Universities in Czechia: Public and Private Institutions by City, Rankings and Fees for International Students

As of 1 October 2026, the Czech Ministry of Education (MŠMT) register lists 53 higher education institutions: 26 public universities, 2 state institutions run by the security ministries and 25 private ones. Public universities operate in 13 cities, and almost half of them are outside Prague, in Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava, Plzeň, Liberec, České Budějovice and elsewhere. Degrees taught in Czech at a public university are tuition-free regardless of nationality. English-taught degrees carry a fee, typically $2,271 (€2,000) to $6,813 (€6,000) a year, and from $14,194 (€12,500) for medicine. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, four Czech universities sit in the top 600: Charles University (=273), CTU in Prague (=432), Masaryk University (=454) and Brno University of Technology (=588).

How the system is organised

The Higher Education Act (No. 111/1998) classifies institutions by founder, and that drives both cost and certain legal powers.

Each type is further split into "university" and "non-university" institutions. Non-university institutions mainly offer bachelor's and sometimes master's degrees, but not doctorates. Two public institutions fall into this group: the College of Polytechnics Jihlava and the Institute of Technology and Business in České Budějovice.

Degree levels follow the Bologna model: a 3–4 year bachelor's (title Bc.), a master's of 1–3 years after the bachelor's or a long-cycle master's of 4–6 years straight after school, then a doctorate. Master's graduates receive a field-specific title: Ing. in economics, engineering and agriculture, Ing. arch. in architecture, MUDr. in medicine, MDDr. in dentistry, MVDr. in veterinary medicine, MgA. in the arts and Mgr. elsewhere. The second cycle is covered in our master's in Czechia guide.

Public universities by city

All 26 public universities from the register, grouped by location. Profiles reflect the fields each institution teaches; where StudyU has a dedicated page, it is linked.

Two pairs of names are easy to mix up. VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava and the University of Ostrava are separate institutions: the first is technical, the second is a comprehensive university with medicine and arts faculties. VŠE in Prague is the Prague University of Economics and Business; in Russian-language sources its abbreviation is sometimes confused with Moscow's Higher School of Economics, which is unrelated. Programmes, admission and fees are covered in our VŠE profile.

Charles University also operates outside Prague: two of its medical faculties are in Plzeň and Hradec Králové. Prague's institutions, with dormitory and transport prices, are covered in universities in Prague, and the country overview is on our Czech Republic page.

QS 2027: where Czech universities rank

Global rankings assess whole institutions, not individual programmes, so treat them as a signal of research strength rather than teaching quality in a given faculty.

"=" means the position is shared. Absence from this table is not a verdict on quality: VŠB in Ostrava or the University of West Bohemia are strong in applied engineering, a profile QS barely captures.

What it costs: free in Czech, fee-paying in English

The rule comes from the law. A public university charges no tuition for a Czech-taught degree while the student stays within the standard length of study plus one year. Beyond that, the fee is at least 1.5 times the ministry's base amount for each started six months: for 2026/27 that means at least $368 (CZK 7,917). For degrees taught in a foreign language, the university must set a fee, with exceptions for government and international scholarship holders. The details are in our guide to tuition-free study in Czechia.

One further legal detail helps with budgeting. A university must publish next year's fees no later than its application deadline; if it publishes later, students admitted in that cycle cannot be charged more than the rate in force when they applied.

English-taught fees checked on university websites on 1 October 2026:

Within Charles University alone, annual fees range from $45 (€40) to $34,769 (€30,620) depending on the programme, so compare programmes rather than institutions. A full budget with housing and one-off costs is in the cost of studying in Czechia, and English-taught options are covered in English-taught degrees in Czechia.

Living costs in Prague and the regions

The national portal Study in Czechia gives these monthly guides: a shared dormitory room $182–375 (€160–330), a single dormitory room $284–511 (€250–450), food $170–261 (€150–230). Smaller university towns sit at the lower end, Prague and Brno at the upper end. An annual student transport pass costs about $57–114 (€50–100) depending on the city, and overall the portal suggests $568–908 (€500–800) a month for basic living costs in a dormitory or shared flat. On a tight budget, Olomouc, Plzeň, Liberec or Hradec Králové offer the same tuition-free Czech-taught route with cheaper housing.

