Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague

Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague
Fakulta sociálních věd

Latin: Facultas Rerum Socialium
Type	Public
Established	1990
Dean	Jakub Končelík
Students	~4,000
Location	Prague, Czech Republic
Website	www.fsv.cuni.cz

The Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) is one of the newest faculties of Charles University in Prague. The Faculty was founded in 1990, shortly after the Velvet Revolution. It soon became a regional centre of teaching and research in area studies, economics, international relations, journalism, media studies, sociology and political science. The Faculty offers a full range of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programmes in the key fields of social sciences. While the language of instruction is Czech and English, students can choose from classes in a wide range of other languages, namely French, German, Russian, and Spanish.

Currently, the Faculty has around 4,000 full-time students. Approximately 150 of them are enrolled in one of the English language degree programmes.^[1]

Organisation of study

Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences are intended primarily to prepare students for a professional career in the private sector, public administration, national governments, European institutions, academic research or the media. They are divided into three individual cycles:

A bachelor degree cycle (3 years), which leads to a bachelor´s degree (Bc., equivalent to a BA)
A master's degree cycle (2 years), which leads to a master's degree (Mgr., equivalent to an MA)
Doctoral studies (4 years), which leads to a Doctorate (Ph.D.)^[1]

Degree programmes

The Faculty offers a full range of degree programmes at all levels in all its subject specializations in both Czech and English. As to the English language degree programmes, the Faculty of Social Sciences offers one fully accredited English language bachelor´s degree programme, ten fully accredited English language master's degree programmes and two double-degree programmes in partnership with universities in London and Strasbourg.

Bachelor in Economics and Finance (BEF)^[2] offers intensive training in mathematics, statistics and econometrics. It covers key fields of economics and finance, mostly through courses surveying recent theory and empirics.
Balkan, Eurasian and Central European Studies (BECES)^[3] offers versatile exploration of “the East”, understood as a territory composed of Central Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, and the Post- Soviet area.
Central European Comparative Studies (CECS)^[4] focuses on the areas of Germany, Austria and the Visegrád Countries (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary) with an overlap onto neighbouring regions.
Corporate Finance and Strategy (CFS)^[5] is a two-year English-language Master's double-degree programme with the University of Strasbourg aiming at providing the students with a broad knowledge and understanding of economic theory with a focus on financial and international economics corresponding to the present state-of-the-art.
European Studies (ES)^[6] focuses on the study of the territory of Europe and on the European integration process in all its complexity and variety.
Geopolitical Studies (GPS)^[7] seeks to explore the dynamic relationship between international politics and human geography, focussing on essential theories, thinkers and regions.
International Economic and Political Studies (IEPS)^[8] seeks to investigate contemporary political, economic and social issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.
International Masters in Economy, State and Society (IMESS)^[9] in partnership with UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies. The programme offers three distinct study tracks, reflecting the unique multidisciplinary expertise of the consortium institutions.
Master in International Security Studies (MISS)^[10] offers students a complex guide through security, conflict and strategic studies in the context of international relations.
Master in Economics and Finance (MEF)^[11] aims to give the student a thorough grounding in both theoretical and applied economics.
Public and Social Policy (PSP)^[12] aims to provide students with current relevant knowledge of policy-making process and cultivate their analytical skills. The programme will offer deeper knowledge in concrete policy domains such as social policy, health policy, educational policy, employment policy or others.
Sociology in European Context (SEC)^[13] is a programme designed for international students interested in gaining in-depth knowledge of the state of the present-day field including its theory and research methods.
Transatlantic Studies (TS)^[14] aims to provide English speaking students with deep, interdisciplinary knowledge of transatlantic relations since 1945. The programme gives a Central European perspective on transatlantic relations.

Other programmes

Beside the degree programmes, the Faculty offers a number of summer schools to its students, visiting students or the general public. For international students the Faculty is organising Spring University Prague^[15] and Summer University Prague^[16] each April and September since 2009. The programme is intended for students who are enrolled in a college or university or have recently graduated. It is open approximately to 30 students from all over the world.

Admissions

The application deadline for all English language degree programmes is April 15 of each year. In general, all applications must include: completed application form, copies of all relevant diplomas and transcripts, short academic resume detailing and all relevant qualifications and experience. Students who are not native speakers should include details of any tests of the English language they have taken. Undergraduate students applying to graduate programmes must hold a bachelor diploma in a related field of study.

Scholarships and funding

Scholarships for Students from Developing and Transition Countries administered directly by the Faculty of Social Sciences
Czech Government Scholarships for Developing Countries^[17]
International Visegrad Fund (IVF) Scholarships^[18]
Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window Lot 3 Scholarships for Students from Israel and Palestine

International mobility

The Faculty has one of the highest international mobility participation rates of all the faculties of Charles University. Each year it welcomes around 500 exchange students from all over the world.

International mobility at the Faculty is mainly based on the European Higher Education Area which is coordinated by the Bologna Process. Its most visible demonstration is the ERASMUS Programme. In addition to the Erasmus Programme, the Faculty participates in other smaller student exchange programmes, such as Erasmus Mundus, CEEPUS or AKTION. The Faculty is also intensively developing international cooperation beyond the framework of the European programmes. This includes the maintenance of or entering into new cooperation with partner universities in North America, Asia and the Middle East.

Institutes

Institute of Economic Studies (IES) offers education in economics and finance at a level comparable to the leading universities in Europe.
Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism (ICSJ) carries out scientific and research activities in the fields of media studies, journalism, marketing communication and public relations.
Institute of International Studies (IIS) focuses on multidisciplinary research and area studies of North America, Europe and Eurasia.
Institute of Political Studies (IPS) offers a fully-fledged university education in political science, international relations and security studies.
Institute of Sociological Studies (ISS) provides education and develops scientific research in the fields of sociology, social and public policy and social anthropology.

Other parts of the Faculty

Centre for Media Studies (CEMES)
Centre for Social and Economic Strategies (CESES)^[19]
Department of Foreign Languages
Scientific Information Centre
Centre for Information Technology

Notable academics and alumni

Academics

Zdeněk Tůma from the Institute of Economic Studies is the former Governor of the Czech National Bank.
Miroslav Novák from the Institute of Political Studies, is one of the founders of political science in the Czech Republic and a key figure in the field.
Lenka Rovná from the Institute of International Studies is a recipient of the title Jean Monnet Chair Ad Personam, established by the European Commission to award top professors in European Studies.
Václav Moravec from Institute of Communication Studies and Journalism is one of the most popular and influential Czech journalists. His Sunday political talk show, Otázky Václava Moravce, draws nearly 750,000 viewers each week.
Miloslav Petrusek from Institute of Sociological Studies was a former Dean of the Faculty and a doyen of Czech sociology.

Alumni

Petr Just – political scientist
Barbora Kroužková – moderator
Tomáš Pojar – diplomat, former deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Czech Republic, Czech ambassador in Israel (since 2010)
Tomáš Sedláček – economist, Chief Macroeconomic Strategist at ČSOB, the largest Czech bank
Pavel Žáček – former director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes
Robert Záruba – commentator at Czech Television and lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, in journalism

References

External links

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