ASSESSMENT OF FOREIGN SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE AMU ADMISSIONS PROCESS

Within the scope of the admissions process, AMU is authorised to assess foreign education and degrees even in cases where AMU does not offer a programme of study with analogous contents. This consists of an assessment of previous education only for the internal purposes of an admissions proceeding at AMU. It is thus different from the process known in the Czech Republic as nostrifikace, i.e. the official recognition of foreign education (in whole or in part) and a degree as equivalent to education completed in the Czech Republic.

Assessment of previous education as part of the admission procedure for the academic year 2025/2026 is subject to a fee of CZK 967,-.

INFORMATION FOR CITIZENS OF UKRAINE

Foreigners who have been granted temporary protection in the Czech Republic pursuant to the Act on Certain Measures in Connection with the Armed Conflict on the Territory of Ukraine caused by the Invasion of the Russian Federation (Act No. 65/2022 Coll., hereinafter referred to as "Foreigners") may proceed in accordance with the Decree of the Rector No 5_2022 Rector's Decree 05_2022_Special Rules for the Organisation of Studies of Foreigners with Temporary Protection, which regulates the arrangements for the organisation of studies and decision-making at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (hereinafter referred to as "AMU"). 

In view of the above, applicants for studies at AMU who are Foreigners have the possibility, when proving their previous education, to replace the document (e.g. matriculation certificate, diploma, etc. pursuant to Section 48(4)(d) and Section 48(5)(c) of the Higher Education Act) with a Statutory declaration of such person on the facts otherwise proved by such document, if they do not have such documents for their previous education.

​Statutory declaration on completed secondary education

​Statutory declaration on completed higher education

The assessment of foreign education in the context of the admission process at AMU is provided free of charge.
As part of the nostrification process, the foreigner shall also provide evidence of:
- a signed plain copy of the temporary protection status according to Act No. 65/2022 Coll., with the date of the plain copy
- a plain copy of the passport with the applicant's identification data.

For applicants to Bachelor’s programmes and to Master’s programmes which do not continue on from a Bachelor’s programme, regardless of nationality 

A requirement for admission and for earning an academic degree in any Bachelor’s programme or Master’s programme in Acting for Dramatic Theatre pursuant to Section 48(4) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on higher education institutions, is the completion of a secondary education with a matura examination; applicants with a higher vocational education at a conservatory can also be admitted. An applicant can fulfil this requirement with:

A) a certificate of general recognition in the Czech Republic of a foreign secondary education, obtained pursuant to the Education Act (Act. No. 561/2004 Coll.)

• A certificate of general recognition of equivalence or validity in the Czech Republic of a foreign document demonstrating completion of a secondary education, obtained pursuant to the Education Act (Act No. 561/2004 Coll.) or to previous legislation, can be issued by Regional Administrative Offices, by Prague City Hall or by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (hereinafter the “Ministry of Education”).
• More information

B) a European Baccalaureate

•  Applies to the European Baccalaureate only.
•  Does not apply to the International Baccalaureate, which is considered to be a document pursuant to Sections 48(4d) of the Higher Education Act and for which the procedure is per point D. If an International Baccalaureate is an integral part of a matura examination certificate for students who successfully completed a matura examination in Czech Language and Literature in the common part of the matura examination, such applicants shall submit a certified copy of the matura examination certificate within the scope of the admissions process1.
  1A matura examination certificate issued by schools to which the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports has granted consent to a different method of completing education with a matura examination in the area of education 79-41-K/610 Gymnázium – selected subjects in a foreign language (Section 81(9) of the Education Act for the period from 1 September 2014 through 31 August 2020). The IB Diploma is an integral part of the matura examination certificate for students who successfully completed a matura examination in Czech Language and Literature in the common part of the matura examination. These schools are the following: The English College in Prague, Anglické gymnázium, o.p.s., PORG - gymnázium a základní škola, o.p.s., OPEN GATE - gymnázium a ZŠ, s.r.o., and 1st International School of Ostrava - mezinárodní gymnázium, s.r.o. Within the scope of the admissions proceeding, graduates of these secondary schools shall submit a certified copy of the examination certificate.

C)  a certificate which is automatically equivalent without further administrative procedure

• A foreign certificate of completion of a secondary education which is equivalent without further administrative procedure in the Czech Republic under its international obligations – such documents demonstrate that the applicant has earned the equivalent of a Czech matura examination in Slovakia, Poland (swiadectwo dojrzalosci), Hungary (érettségi bizonyítvány) or Slovenia. In the case of documents demonstrating equivalence with a Czech matura examination in Germany (Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife), fulfilment of the requirement for completion of a secondary education with a matura examination shall be satisfied per Section 48(4d) of the Higher Education Act. The international agreement with Germany stipulates, however, that the result of such an assessment will always be positive but that it is necessary to proceed formally per point A or D.

