines, many-body problem. Fundamentals of quantum electrodynamics (non- relativistic theory) and of scattering theory.
General chemistry -Atomic and molecular masses, isotopes, solutions, concentrations, state functions, partial molar quantities, chemical potential, phase and chemical equilibrium.
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. An online interview with the candidate aimed to clarify or complete the submitted documents may be part of the admission process.

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 (https://www.mff.cuni.cz/admission/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/sampleapplication.pdf) 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. If the applicant has not paid the application fee in full and this deficiency has not been eliminated even within an additionally set deadline, the admission procedure shall be terminated. 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).