The Czech Republic has a relatively low number of students in higher education institutions compared to secondary school graduates. Most students study at polytechnics and only one quarter of the students enroll with a university.

Polytechnic higher education

Polytechnic higher education offers more practically oriented programs usually taking three years. This type of higher education includes half a year of work experience. In comparison to universities they are preparing students for specific jobs instead of putting emphasis on theoretical knowledge. The programs are usually completed with exams on your selected specific topic, practical exams and the sitting of a graduate examination paper.

Public universities

Public universities offer great varieties of different subjects, from humanities, business and economics to medical subjects and law. Their educational emphasis is on theoretical knowledge and university programs take three to five years. Although public universities do not prepare their students for specific jobs in a way that private universities do, but they are still perceived as more prestigious than private ones. Some of the most important universities are the Charles University, the Czech Technical University and the University of Economics, all in Prague.

Private universities

The first private universities generally do not offer the same variety of programs as public universities, focusing rather on subjects such as international business, management and banking. Classes in public universities are usually held in Czech and English which makes it easier for students to get well-paid jobs outside Czech Republic. Private universities usually have high tuition fees ranging from 50 000 CZK a year to several hundreds of thousands. Also there are often structural problems due to the approval needed by the Ministry of Education.