ECTS credit system of education in the Czech Republic – european credit transfer and accumulation system
Credits at universities in the Czech Republic are the same as points or grades that a student receives after each successfully passed test or exam. Studying in the Czech Republic is arranged in such a way that for each year of study you need to collect a certain number of credits, and you can collect them by passing the necessary subjects. ECTS credit system in czech universities.
How much is one loan at the university?
At universities, students’ knowledge is assessed on the basis of the European Credit Transfer and accumulation system – ECTS. The ECTS European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a unified pan–European system for monitoring and accounting of students’ academic work during the development of university educational programs. This is a peculiar way of marking the material passed by assigning credit units.
This means that each subject has a certain number of credits, which depends on the complexity of the subject and on the amount of material that will be studied during the semester. That is, one subject can cost 3 credits, and another subject 9. This system allows a student to move from one educational institution to another throughout the EU.
ECTS credit transfer and accumulation system
So, to get a bachelor’s title, you need to collect 180 credits for 3 or 4 years of study. Next, for a master’s degree, you need to collect 120 credits for 2 or 3 years of study. That is, every semester you collect a certain number of credits, which you will be given in the amount of 180 for a bachelor’s degree, or further 120 for a master’s degree.
To finish a semester, as a rule, you need to take 30 credits in the Czech Republic. The academic year at Czech universities consists of two semesters. The winter semester begins in September-October and lasts until January, the summer semester studies take place from January-February to June.
Loans in czech universities – Credit
Credit (Credit, Credit-hour) is a standardized unit of measurement of the volume of student’s academic work. When organizing the educational process according to the credit system of training, it is necessary to take into account that 1 credit equals 3 hours of work per week. At the same time, 1 academic hour (45 minutes) is accompanied by 2 academic hours of independent preparation of the student (work with textbooks, homework, research work and work with a teacher)
Thus, each subject is assigned a certain value, which is measured in credits based on the amount of training in this subject.
It is also necessary to know that each university has a certain minimum that needs to be scored in each semester to move on to the next semester, or the minimum that needs to be scored in a year to move on to the next course.
Each university sets these boundaries independently, so these rules may differ significantly. That is, you can distribute your credits unevenly, but the main thing is that by the end of your studies you have the necessary minimum – 60 credits for 1 year of study. Since most often, excluding some specialties, bachelor’s degree in the Czech Republic lasts 3 years, during this period you will need to gain 180 credits.
Number of credits at the Czech University
At Charles University there is no specific limit on how many credits you need to collect for each semester. That is, in each semester you can write down any number of credits at a Czech university.
How much does a loan at a Czech university cost?
The VSE has a slightly different system. You need to get at least 9 credits in the first semester, otherwise you will not have the opportunity to move on to the next semester. At the VSE, there is a concept of reserve loans. At the beginning of the study, each student receives 36 reserve credits. These loans are needed in order to give the student the opportunity to continue studying, even if he fails to pass one or two subjects for a certain semester. That is, for example, if you have not passed a certain subject, but you want to continue studying, you can take a certain amount of reserve credits, and accordingly you will gain a certain number of credits that you need to continue studying. There is no such thing at Charles University.
How can a foreign student integrate into the Czech environment
How to get loans at a university in the Czech Republic?
The process of passing the subject in a Czech university. Each teacher independently sets the requirements for passing the subject, the so-called zakončení předmětu. There are three types of passing subjects: a test (Z — Zápočet), a classified test (KZ — Klasifikovaný zápočet) and an exam (ZK — Zkouška). Some subjects are taken after receiving a credit or a classified credit, for others you additionally need to pass an exam. The condition for obtaining a credit may be passing tests, writing an abstract or preparing a project.
If the subject ends with a credit, most often it is foreign languages, you, accordingly, get a credit or a non-credit. Credit – (Z) zápočet. Nazachet – (N) nezapočet.
If you have received a credit, you are given credits. For subjects that end with an exam, you can get a grade depending on the success of the exam. If you have not passed the exam, you get a grade of four, then you will have to study this subject again next semester. If you get a higher score, then you are given credits.
What grades do students get in the Czech Republic on exams
ECTS credit system in czech universities. There are three attempts to pass a certain subject at Charles University, there are no three attempts at the HSE, but there is a so-called 4-plus concept. If a student receives a grade of 4 plus, which is set if he scored 50-59%, he has another opportunity to pass this subject.
As for attending Czech universities, it is optional. The student chooses whether he wants to attend lectures and seminars or not, depending on what kind of assessment at the University of the Czech Republic he wants to receive at the exam session.
After receiving the number of credits established by the program of study at the Czech university, passing state exams and defending the final work (bakalářská práce), the student receives a diploma.
Thus, the main thing for students is to pass exams for obtaining credits at a Czech university.
Charles university Сzech language course
Advantages of ECTS credit system in Czech universities
ECTS is the main instrument of the Bologna Process, which strives for the comparability of national education systems at the international level. ECTS allows you to make the Application to the diploma more understandable and easy to use when applying or finding employment abroad. Advantages of ECTS:
- Getting a bachelor’s degree in one EU country has a better chance of getting a place in a master’s degree in another European country due to the transparency of the certificates obtained.
- It will be easier to find a job in any EU country, so it is easier for the employer to understand what exactly you did during your studies, what skills and competencies you developed and how much time you spent on it.
- If you are spending a semester abroad, participating in the Erasmus program, the main university will be able to track the hours of study with the help of “credit transfers”.
- If a student does not complete the course, ECTS scores will help to prove academic achievements if he wants to continue his studies again.
The main difference between the European ECTS credit system and the US college credit system is that the former is based on student workload, and the latter is based on contact hours, that is, the US system is more focused on the time required by the teacher.
Student visa interview for Czech Republic
Academic titles in the Czech Republic after graduation
Extending a student visa in the Czech Republic – residence permit
