The admission procedure is initiated by a completely and correctly filled application and by a payment of the admission fee. Both things must be done by 30th April 2024.

Conditions for admission

  • The applicants must finish their master studies and provide a confirmation of such no later than on 30th September 2024. The applicants who take the final state exam in the autumn term and the applicants who are still waiting for recognition of their foreigner diploma on 30th September 2024 will provide the confirmation by 22nd October 2024. The applicants with a diploma from Czech universities will provide an authenticated copy of their diploma or an original confirmation of completion of a master study programme. This is not required from applicants who have completed their studies at Charles University. The applicants from universities abroad must provide proof of their education.
    • Passing the entrance exam (if the exam is not waived).
    • Applicants will be accepted to study the programme Bioinformatics and computational biology if they obtain a grade "Pass" in each of the three answers to the questions set by the committee.
    • All applicants who obtain at least 50 points out of 100 in the entrance examination will be admitted to study other programmes.

Application for a doctoral study programme and the admission fee

The application is submitted electronically via the module Admission of the Study Information System of Charles University (SIS). The application needs to be submitted electronically by 30th April 2024 (no hard copy can be sent). The email and password used to submit the application remain the same throughout the admission procedure.

If a student is interested in multiple study programmes, separate applications must be submitted
for each programme.

Application appendices

  • Curriculum vitae (obligatory)
  • Transcript of current master’s study courses or addendum to master’s diploma (obligatory)
  • Information about the planned dissertation project including annotation (obligatory)
  • The annotation of the planned dissertation project should be discussed with the prospective supervisor. This appendix is not mandatory for the study programmes Physical Chemistry, Macromolecular Chemistry, Modelling of Chemical Properties of Nano- and Biostructures, Developmental and Cell Biology.
    Note: the annotation of the planned dissertation project is not binding in case of admission of the candidate and may change according to the specifications of the specific department.
  • A motivation letter is also required for the following doctoral study programmes: Demography, Didactics of Geography, General Geography, Regional and Political Geography, Social Geography and Regional Development.
  • List of published and unpublished works of the applicant (or expert assessments of this work) and other documentation worth consideration (e.g. documentation of specialized courses completed, language examinations).(optional)

Submit an application

The admission fee is 780 CZK and it is paid for each submitted application. It must be paid by 30th April, 2024.

Payment by credit card

You can pay the fee by credit card in SIS in the details of the submitted application.

Payment from a from czech bank account

Account name: Univerzita Karlova

Account number: 19-2764980247/0100

Variable symbol: 988018

Specific symbol: the ID number generated by the information system after the application is submitted.

Payment from a foreign bank account

IBAN: CZ8701000000192764980247

SWIFT (BIC): KOMBCZPPXXX

In “Message for the recipient”, list the name of the applicant.

Account name: Univerzita Karlova

Bank: Komerční banka, a.s.

Bank address: Praha 1, Na Příkopě 33 čp. 969, 114 07, P.O. BOX 839

When paying from abroad (except SEPA), all bank charges must be paid. Use a bank transfer with the OUR fee payment type.

If an application does not meet all the requirements or if the application fee has not been paid, the faculty will ask the student to rectify the matter and will grant him/her adequattime to do so. If the matter is not resolved within the allowed time, the admission process will be suspended. The application fee is not refundable.

Entrance exam

Regular date: 10th – 21th June 2024
Alternative date: 24th – 28th June 2024

The invitation for the entrance exam is only sent in electronically through the SIS no later than 30 days before the date of the exam. If the faculty sends an invitation for an alternative date of the entrance exam, this deadline may be shortened accordingly.

Entrance exam on an alternative date may be permitted by the dean to candidates who submit a written request within three days after the regular exam date. Only serious reasons are grounds for granting an alternative date, particularly health reasons. The request must be sufficiently justified in writing and the circumstances stated in the request must be documented. A second alternative date is not permitted. The request for an alternative day is submitted and approved via the SIS.

A candidate may, for reasons of a physical handicap, including specific learning disorders, request adaptation of the entrance exam. The request must state specific adaptation requirements for the entrance exam, and it must be accompanied by a medical report or a statement from a competent professional facility. Decisions on requests are made by the dean. If necessary, the dean may request additional documentation. The request must be submitted electronically by 5th May 2024 via the SIS. Medical handicap requests made later (e.g. during appeal) cannot be taken into account.

