Basic Information

Charles University, City of Hradec Králové and Courses of Study

Charles University

Charles University, the first university established in Central Europe, was founded by Charles IV, the Czech King and Roman Emperor, in 1348. From the very beginning Charles University was characterized as a “studium generale“ and the King awarded it all the privileges enjoyed by the other old universities. At present Charles University has seventeen faculties altogether, out of which fourteen are seated in Prague while the other three are located in important Czech towns of Hradec Králové and Plzeň.

Faculty of Pharmacy

The Faculty of Pharmacy, with its seat in the town of Hradec Králové, was established by a government decree in 1969. This Faculty of Pharmacy has continued in the old and long-time tradition of the education of pharmacy at Charles University.

Pharmacy is a medical branch, which is focused on the research, production, control, supply, and dispensing of medicines and drugs. It also deals with information about drugs and pharmaceutical functions, organizations, with the management of pharmaceutical functions within the health service system (social pharmacy), and with the historical development of the branch.

Master study programs

The course of study Pharmacy at the Faculty of Pharmacy takes 5 years at present. The study program makes it possible for the undergraduates to specialize adequately according to their interests by choosing from recommended and optional subjects besides the compulsory disciplines. The concept of the study program corresponds with the contemporary state and standard of pharmaceutical sciences, the needs of the pharmaceutical practice in the European context and it creates a base for the postgraduate studies. The Faculty of Pharmacy is also open to foreign students. They can study either in Czech (after a year-long course of the Czech language, if needed) or in English. The conditions for their acceptance to the English course are the residence permit and the payment of the tuition fees for the academic year.

The graduate is qualified to pursue activities listed in the Directive 85/432/EEC, 85/433/EEC of the European Commission:

  • the preparation of the pharmaceutical form of medicinal products
  • the manufacture and testing of medicinal products
  • the testing of medicinal products in a laboratory for the testing of medicinal products
  • the storage, preservation and distribution of medicinal products at the wholesale stage
  • the preparation, testing, storage and supply of medicinal products in pharmacies open to the public
  • the preparation, testing, storage and dispensing of medicinal products in hospitals
  • the provision of information and advice on medicinal products

Two-year follow-up Master's study program in Pharmaceutical Sciences taught in English offering specialization in two academic fields of Drug discovery and Pharmaceutical analysis. Diploma thesis and Final State Exam leading to Master’s degree (Mgr. fully equivalent to MSc) and optional Doctor of Natural Sciences, RNDr. (Dr.Sc.)

Graduate of the Pharmaceutical Sciences study program is a qualified specialist in various fields of Pharmaceutical Sciences. They have acquired theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in the field of drugs and pharmaceuticals, drug discovery and development, and pharmaceutical analysis. They have a thorough knowledge on metabolism, mechanisms of drug effects, drug use rules, toxic effects, and evaluation of drug-related scientific data.

Graduates will ready to work in pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies in the areas of drug discovery, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and metabolism. They can continue as PhD student involved in Research and Development of Drugs at universities around the world. They will be able to work in labs focusing on pharmaceutical analysis, drug evaluation and pharmaceutical quality. They can be a part of healthcare system (Food and Drug Administration, and national laboratories such as National Institutes of Health) focusing on drug safety and law.

The Postgraduate (Doctoral) Studies

The graduate of the university course of studies of pharmacy (or of some related fields such as medicine or natural sciences) that has acquired Magister (Mgr.) or Master (MS) degree or its equivalent can apply for admission to the three-year internal or five-year external course of postgraduate doctoral studies. The PhD studies involve scientific work in a selected research project under the supervision of distinguished teachers of the Faculty of Pharmacy. The postgraduate course of studies is concluded by passing examinations in theoretical topics related to the appropriate research project and by writing and defending a Doctoral Dissertation.

The Accreditation Committee of the Government of the Czech Republic approved eleven fields in which it is possible to obtain degree of Doctor (PhD) at the Faculty of Pharmacy, namely Bioorganic Chemistry, Drug Control, Clinical Pharmacy, Gerontopharmacy, Pathobiochemistry and Xenobiochemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pharmacognosy, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Technology, Social Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Toxicology of Natural Products.

Hradec Králové

Hradec Králové, the biggest city in Eastern Bohemia, has about one hundred thousand inhabitants; it is situated at the confluence of the rivers Labe and Orlice about 100 km east of the capital of the country, Prague. It is mentioned among the oldest Czech towns as early as 1225. At the beginning of the 14th century it became the dowry and royal seat of Czech queens. That is why since that time it has had the contemporary name - “the Castle of the Queen”. The town itself flourished economically in the 15th century, but later it was destroyed in the Thirty Years´ War.

The historical centre of the town is formed by several major buildings: the cathedral of the Holy Ghost that dates back to the beginning of the 14th century, White Tower built at the end of the 16th century, and the baroque Jesuit church of the Assumption of Mary the Virgin with a convent dating back to the 2nd half of the 17th century. Towards the end of the 18th century the town was changed into a late baroque fortress. Since 1884 the character of the town as a fortress was gradually transformed - the town got rid of the shell of the fortification and further possibilities for its development became available. Between the two World Wars the town developed into the centre of modern Czech architecture.

After World War II Hradec Králové became the administrative and cultural centre of Eastern Bohemia - with theatres, galleries, museums, high schools and colleges. Besides the Faculty of Pharmacy it is also the seat of the Medical Faculty, Charles University; Military Medical Academy; and the independent University of Hradec Králové. About 4.000 university students attend classes in this town every year.

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