Recognition of Previous Education and Nostrification

When submitting the documents for the application to our study programs, scans of your documents suffice. When you are admitted and are enrolling, your documents have to go through so-called nostrification. Nostrification is the process of assessment of your documents and recogizing their validity for the enrollment. We will guide you through the process here.

Education recognition for applications

For the application, you only have to submit scans of your documents or electronic versions. Translation is necessary in case the documents are not in English or Czech. No formal nostrification is required for the scans.

If you don’t have a diploma yet, confirmation of study with expected graduation period will suffice.

Education recognition for enrollment = nostrification

To enrol you into the study program, we need to formally recognize the validity of your documents, i.e. a diploma or a document confirming that you finished:

at least your secondary education for BA programs

at least your Bachelor’s education for MA programs

Nostrification

You need to submit the hardcopies of your documents by the September in-person registration.

Only in case you can’t make it to Prague in person by the end of September, send the documents via post or courier service to:

Marcela Vrbatová
International Office
Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
Smetanovo nábř. 6
110 01 Praha 1
Czechia

Some schools no longer issue hard copies of graduation documents. In that case, please send us the link and information necessary for us to download it directly from the school’s portal. If that isn’t possible, please ask your school to send us your diploma and transcript directly to admissions@fsv.cuni.cz. The documents must be send directly from the school to our office; we cannot accept documents sent to us by students themselves. Documents sent through Parchment or similar portal are also acceptable.

Your documents will be assessed based on three criteria: validity of the document (hard copy or notarized copy), language translation (English or Czech) and authentication (based on country of origin – Apostille or Superlegalization). This assessment is free of charge and is only valid for the purposes of admission at our faculty.

If you need the documents recognized for other purposes or if there is any ambiguity, you may be asked to submit a general “nostrification”.

Do you have any questions? Please contact Marcela Vrbatová at admissions@fsv.cuni.cz.

Nostrification of previous secondary education

If you are enrolling to a Bachelor’s study program, you should submit your diploma and transcript of records of your studies. By diploma, we mean a school leaving certificate, high school diploma, or potentially also final exam results. The document should clearly state that you completed your secondary education, your credentials and the name of the school. By transcript of records, we mean a document describing the content and scope of your completed education.

What documents to bring?

If you studied at a Czech secondary school, provide your “maturitní vysvědčení” – an original document or a notarized copy. No further authentication is necessary. If you are a graduate of a Czech school and have an IB diploma as well as “maturitní vysvědčení”, submit both documents.

If you studied outside of Czechia, you will need to go through nostrification assessment (a process of recognizing the validity of your diploma). This is required by the Czech law. A hard copy or notarized copy must be presented. The documents must be authenticated depending on the country of origin: Forms of verification by the country (with the exception of article D). All submitted documents which are not originally issued in Czech, English, or Slovak languages must be officially translated by a certified translator into Czech or English.

A) European Baccalaureate
Provide your original EB certificate or a notarized copy. European Baccalaureate is considered automatically equivalent to Czech educational documents – no other authentication is required.: B) International Baccalaureate
Submit your IB diploma certificate and the final exam results. The results must be sent to us through IBIS – International Baccalaureate Information System.: C) Cambridge Certificate (A levels)
Submit your General Certificate of Education with the results of your A levels, as well as your previous GCSE certificate. We can also check your results through the CIE Direct database, if you send us the Exam center number, your candidate number and when you took the exam. The documents should be authenticated based on the country where the document was issued (see Forms of verification by the country).: D) Automatically equivalent diploma
This is a document issued in Slovakia, Poland (“swiadectwo dojrzalosci”), Hungary (“érettségi bizonyítvány”), or Slovenia, as these countries have an international agreement with Czechia.

You need to submit your diploma – an original document or notarized copy. No further authentication is necessary: E) Other diploma/school leaving certificate
Submit a copy of your Diploma/school leaving certificate and Transcript of records – an original or notarized copy. The documents should be authenticated based on the country where the document was issued (see Forms of verification by the country).

Nostrification of previous degree education

If you are enrolling to a Master’s study program, you should submit your diploma and diploma supplement / transcript of records of your studies. By diploma, we mean a final certificate of your studies. The document should clearly state that you completed your Bachelor’s education, your credentials and the degree you achieved. By transcript of records, we mean a document describing the content and scope of your completed education including grades (can be a diploma supplement).

What documents to bring?

If you studied at a Czech university, provide your degree diploma – an original document or a notarized copy. No need for further authentication. If you completed your previous studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, you do not need to bring your diploma; we will be able to see it in your student records.

If you studied outside of Czechia, you will need to go through nostrification assessment of documents (a process of recognizing the validity of your diploma). This is required by the Czech law. A hard copy or notarized copy must be presented. The documents must be authenticated depending on the country of origin: Forms of verification by the country (with the exception of article B). All submitted documents which are not originally issued in the Czech, English, or Slovak languages must be officially translated by a sworn translator into the Czech or English languages.

A) General nostrification
If you have already gone through the general nostrification process and have a document proving the recognition of your foreign education degree issued by the MOI, MOE or MOD, you can submit the original or a notarized copy of this document. More on this process can be found here.: B) Automatically equivalent diploma
This is a document issued in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, or Slovenia (only Masters), as these countries have an international agreement with Czechia.

You need to submit your diploma – an original document or notarized copy. No further authentication is necessary.: C) Other diploma – most common
Submit a copy of your diploma and diploma supplement – an original or notarized copy. The documents should be authenticated based on the country where the document was issued (see Forms of verification by the country). If there is any ambiguity, the students may be asked to obtain a general nostrification (see A).

Nostrification FAQ

What if my diploma will not be ready by my September registration?
We are aware that some schools take time to physically issue the diploma. If that’s your case, please bring a confirmation of graduation instead (a stamped hard copy).This will suffice for the enrolment. Once you do obtain your diploma later in the academic year, you have to bring it to our office for additional assessment as soon as you receive it.: I have been accepted and have my documents ready. Should I send them to you via post ASAP?
It is not necessary to mail us your documents during the summer. The nostrification will be performed during your registration meeting in September and we don’t need your documents earlier. Please, only send us your documents in case you can’t make it to Prague by October and will not be here for the September registrations. We will return the documents to you when you do arrive in Prague and come to our office.: Can I translate your documents by myself for the nostrification?
No. Your documents need to be translated by a certified translator into either Czech or English.: My secondary school does not provide exam results/school leaving diploma – I am not sure what to submit?
We mention all these options to cover all possibilities, as our applicants come from many countries with diverse curricula and just as many types of final documents. You do not need to submit all of the documents, but just those that apply to your situation. E.g.: If your school issues the results of exams as the final document confirming your graduation, such as Czech Maturita or A levels, please submit that. If your school issues a diploma/certificate as the final documents, but without the results of your final exams, such as a US High school diploma, please submit that.

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