  • The entrance exam is one round and it consists of one or more parts (as specified for individual study programmes).
  • For compelling and documented reasons, in particular health reasons or study abroad, the Dean may, on the basis of a request submitted in the SIS, as a rule after the application has been accepted by the Faculty, but no later than 5th May 2024, allow the admission examination to be conducted via information and communication technologies.
  • During the entrance examination the candidate must demonstrate the technical and linguistic skills to study the given field, along with abilities necessary for independent scientific work.
  • The examination is graded with a maximum of 100 points. The evaluation may include the quality of the dissertation project, its feasibility and the way of presentation (specified for individual programmes).

Waiver of entrance examination

The entrance examination may be waived based on a request of a candidate who has been accepted for the STARS project in the given academic years. The request is submitted and handled through the SIS and must be submitted no later than 5th May, 2024.

Access to own file

After receiving the dean’s decision on the result of the admissions proceeding, the candidate is entitled to access his file. The organizational and administrative conditions for perusal are established by a dean’s measure.

Further information is available from the Student Affairs Division

Contact

Further information is available at web page Admissions to doctoral studies.

Overview of doctoral study programmes in the academic year 2024/2025

All the study programmes are both full-time and part-time study, the standard length of study is 4 years, the languages of instruction are Czech and English

Study programmes without specialization

Information about the entrance exam

The interview will deal mainly with the dissertation plane and candidate’s knowledge in the given field of study. Extra requirements are listed for each study programme.

Analytical Chemistry

1) A brief verification of knowledge of analytical chemistry to the extent related to master's study.
2) Reading and translation to verify ability to work with professional literature written in English.
3) A brief discussion on planned dissertation work.

Inorganic Chemistry

To facilitate the course of the interviews, the candidate prepares a short summary of their past studies and professional work. The candidate presents this summary briefly (approx. 5 minutes). The candidate also provides a list and copies of published articles, academic awards and other documents that may add extra information. The committee has the right to have the exam in a written form – for example in a form of a test to prove the candidate’s knowledge in inorganic chemistry (at the level of master studies). The committee’s decision is based on a complex evaluation of professional and language skills of the candidate, his overall motivation and dispositions for independent scientific work.

Biochemistry

The interview is divided into two parts that are aimed at testing both scientific and language skills of the candidate:
1) short introduction and discussion of the candidate’s dissertation plan
2) proving knowledge of biochemistry at the master level.

Didactics of Chemistry

The interview will take into account both expertise in the subject matter and language skills.

Physical Chemistry

The applicant prepares a roughly 3-minute presentation (no more than 5 minutes) in which they tell the committee about the results of their master thesis, potentially with an abstract of their publication. There is no access to a projector.

Macromolecular Chemistry

The applicant prepares a roughly 3-minute presentation (no more than 5 minutes) in which they tell the committee about the results of their master thesis, potentially with an abstract of their publication. There is no access to a projector.

Modelling of Chemical Properties

of Nano- and Biostructures

The entrance consists of three parts:
1) Past scientific work of the candidate (who prepares a 3-5-minute presentation)
2) Candidate’s motivation and their plan of doctoral research
3) Examination of skills necessary for computer modelling (esp. physical chemistry and chemical physics)

Organic Chemistry

Written preparation takes one hour. After that, the candidates are invited to an oral exam. It consists of two parts:
1) Short introduction of a planned doctoral project
2) Test of knowledge of organic chemistry (based on the book Organic Chemistry by John McMurry).

Anthropology and Human Genetics

 

Bioinformatics and computational biology

The entrance exam is one round and the interview will deal mainly with the dissertation plan and candidate’s knowledge in the given field of study. The interview will take into account both expertise in the subject matter and language skills.
The candidate prepares and attaches a written (approximately 250-500 words) proposal for a doctoral project to the application form. The entrance examination will be in English and will have two parts. In the first part, the applicant will present themself and their doctoral project in a short (max 10 minutes) presentation. In the second part of the examination, the committee will ask the candidate three questions. One question will focus on the project itself, and the other two questions will test the orientation in the field regarding the proposed project's topic and the applicant's field of study. The committee will evaluate each answer with a Pass/Fail statement. To be admitted, an applicant must receive a passing grade for all three answers.

 

Botany

The applicant provides the committee with a dissertation project (topic and content) both in written and electronic form. It is recommended that the project is signed by a potential supervisor. The project shall include scientific contribution, realisation plan, funding possibilities and links to the existing research of current research teams. The project is usually 1 to 3 pages long.
For the entrance exam, the applicant prepares a presentation of the project for approx. 10 minutes. The committee assesses, apart from scientific skills, mainly this presentation, importance and relevance of the topic (also in relation to existing research in the field) and the clarity of the presentation.

