Decision of the dean on the rules of admission for the master cross-border study programmes for year 2023/2024

In accordance with Sections 48 - 50 of Act 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions and the Modifications and Amendments of Other Acts, I announce the rules of admission for entrance into the cross-border master study programmes at the Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (hereafter FSci USB) for the academic year 2023/2024.

Article 1. Study programmes opened

Article 2. Admission deadlines

1. Main term

Students are admitted to all the programmes listed in Art. 1 of this Decision during the term. Applications may be submitted until 18 May 2023. Applicants must submit a certified copy of proof of successful completion of the Bachelor's degree and Transcript of Records no later than 13 June 2023, 11:00 a.m. The entrance examinations will take place between 7 and 16 June 2023. Applicants will be informed on exact date at least 7 days ahead.

1. Additional term

Students are admitted to all programmes listed in Art. 1 of this Decision to fill vacant capacities. Applications may be submitted from 1 July to 31 October 2023. Applicants must submit a certified copy of the proof of successful completion of the Bachelor's degree and Transcript of Records no later than 6 February 2024, 11:00 a.m. The entrance examinations for Biological Chemistry will take place between 8 and 15 November 2023. Applicants will be informed on exact date at least 7 days ahead. The entrance examinations for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science will take place on 9 February 2024.

For documents issued by a foreign university, the faculty reserves the right to request higher forms of verification or nostrification.

Article 3. Application submission

Applications must be submitted online at https://wstag.jcu.cz/portal/studium/uchazec/eprihlaska.html?pc_lang=en . The application fee of CZK 500 can be paid by credit card through the JCU payment gateway or by bank transfer to account number 104725778/0300; variable symbol - 6020106, specific symbol - electronic application number generated by the electronic application system. Applicants are advised to agree with electronic communication (to be expressed in the application).

The applicant shall deliver the documents of previous education in person or by post to the Department of Student Affairs of the Faculty of Science at the following address:

Faculty of Science of the University of South Bohemia
Department of Student Affairs,
Branišovská 1760
370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

Article 4. Eligible applicants

Admitted to study may be:

1. A citizen of the Czech Republic holding a Bachelor’s degree who fulfils the conditions set out in Art. 5 of this Decision for respective study programme;
2. A foreign national who, in addition to meeting these conditions, must comply with the special regulations for the study of foreign nationals at universities in the Czech Republic.

Article 5. Entrance exam

5.1. General 

1. All parts of the exam are conducted in English. Applicant must obtain at least 50 % of the points for every part of the exam.
2. The entrance exam includes an English language exam. The candidate does not have to take it if he/she has passed the final Bachelor's exam in English at the FSci USB with a grade better than or equal to "very good minus" or if he/she comes from a country where English is the main language[1]. Certificates at level B2 and higher according to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports's list of standardized examinations are accepted as a substitute for the English language entrance examination. An official TOEFL score of 180 (computer-based test) or higher, or a score of 500 (paper-based test) or higher are accepted as well.
3. The entrance exam takes place on site at FSci USB. It may be carried out in distance mode at the written request of the applicant. Requests to hold the entrance examination by distance mode are approved by the Vice-Dean for Study on the basis of the opinion of the study programme guarantor or person in charge of programme administration. Distance examination is not claimable.
4. Applicants cheating during the entrance examination will receive a score of 0 points for every exam.
5. A list of applicants will be compiled according to their score. Candidates will be admitted up to the number specified in Art. 1 (after deduction of the places filled by candidates admitted under paragraph 5.3 a without a professional examination). Any candidate with the same score as the last candidate determined by the number in Art. 1 will also be admitted.

5.2. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

2. Graduates of the bachelor's degree may be admitted to study in the follow-up master's degree if they have earned at least 120 credits (ECTS) for courses in the field of computer science, and their weighted average in these courses is 2.0 or better, and if they successfully pass the entrance examination.
3. The entrance exam is oral, conducted in English, and consists of knowledge in Computer Science.

5.3. Biological Chemistry

1. Graduates of the Biological Chemistry bachelor programme from FSci USB are admitted without entrance exam.
2. The entrance exam consists of three written tests:
   • Biochemistry;
   • Molecular Biology;
   • General, Organic, and Analytical Chemistry

Article 6. Applicants with special needs

An applicant with special needs (with disability, chronic illness, or other health problems) has the right to use the support measures and services provided by the university during the entrance examination and, if accepted, also during their study. If they wish to assert this claim, they must select the option YES in the column “Consideration of special needs” in the online application form. After fulfilling all the administrative requirements associated with the application for study, they will be contacted by the staff of the Support Centre for Students with Special Needs and acquainted with the next steps. More detailed information can be obtained on the centre's website (www.centrumssp.jcu.cz), by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or by telephone (00420 389 036 026). It is also possible to consult with the staff of the centre about the suitability of choice of a study programme before submitting an application for study.

Article 7. Further provisions

1. The dean appoints an admissions committee, chaired by the vice-dean for study, and composed of associate professors and academic staff with a scientific degree from FSci USB for each programme offered. The committee, based on the results of the admission examinations, will rank the applicants, and propose to the dean a decision on their admission or non-admission.
2. The dean, based on a proposal by the chair of the committee, will decide within one week whether or not to accept the applicant. The applicant is immediately informed of the decision.
3. Applicants who, no later than the fifth working day after the scheduled date of the entrance examination, submit a physician's certificate attesting to their unfitness to participate in the examination will be invited to the examination on an alternative date, organized in the same way as the examination on the original date.
4. Unsuccessful applicants shall have the right to appeal to the Dean within 30 days after receiving the decision. If the appeal is rejected, the candidate may present it to the Rector of the University for a final decision. The appeal is to target paragraph 5 of this Decision, otherwise it is to be deemed to be without basis. In formulating the appeal, the applicant has the right to view the documentation of her/his admission process but does not have the right to see the documentation of other applicants or the committee

These conditions for admission were discussed and agreed upon by the Academic Senate of Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice on 10 January 2023.

České Budějovice, 16 January 2023                                                     

prof. Ing. Hana Šantrůčková, CSc.
The Dean of the Faculty of Science

[1] Australia, anglophone Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States of America, South Africa