HAS Course structure
Do you want to know what your studies will look like if you decide for History and Area Studies BA program? Read on!
HAS is a three-year Bachelor’s program and during your studies, you have to obtain 180 ECTS credits. This means 60 credits per year and 30 per semester in average.
You will study three types of courses:
- Compulsory courses (150 ECTS credits in total) are the core of the program. The Czech language courses proceed from the basic grammar and vocabulary to the advanced level of Czech to be reached by the end of the studies. The modern history and area studies courses aim to give a broad overview of major topics in contemporary Central European history, culture, politics, and economics, thus providing a solid background for a more in-depth study of selected topics in the elective courses. The Bachelor’s thesis seminars prepare a student for the selection of the topic of the thesis and provide a guide for writing the thesis.
- Elective courses (at least 12 ECTS credits in total) will let you tailor your study to your needs. You can choose from a wide selection. These courses are more specific and allow you to specialize in your field.
- Optional courses (maximum 18 ECTS credits) can be taken at any faculty or department of Charles University. They will allow you to broaden your horizons beyond your field of study. These credits can also be used to follow elective courses or languages. There is no minimum number of credits to be taken in this category of courses (that is, all 180 credits can be gained by taking only compulsory and elective courses).
To sucessfully graduate, you have to write your BA thesis and pass a state exam. The state exam includes the thesis defense (in English), answering questions on a given topic from the field of Modern History (in English), and debate over the academic text (in Czech).
Detailed course structure
Do you want to see the structure of compulsory courses over the three years of your studies? Scroll through the tables below. You will also find there examples of electives you can take during your studies.
Compulsory courses
First year
| Knowledge-oriented courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Academic Writing | SS | Pass | 6 |
| Introduction to History | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Introduction to Area Studies | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Introduction to Government and Politics | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Language courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Czech Language I | WS | Pass | 4 |
| Czech Language II | SS | Exam | 4 |
| Receptive Language Skills I | WS | Pass | 4 |
| Receptive Language Skills II | SS | Exam | 4 |
| Productive Language Skills I | WS | Exam | 4 |
| Receptive Language Skills II | SS | Pass | 4 |
Second year
| Knowledge-oriented courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| World History of the 20th Century | WS | Exam | 6 |
| International Relations since 1918 | WS | Exam | 6 |
| European Integration | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Modern History of Central Europe | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Central European Culture in the 20th Century | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Introduction to International Political Economy | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Language courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Czech Language III | WS | Exam | 4 |
| Czech Language IV | SS | Exam | 4 |
| Academic Czech in Humanities and Social Sciences I | WS | Exam | 4 |
| Academic Czech in Humanities and Social Sciences II | SS | Exam | 4 |
Third year
| Knowledge-oriented courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Current Central Europe | SS | Pass | 6 |
| BA Thesis Seminar I | WS/SS | Pass | 10 |
| BA Thesis Seminar II | WS/SS | Pass | 10 |
| Language courses | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Czech in Communication | WS | Exam | 4 |
| Academic Communication in Czech | SS | Exam | 4 |
| Lexical-Stylistic Seminar | WS | Pass | 4 |
| Academic Reading in Czech | WS | Pass | 6 |
| Academic Writing in Czech | SS | Pass | 6 |
Elective courses
You can see the most relevant elective courses in the list below. Please find the complete offer here.
| Name of the course | Semester | Examination | Credits |
| Internship | WS/SS | Pass | 3 |
| Introduction to Intellectual History: Approaches and Methods | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Transatlantic Security Cooperation | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Identity and Inter-Cultural Communication | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Central European and Czech Literature | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Central European and Czech Politics | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Central European and Czech History | WS | Exam | 6 |
| Czech Linguistics | SS | Exam | 6 |
| Prague, the Metropolis of Central Europe | SS | Exam | 6 |
