Pharmacy (taught in English)

About the course

A 5-year Master’s degree in Pharmacy, taught in English at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove. Alongside the compulsory subjects, you choose recommended and optional subjects, and the fee covers optional Czech courses for everyday use.

Entry requirements for Irish students

• The university assesses the Irish Leaving Certificate individually and does not publish a fixed Irish requirement. Contact admissions to confirm. Your secondary school qualification must be officially recognised in the Czech Republic (nostrification), using officially verified copies, with an official translation into English or Czech where needed.
• Entrance exam: a written multiple-choice test with 50 Chemistry, 30 Biology, 20 Botany and 40 English grammar questions (1 point per correct science answer, 0.5 points per correct English answer). You can sit it online (SCIO) or face to face. The Dean sets the pass mark based on applicant numbers and capacity. IB Diploma holders who meet set grades may be excused from the exam, but no similar exemption is published for the Leaving Certificate.
• English: the faculty looks for a ‘good command of English’, which is tested in the grammar section of the entrance exam. No separate English certificate is listed.

Working in Ireland afterwards

A pharmacy degree from an EU/EEA member state that fully meets the Directive 2005/36/EC minimum training requirements (Article 44) can be recognised automatically. If you started your studies before the Directive’s reference date, you also need 3 consecutive years of professional experience within the last 5 years. Recognition is step one and PSI registration is step two: recognition alone does not let you practise, and you must also prove competence in English. EU law allows countries to limit EU-qualified pharmacists from running newly opened pharmacies, and we could not confirm on the PSI website whether Ireland does this. If you plan to be the supervising or superintendent pharmacist in a pharmacy, check with the PSI.

How to apply

1. Apply onlineComplete Charles University’s online application for Pharmacy in English. The 2026 cycle deadline was 30 April 2026. Check for the 2027 deadline.
2. Sit the entrance examTake the Chemistry, Biology, Botany and English grammar test, either online (SCIO) or face to face. The 2026 online dates were 20 March, 13 May and 27 June. Use the faculty’s example test and recommended reading to prepare.
3. Get your Leaving Cert recognisedArrange nostrification of your Leaving Certificate. Email scans to the faculty for a preliminary check, then post verified copies and the application form. In 2026 the faculty pages gave 31 August and 30 September as deadlines, so aim for the earlier date.
4. Enrol and budgetOnce you are admitted, enrol and pay the EUR 7,900 annual tuition. Budget about EUR 3,500 a year for living costs in Hradec Kralove.

Costs

• EUR 7,900 per year for students who want to be taught in English, as published for the 2026/27 admission cycle. This is the fee for the English-language programme, so EU students pay it too. It includes optional Czech language courses. The faculty’s pages do not mention an application fee or the cost of the online SCIO test, so check both with the faculty before you apply. The faculty estimates living costs at about EUR 3,500 a year on top of tuition.

At a glance