Although in 2013 Palacký University in Olomouc celebrated 440 years since its establishment, which makes it the second oldest university in the Czech Republic, it is far from an old-fashioned institution. On the contrary, in recent years it has become one of the fastest growing schools of its kind. If we add the genius loci of Olomouc, twenty-two thousand students and almost three thousand employees, it is no wonder that Palacký University is often referred to as the Czech Oxford.

The history of Palacký University began in 1573, when, as an originally Jesuit college, it was granted all the rights of other European universities. The modern history of the university dates to 1946, when it was restored after World War II under its present name. Over the centuries the Olomouc University primarily focused on teaching theology, medicine, mathematics, physics, and cartography.

The reputation of the university is evidenced by its alumni, among whom were the renowned general of the Thirty Years' War, Albrecht von Wallenstein; the founder of genetics, Gregor Mendel; and astronomer Karel Slavíček who worked for the Chinese emperor. The university enjoyed its greatest boom after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, when the number of faculties settled at today's eight.

The eight faculties of Palacký University offer over three hundred degree programmes and their combinations, with many courses available in foreign languages. Basically, everything is included, ranging from theology, teacher education, law, physical education, sports, through humanities, social sciences, art history, varied sciences, medicine and healthcare sciences. Students can study full-time and part-time programmes and complete one or more majors at the same time, even between different faculties. Everything depends on your preference; plus, it is possible to incorporate subjects from other disciplines into the 'schedule'.

The Olomouc University places emphasis on the individual approach and instruction of foreign languages, study abroad programmes and practical training with professionals in the field. On the other hand, students are given sufficient space for their extracurricular activities, whether in university sports facilities (the docks, gym, sports fields), culture (film clubs, student theatres, magazines) or in the context of social events ("Majáles" festival, dance balls, departmental parties). There is something for everyone!

Erasmus+ at Palacký University

Palacký University has joined the Erasmus programme in 1997. At present within the new Erasmus+ project we have bilateral agreements on student and staff exchanges with more than 300 universities in most EU countries and the number of partner institutions as well as Palacký University departments involved is still increasing.

Erasmus Mundus

The Erasmus Mundus programme is a co-operation and mobility programme in the field of higher education which promotes the European Union as a centre of excellence in learning around the world. It supports European top-quality Masters Courses and enhances the visibility and attractiveness of European higher education in third countries. It also provides EU-funded scholarships for third country nationals participating in these Masters Courses, as well as scholarships for EU-nationals studying in third countries.

CEEPUS

CEEPUS is an acronym for "Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies". Current member countries are Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. Prishtina/Kosovo is also participating. The main activity of CEEPUS are university networks operating joint programmes ideally leading to joint degrees. CEEPUS covers mobility grants for students and teachers in this framework.

Cooperation Agreements

Palacký University has a lot of partners all over the world. These institutions accept our students as well as we accept their exchange students on a basis of cooperation agreement.

For more information visit Students / Exchange Students

See our current offer of short-term programmes and summer schools in English

Scholarships

• The credit system is based on credits which are used to quantify the student’s load for a given course. A student’s quantitative load is based on study outcomes and the student’s study load, which is calculated as the product of all the time related to study activities (in particular lectures, seminars, practical classes, examinations, researching study materials, note taking, team work, and self-study) and the level of difficulty of acquired skills and knowledge.
• The guarantor, or the department guaranteeing the course, shall have the primary responsibility for assigning credits to individual courses.
• No credits shall be assigned to the State Final Examination and defenses of the Master’s and Bachelor’s diploma theses or the dissertation.
• The numbers of credits is assigned on the basis of the student’s quantitative load (25-30 hours of student’s work shall correspond to 1 credit) and qualitative study outcomes which are defined by the scope and difficulty of the acquired knowledge and skills.
• As a rule, 60 credits correspond to one academic year, which is the same number as under ECTS.
• Credits are acquired for courses implemented within a program of study upon their completion in the prescribed way.
• With the exception of the first semester of study, unless the study plan stipulates a different time period, students have a certain leeway as to the course of their study as they may, during course registration, create their personal study plans consisting of obligatory, elective, and optional subjects, while observing stipulated limitations in the form of possible prerequisite and preclusive courses.

Palacký University provides only a limited number of traineeships. Currently there is no list of offers a prospective applicant could choose from.

Students interested in traineeship at Palacký University should follow these steps:

1. According to your interest, check on the UP web if there is an institute/ center/ department fitting your plans. You are expected to communicate directly with the UP department or Faculty of your choice and from the very beginning indicate a scope of activities you plan to do here within your prospective traineeship. Please note that very general e-mail inquiries asking for "something" will not be considered.

2. Write an e-mail request directly to the UP prospective department in order to find out if there is a possibility of traineeship. Introduce yourself and the sending institution/programme, write dates (from-to) when you wish to do your traineeship. Describe your competencies and plans. Attach your CV and Motivation Letter.

• Contacts

3. In case the UP department expresses interest in having you as a trainee, you will be required to submit some paperwork e.g. a proof of your foreign language knowledge, a letter of recommendation; there may be a skype or a telephone interview requested.

*As soon as possible, inform the UP department which documents will be required by your home institution (both Letter of Acceptance and Learning Agreement for Traineeship or only Learning Agreement for Traineeship) and in which order.

4. Please note that there may be deadlines and additional requirements set by the receiving department you must respect.

5. If you need visa to enter the Czech Republic, please note that the visa process can take up to 2 months. Request the visa supporting documents from the UP department as soon as possible.

6. Accommodation in the university dormitory can be requested, but it is not guaranteed. If the UP accommodation capacity is full, you must arrange accommodation by yourself, UP is not providing any assistance in this regard. Applicants should express their interest in university accommodation as soon as possible.