The applicant shall thus submit:

• an original or certified copy of the foreign certificate or an analogous document certifying a foreign secondary education obtained by completing a programme of study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating pursuant to the legislation of a foreign country

If necessary, AMU shall call upon the applicant to submit the following additional documents:

• an original or certified copy of a document describing the contents and extent of the education completed at the foreign school (an overview of subjects with an allocation of hours for the individual years of study)

D) a foreign certificate of secondary education completed abroad

• a foreign certificate or analogous certification of foreign secondary education obtained by completing a programme of study in a secondary education programme at a foreign secondary school operating pursuant to the legislation of a foreign country, and which in the foreign country in question entitles its holder to advance to studies in a Bachelor’s programme or in a Master’s programme which does not continue on from a Bachelor’s programme
• a document describing the contents and extent of the education completed at the foreign school (an overview of subjects)

If not included in the above-mentioned documents, then additionally:

• a confirmation from the relevant foreign secondary school or other relevant foreign authority (e.g. the Ministry of Education) that a graduate of the secondary education programme at the foreign secondary school in question is entitled in that country to apply for admission to a Bachelor’s programme or to a Master’s programme which does not follow on from a Bachelor’s programme
• supplemental information documenting that the programme of study was administered by an institution authorised under the legislation of that country to provide education comparable with a secondary education pursuant to the Education Act

For Continuing Master’s programme applicants and doctoral programme applicants, regardless of nationality

A requirement for admission and for earning an academic degree in a Master’s programme which follows on from a Bachelor’s programme pursuant to the provisions of Section 48(5) of the Higher Education Act is due completion of either type of programme. A requirement for admission to a doctoral programme is due completion of a Master’s programme and the conferral an academic degree.

Fulfilment of the requirement of due completion of either type of programme or completion of a Master's programme and conferral of an academic degree, respectively, can be demonstrated with the following documents:

A) a certificate of general recognition in the Czech Republic of foreign higher education, obtained under Sections 89 and 90 of the Higher Education Act (so-called nostrifikace)

• This document is issued by public universities, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports or, in the case of specialist higher education institutions, by the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Defence. AMU can provide certificates of general recognition for diplomas, examination certificates and analogous documents issued by a foreign higher education institution which administers a similar programme of study with respect to contents. More information.

B) a foreign certificate of completion of higher education which is equivalent in the Czech Republic without further administrative procedure under its international obligations

• Such documents certify completion of a programme of study in Slovakia (diplomas issued by foreign branches of Slovak higher education institutions after 28 March 2015 constitute an exception; the procedure for these cases is per point C), Poland or Hungary. The agreement stipulates that the Czech Republic, as well as the Republic of Slovenia, recognise diplomas conferred upon completion of a Master’s programme. Automatic equivalence does not apply to diplomas conferred upon completion of Bachelor’s programmes, which are assessed per point C.

German university degrees (diplomas) certifying completion of higher education presented for purposes of further studies, as well as relevant programme components and individual examinations, are not automatically equivalent without further administrative procedure. These are subject to the procedure per point C, although the result of the assessment will always be positive as stipulated by the international agreement.

The applicant shall thus submit:

• an original or certified copy of the diploma, examination certificate or analogous document (e.g. a certificate of completion of studies) issued by the foreign higher education institution
• an original or certified copy of the diploma supplement or transcript of examinations (transcript)

C) a foreign certificate of higher education completed abroad

• a diploma, examination certificate or analogous document (e.g. a certificate of completion) that was obtained by completing a tertiary programme of study at a foreign higher education institution operating pursuant to the legislation of the foreign country
• a diploma supplement or transcript of examinations (transcript)

If necessary, AMU shall call upon the applicant to submit the following additional documents:

• supplementary information on the contents and extent of the foreign tertiary programme of study
• a confirmation by a relevant foreign authority that the foreign higher education institution in question is authorised in that country to provide higher education (confirmation of accreditation)

Instructions for applicants:

The applicant shall send certified copies or originals of the above-mentioned documents in printed form by post (it is not possible to send by e-mail) to the address of the faculty to which he or she is applying. The final deadline for submitting these documents can be found on the website of the relevant faculty. The applicant shall not fill in a request for official recognition of foreign education and a degree (nostrifikace).

