were established in the Czech Republic in 1995. The advantage of this type of education, in comparison with
universities, is especially the time spent in real working conditions. Thus, in addition to a theoretical education, students gain practical experience in their field of study and also useful contacts in companies and enterprises, which they will utilise when searching for a job. Such work experience plays a major role when companies in the Czech Republic hunt for potential employees. This can be proven by the fact that recently, in the time of the economic crisis; the number of unemployed college graduates has decreased.
Colleges offer a wide range of study fields, especially from the economic and financial spheres as well as administrative, social, librarian, medical, pedagogical but also literary or acting studies. Among the most popular ones are gastronomy, accommodation and catering services and tourism which incidentally show the lowest figures in terms of unemployed graduates.
Students in secondary schools who plan to study at college must be prepared to pay a school fee. It is even paid at state-owned and church schools and varies from 2,500 to 5,000 crowns per year. At private colleges, the fee usually ranges between 15,000 and 30,000 crowns, but it can also be even higher. The list of colleges, the specialisations opened this year, school fees and contact addresses can be found here.
Most of the candidates applying to study at college are those who were not accepted to universities. Entry exams usually take place in June. A complementary round of entry interviews is often held in August. It is intended for the students who want to continue their education but they have not been accepted to university studies.
Some schools do not organise entry exams and accept applicants according to their secondary school results or according to the maturita report. In some other schools, foreign language competences and knowledge of the particular field of study (mathematics, social studies, etc.) is tested. There are schools which, apart from a written test, require an interview or talent tests.
The title DiS. is not of the same level as the bachelor’s title (Bc.) that you can achieve when studying at a university (usually after three years of studies and successful completion of the state bachelor exams). Anyway, the number of universities that take college education into account is increasing: for a college graduate, bachelor studies may only require 1 to 1.5 years instead of the usual three years.