Ecology

 

Experimental Plant Biology

The applicant must be capable of critical biological thinking, be able to formulate relevant questions and hypotheses, and critically evaluate results. At the same time, the candidate must demonstrate high motivation for scientific work, sufficient orientation in the field and knowledge of English. The entrance examination consists of two parts:
1) First, the candidate will present (without technical support) his/her research activities to date, including key outputs and placing the work in a broader context. The candidate will give an outline presentation of the pre-selected dissertation topic, including information on research funding opportunities (5-10 min. in total).
2) In the second follow-up part of the entrance examination, there will be a discussion of the topics presented and the committee will ask the candidate several questions to assess the candidate's broader orientation in the field of plant biology.

Animal Physiology

The entrance exam has 3 parts:

1) A summary of the applicant's previous practical experience and previous scientific work.
2) A short presentation of the planned dissertation project.
3) An examination of the candidate's knowledge in relation to the planned dissertation topic and his/her broader orientation in the field of animal physiology.

Immunology

The entrance exam consists of more parts in forms of presentations, interviews and discussions based on written preparation tasks given by the committee. The applicants present their results from their master studies and doctoral project proposal. The whole entrance exam takes place in one day.

Microbiology

 

Molecular and Cellular Biology,

Genetics and Virology

(biomedicine study programme)

The admission interview includes a brief (max. 5 minutes) presentation. During this presentation, the applicant discusses their future doctoral project or at least the general ideas about their doctoral activities and specialization. The applicant may also talk about their master studies or other professional experience. The presentation is done without a PowerPoint or other material prepared in advance. The committee then asks follow-up questions. In addition to the preliminary title, the project annotation should contain a brief description of the overall theme of the project, the planned methodological approaches and its expected SCIENTIFIC contribution.

Parasitology

The committee assesses:
1. Quality and presentation of the doctoral project – the candidate may attach a summary to their application as an optional supplement or they can bring it to the interview (hypothesis, the time plan and methodology). Both the presentation and the reaction to committee’s questions are assessed.
2. Previous scientific work – previous activities, especially (but not exclusively) those that are related to the doctoral project; publications and grant activities are prioritized
3. Knowledge and orientation of the candidate in the field with special regards to the project – the candidate must prove knowledge of the current affairs in the field and especially in the research related to the project, the candidate must show ability to evaluate scientific hypotheses, the committee may also pay attention to previous study results.

Developmental and Cell Biology

(biomedicine study programme)

 

The entrance exam consists of more parts in forms of presentations, interviews and discussions based on written preparation tasks given by the committee. The applicants present their results from their master studies. The whole entrance exam takes place in one day. The list of possible topics and supervisors offered for the academic year 2024/2025 will be available on the website of the Department of Cell Biology after 1st March 2024. We recommend that the candidates contact the supervisors in advance to discuss available projects and their requirements.

Theoretical and Evolutionary Biology

 

Zoology

 

Philosophy and History of Science

 

Environmental Science

The candidates will briefly present his/her previous education and achievements. This will be followed by a brief introduction of the dissertation topic and an interview on this topic, including more general questions on environmental sciences.

Applied Geology

To facilitate and accelerate the admissions process for doctoral study, it is desirable that the candidate prepares a short summary of their previous professional activities and possibly presents their master thesis, publications, research results or abstracts from conferences they have attended.
In the second part of the interview the candidate presents the scientific aim of their doctoral project.
The committee assesses the candidate's motivation, current study and research results, along with the quality and feasibility of the project.

Geology

At the doctoral study admissions interview, the candidate should have their master thesis, a list of publications or abstracts from conferences they participated in and any academic awards they have received.
To facilitate and accelerate the admissions process, the candidate prepares a roughly 5- to 10-minute presentation with the following:
- a summary of their previous professional activity (master thesis)
- motivation and for pursuing doctoral studies
- the basic research involved in the doctoral project
The committee assesses the overall motivation of the candidate, language skills, previous research activities as well as the quality and possible realization of the suggested project.

Demography

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

Didactics of Geography

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

Physical Geography and Geoecology

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

Geoinformatics, Cartography and

Remote Sensing

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

General Geography

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

Regional and Political Geography

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.

Social Geography and Regional Development

The candidates prepares a written presentation (max 5,000 characters) and an approximately 10-minute oral presentation on the following:
a) summary of previous scientific activities
b) brief presentation of the doctoral project
The committee assesses the candidate’s overall motivation, their language abilities, previous scientific results, quality and feasibility of the doctoral project.