For documents not issued in Czech, English or Slovak, a certified Czech or English translation must be provided. The translation must be prepared by a court interpreter certified in the Czech Republic (a list of certified court interpreters is available on the Ministry of Justice website, www.justice.cz, under “experts and interpreters” (“znalci a tlumočníci”)), or at the Czech embassy or consulate in the given country. If the certified translation is prepared by a translator who is not a court interpreter certified in the Czech Republic, the pages of the translation must be bound to the certified copies of the documents to which they correspond, so that the pages containing the translation cannot be subsequently exchanged. Translations bound to simple copies of documents will not be accepted. If the documents are issued in bilingual form and one of the languages is English, then it is not necessary to translate them.

If the applicant’s situation so necessitates, he or she shall also submit the following documents:

• a power-of-attorney, if the applicant is represented by an agent for purposes of documentation of fulfilment of the admission requirements pursuant to Section 48(4-5) of the Higher Education Act ( sample power-of-attorney);
• in the event of a change in the applicant’s name, a certified copy of a document demonstrating this (e.g. a marriage certificate);
• a certified copy of a decision granting international protection, if a person stipulated in Section 90(4) of the Higher Education Act requests such an assessment and wishes to exercise the option to substitute certain documents with an affidavit.

Verification of documents demonstrating education
Applicants must submit the originals or certified copies of all documents, and all documents must be duly verified in accordance with the relevant international agreements.

A) States which have concluded an agreement on legal assistance with the Czech Republic

• Originals are valid on the territory of contractual states without further verification. In the event that the applicant presents copies of such documents, these must be certified copies drawn up by a Czech or foreign notary at a Czech embassy or consulate abroad or drawn up through the Czech Point service.

List of states which have concluded an agreement on legal assistance with the Czech Republic, and thus require only an original or certified copy:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Georgia, Yemen, Croatia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Cuba, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, North Macedonia / FYROM, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Austria, Romania, Russian Federation, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

B) States which are signatories to the multilateral convention on the simplification of legalisation of foreign public documents,
i.e. the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (The Hague, 5 October 1961, published under No. 45/1999 Coll. international agreement), hereinafter the “Hague Convention”.    

• For these states, a uniform method for verifying the authenticity of documents has been set out, the so-called Apostille, which is issued by the competent authority of the state in which the diploma was conferred, the so-called Apostille Office. A list of Apostille Offices is available on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Documents from the following states must be legalised by means of an Apostille:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burundi, Canada, Cook Islands, China including Hong Kong and Macao (super-legalisation required for documents from other territories in China), Chile, Denmark, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (from 15 July 2008), Dominica, Dominican Republic  (legalisation by apostille clause from 30 August 2009), Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, territories belonging to France (i.e. French Polynesia, French Territory of the Afars and the Issas, Guadalupe, Guyana, Comoro Islands, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna), Germany, Grenada (from 7 April 2002 – prior to this date listed under Great Britain), Guatemala, Honduras, India, Ireland, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Republic of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Colombia (an electronically issued Apostille is accepted), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Kosovo, Costa Rica, Lesotho, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niue, The Netherlands and their territories (i.e. Netherlands Antilles, Aruba), Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Philippines, Rwanda, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Surinam, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Switzerland, Eswatini, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay, the USA and its territories (i.e. American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), Great Britain and its territories (i.e. Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, British Solomon Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands), Vanuatu and Venezuela.

C) Other states – documents demonstrating completion of studies must be superlegalised.
Super=legalisation involves verification of the authenticity of the signature and the stamp on the original documents:

• by the Foreign Ministry of the state in which the secondary school or higher education institution that issued the document is headquartered, or by the relevant foreign authority;
• and additionally by the relevant embassy or consulate of the Czech Republic.

! Requirements to submit duly certified documents will be fulfilled even if the applicant submits certified copies of documents which have been certified in the manner prescribed above for the relevant type of document submitted (e.g. in the case of a diploma from Egypt, the applicant shall submit certified copies of super-legalised documents).

! In exceptional cases for documents from EU member states, Norway, the United States of America, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, it is possible to substitute the apostille with a certified copy of the relevant document (analogous to the procedure for states which have concluded an agreement on legal assistance with the Czech Republic), if one of the following conditions is concurrently met:

• the foreign secondary school or higher education institution, upon the applicant's request, confirms to AMU via e-mail that the applicant is a graduate of the foreign secondary school or higher education institution in question;
• the official website of the foreign secondary school or higher education institution enables AMU to verify free of charge that the applicant is a graduate of that institution (e.g. by entering a password and downloading the applicant’s transcript from the official website of a foreign higher education institution).