Private institutions: when they make sense

The register lists 25 private institutions, most of them in Prague, all fee-paying in any language. The usual arguments for them are an applied business profile, small groups, more flexible admission and English-taught programmes in fields where public universities have none.

Before choosing one, check three things:

1. Accreditation of the specific programme in the MŠMT register, not just the institution's presence on the list.
2. The total cost for the whole programme, including application and exam fees.
3. How the degree is recognised in your home country and wherever you plan to work.

ŠKODA AUTO University in Mladá Boleslav is an example with a transparent model: the English bachelor's costs $2,668 (€2,350) and the master's $2,896 (€2,550) per semester in winter 2026/27; see the university profile. Prague's private institutions and their fees are listed in the Prague guide.

Matching a university to your goal

A practical order: choose the field and teaching language first, then shortlist 4–6 faculties in different cities, and only then look at rankings. Two faculties of the same university often differ more in their requirements than two different universities.

Who can enrol and get a visa

Anyone can apply to a Czech university. Staying longer than 90 days, however, requires a long-term visa or residence permit, and citizenship matters a great deal.

Applicants from Kazakhstan have a dedicated guide: studying in Czechia for Kazakh students. Documents, amounts and timelines are in student visa and residence in Czechia. The Czech Ministry of the Interior decides on visas; the university only confirms admission.

Admission basics shared by all universities

Every faculty publishes its own admission rules, but some features are common:

• A foreign school certificate must be recognised, either through general nostrification by a regional authority (valid anywhere in Czechia) or through assessment by the faculty during admission (valid for that faculty and that year only). Both routes are explained in nostrification in Czechia.
• Applications go through each university's online system, with a fee for every application.
• For most September-start programmes, deadlines fall between February and April, exams run in spring and early summer, and decisions arrive in June or July.
• Czech-taught programmes usually ask for a B2 certificate, some for C1.

A step-by-step plan with dates is in applying to universities in Czechia. If you have no Czech yet, start with Czech language preparatory courses.

Common mistakes

• Choosing by overall ranking without reading the programme and faculty requirements.
• Assuming a public university is free in any language: English-taught degrees are paid at public institutions too.
• Confusing VŠB-TUO with the University of Ostrava.
• Applying only in Prague, when Brno and Olomouc offer comparable programmes with lower living costs.
• Not checking a private institution's programme accreditation in the MŠMT register.
• Making plans before checking visa rules for your citizenship.

FAQ

Sources

• MŠMT: register of Czech higher education institutions — checked 01.10.2026
• Higher Education Act No. 111/1998 (s. 46 titles, s. 48 admission, s. 58 fees) and MŠMT base amount for 2026/27 (PDF) — checked 01.10.2026
• QS World University Rankings 2027: Charles University, CTU, Masaryk University, BUT, UCT Prague, Palacký University, ČZU — checked 01.10.2026
• Fees: Charles University, First Faculty of Medicine, CTU FEE and CTU Statute, Annex 5 (PDF), VŠE, ČZU, UCT Prague, Masaryk University and its 2026/27 fee notice, BUT FEEC, Palacký University, ŠKODA AUTO University — checked 01.10.2026
• Faculties of regional universities: websites of UTB, UJEP, VŠPJ, University of Pardubice, UHK, TUL — checked 01.10.2026
• MŠMT: Government Scholarships for 2027/28 — checked 01.10.2026
• Study in Czechia: living costs and how to apply — checked 01.10.2026
• Czech Foreign Ministry: visa services for Russian and Belarusian citizens (updated 09.02.2026) and Government Regulation No. 55/2024 — checked 01.10.2026
• ECB reference rate of 30.09.2026: €1 = $1.1355 and €1 = CZK 24.440, so $1 ≈ CZK 21.52

If you want a shortlist matched to your field and budget, send a request: document preparation and submission are provided under an agreement with StudyU, and the university makes the admission decision.

During the free initial consultation, we clarify your goal, profile, timing, and budget and identify the next realistic step.