Fees for Study

Fee for longer study

This fee is paid for studies that take longer than the standard duration of study plus one year. In effect, you can study free of charge for a bachelor’s degree at FSc for four years, and for a master’s degree for three years. The duration of study includes all previous studies that ended prematurely for whatever reason (e.g., withdrawal, being “kicked out”). If you have studied somewhere “without success” prior to commencing your current study, that period will be subtracted from the period when you can study free of charge. For example, if your previous (failed) studies took 10 months, you receive three years and two months of free tuition for your bachelor’s studies, rather than four years. To determine your obligation to pay the fees, the period of study at CU includes every day from the beginning of the academic year in which studies commenced (i.e., from 1 October); for studies at other universities, it is every day from the day of registration.

Furthermore, the duration of study does not include the period of studies interrupted or the duration of parenthood recorded in the SIS (but only if you did not exceed the standard duration of study plus one year before your period of parenthood was recognised).

The days on which you studied unsuccessfully, along with the studies that you continue, will count only once. Thus, if you commence studies in two fields at the same time, end the studies in one field and continue in the other, the period of concurrent studies will not be subtracted from the four years when you can study free of charge. If, however, you withdraw from both concurrent lines of study and begin studying in another field, the total duration of the unsuccessful studies will be subtracted from the period of study free of charge in the subsequent field.

If, following an unsuccessful period of study, you end a programme by graduating (for example, you withdraw from a bachelor’s programme first, but then complete the same or another bachelor’s programme with success), the previous unsuccessful studies will be “annulled” and will not reduce the period of free studies in a post-bachelor programme. It is important to note that a bachelor’s graduation at a later date will not cancel a previously unsuccessful post-bachelor period of study (e.g., at a medical school). The programmes must be of the same type (if you graduate from a Bc. programme, this will “annul” your previous failed Bc. programmes; the same applies to master’s/post-bachelor programmes).

The Rectorate sends the decision on whether to charge a fee for longer study via restricted delivery letters; students are also informed about their obligation to pay the fee by e-mail. As a rule, the letters are sent the month after the fee obligation arises, and the fee is due 90 days after the decision becomes final.

On receiving a fee assessment for longer study, the student may file an appeal with the Rectorate of Charles University within 30 days; the Rector then makes a decision regarding the appeal.

The Rector may reduce or waive the fee or postpone its maturity in the event of the following:

excellent academic, scientific or other creative achievements;
completing a period of study at an international university (organised by the Faculty or the University);
graduation within one month of the day the duty to pay the fee comes into force;
childbirth within a maximum of 9 months prior to the date the duty to pay the fee comes into force;
interruption of studies during a period for which a fee for longer study was assessed;
difficult social circumstances or other serious reasons.

The reasons recognised as sufficient by the Rector for reducing or waiving the fee are specified in Rector’s Measure (OR) No. 25/2023. It is important to ensure the reasons for the reduction are supported by the requisite documentation.

If you are not eligible for a fee reduction or waiver and cannot pay the full amount of the fee within its maturity, you can apply for the fee to be divided into four or five subsequent payments (with maturity at monthly intervals). Applications for such a payment schedule are to be made to the Vice-Dean for Education and submitted in person at the Department of Student Affairs. Alternatively, the requisite documents can be sent by mail. More information can be found on the Faculty website: natur.cuni.cz/en/students/tuition-fees-for-studying-in-a-foreign-language

The amount of fees for longer studies (calculated for each 6 months of study, not for semesters) varies by programme for the academic year 2024/2025 and ranges from approximately CZK 32,000 to CZK 47,500.

The fee for longer study is cancelled if you have already completed one bachelor’s course and choose to apply for another bachelor’s course – you will be allowed to study free of charge for four years. This applies similarly to master’s studies – you can study free of charge for three years in the event that you have completed another master’s programme in the past.

If you are enrolled in a study program conducted in English, you are required to pay a tuition fee for studies in a foreign language for each academic year. The fee is payable after enrollment based on the decision regarding the fee assessment. You must pay this fee within 15 days of the decision becoming legally binding. If you fail to pay the fee within this period, your studies will be interrupted.

Please note that ending studies in an irregular manner is confirmed by withdrawal from study (by serving a notice on withdrawal from study to the Department of Student Affairs) or upon the decision on ending studies becoming final. Your studies will not be ended simply when you stop attending classes or when you find out that you have depleted your last exam or credit attempt. If your studies are not ended in one of the ways specified in Section 56 of the Act No. 111/1998 on Tertiary Education (Czech only), you will still be regarded as a student and, if your study takes a longer period, a fee will be charged for this period. Warning! A student who commences a “procedure on ending studies” will remain a student until the decision becomes final, even if they do not register for the next unit of study (the fee will still be assessed).