Prague, Czech Republic

IFSA Study in Prague Plus

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Program Overview

AFFORDABILITY + ACADEMIC OPTIONS

In Prague, you can both maximize value and explore topics that suit your major and your interests. Delve into human rights, the ethics of technology, identity, psychology, architecture, and more with IFSA classes at historic Villa Grébovka in the heart of the city. Plus, take a class at international Prague City University in trendy Vinohrady, or Charles University, the country’s top-ranked university.

Discussions come to life through authentic connections with Czech people via meetups, meals, excursions, internships, and more. After class, head to a café with friends to savor chlebíčky—open-faced sandwiches—or explore the city’s many wonders, including quaint Old Town, the 11th century castle, Vyšehrad, and David Černý’s street art.

Another option: IFSA Study in Prague. It’s the same great program, with all IFSA classes (more affordable, and a more accessible GPA requirement, too).

This is an exclusive IFSA-Designed Program. Learn more about these affordable programs here.

Details at a Glance

Application deadline

Fall: April 15
Spring: Oct. 1

Minimum GPA

2.50

Credit load

13–16

Housing

Apartment/Flat, Single Room Option

Instruction language

English

Language prerequisites

None

Visa required?

Yes. Learn More.

Apply Now

Academics

Build your own curriculum with a combination of IFSA classes and a local university class offered by one of our partners—Charles University or Prague City University. Select 3 – 4 IFSA classes and one direct-enroll class for a total of 13 – 16 U.S. semester credit hours.

CHART Your Course
Find the classes you need fast with CHART. Our easy-to-use tool shows you classes recently taken by IFSA students.

CORE CLASS

Essential Czech
All students will take this class in contemporary Czech language and culture taught intensively during the first weeks of the program. By introducing key words and phrases in the classroom—and venturing out into the city to practice them—this class also provides insights into local customs and daily life. Right from the start, you’ll gain essential skills to communicate effectively and navigate in a new culture. (1 U.S. semester credit hour)

IFSA CLASSES
IFSA classes invite you to explore disruption and self-definition at the crossroads of Europe through a suite of interdisciplinary themes unfolding in real time. All classes are worth 3 U.S. semester credits and are open to all students. Prerequisites for some classes may be required. Please note, not all classes may be offered in a given semester depending on enrollment. Click on each link below for a detailed class syllabus.

Architecture and Design in Prague
The class introduces the European artistic architecture and design of the Czech capital. By examining artists, architects, and their works, students acquire a deeper understanding of the city’s character and how patronage, power, and politics have shaped the urban landscape. The class covers the periods of European architectural development from medieval to modern, distinguishing the various artistic styles and movements; the ways in which architects and designers conform to, or disrupt, artistic conventions; and how their work reflects and even influences the social and political dynamics of the city. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Beginning Czech I
A continuation of our Essential Czech primer, this class helps students develop a level of competence in contemporary Czech language sufficient for basic communication and comprehension, providing greater opportunity to both understand and practice grammatical structures. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Comparative Perspectives in Human Rights
This class comprises practical and theoretical content on human rights in Central Europe. Students will examine violations of human rights throughout Central European history focusing on the 20th century, the impact of WWII, communist regimes, return of the democratic establishment, and the EU. The class explores contemporary human rights debates surrounding abortion, free speech, affirmative action, Islamophobia, and discrimination against race, sex, ethnicity, and sexual orientation—distinguishing between religion, state, and political correctness. Students will analyze social justice theories, assessing each theory and its consequences for Central Europe. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Democracies in Transition: Reimagining Europe
This class explores the current issues and changing dynamics in the European democratic process of integration, their historical roots, every-day demonstrations, and potential future directions. Students interrogate the drivers shaping a European identity in the constant tension between individual liberties and community and societal needs. Carefully selected themes illustrate the historical developments of democracy in the European continent and the establishment of its most important political institutions. Within the context of Prague as a European city, students deepen their ability to engage creative thinking and problem-solving skills from a position of knowledge and awareness. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Entrepreneurship: Creating a Plan of Action
Entrepreneurship is widely understood as engaging in a process to seek out or create opportunities for the purpose of starting a business. Yet, there is a gap between what entrepreneurs do to start a business and what some investors require prior to investing in businesses. The purpose of this class is to, first, think through and engage in the creation of a start-up and, second, develop and communicate a business plan to potential investors. Students will follow lean methodology as it relates to start-ups and prepare a traditional business plan. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

International Internship Seminar
Students are placed in individual internships but collectively take part in the seminar to prepare for the experience, understand expectations, set personal objectives, identify, and strengthen specific skills, critically reflect on their progress, share experiences, and learn from each other throughout their term. Students develop a deeper understanding of themselves, their professional areas, and Czech work culture. In this seminar, which is focused on application of theory to practice, students gain real world work experience while developing intercultural agility—skills and experiences that are critically important to personal, academic, and professional success. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Social Psychology
A comparison of familiar social settings with unfamiliar social norms and behaviors abroad, this class explores the basic theory and research of social psychology—studying the interaction between individuals and social groups and how the behavior of groups and individuals within them is mutually affected. Students will demonstrate and discuss the pillar concepts of social psychology, including conformity, conflict, persuasion, helping, perceptions, and social identity. Students will expand on the roots of feelings, beliefs, attitudes, and behavior locally and globally and explore your own attitudes and identity. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Tech, Ethics, and Public Policy
The class will explore the ethical and social impacts of technological innovation, integrating perspectives from a range of academic disciplines to examine the impact of technology on humans and societies. Students will be encouraged to consider their responsibilities as consumers and potential creators of new technologies and to think about their broader ethical and societal implications. This, in turn, will help students to explore and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of current and possible future policy interventions. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Truth, Storytelling, and Narrative: Becoming Czech
This class explores how identity—a sense of “Czech-ness”—is created, shaped, and communicated through literature and journalism. What are the challenges of modern Czech identity? How have Czechs shaped their memory of historical events and developments, through literature and journalism? Why do fairy tales play a prominent role in popular culture? How have subversive storytelling and narrative formed Czech identities? In studying these questions, students will grapple with the concepts of truth, fact, constructivism, and perspective and how they shape identity and belonging. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

CHARLES UNIVERSITY (CU) CLASSES
For your one direct-enroll class, you can choose from what Charles University offers in their East and Central European Studies (ECES) program. The Faculty of Arts offers this uniquely tailored semester program to visiting students from around the world, focused on exploring the Czech Republic’s past and present through social, economic, and political lenses. Charles University requires a 3.0 GPA minimum for enrollment in its classes.

See the ECES catalog for up-to-date offerings. Featured classes include:

  • Consumption and Every Day Practices in State Socialism
  • Edges of Photography
  • From Thoreau to Havel: Chapters in Czech and American Struggle for Social Justice
  • Humor and Czech Culture
  • Landscape (and) Sociology: Understanding of Czech and European Landscapes
  • Politics of Song: From Folklore to Hip-Hop
  • Post-Communist Development and Transformational Processes
  • Waves of the Future: Czech and Slovak New Wave Cinema

PRAGUE CITY UNIVERSITY (PCU) CLASSES
For your one direct-enroll class, you can choose from within Prague City University’s Schools of Business, Art & Design, and Media & Information Technology. PCU offers an individualized and technology driven academic environment, where you will join an internationally diverse community where 70 percent of students come from outside the Czech Republic. Prague City University requires a 2.5 GPA minimum for enrollment in its classes.

See the PCU catalog for up-to-date offerings. Featured classes include:

  • Business Project Management
  • Critical Writing in Critical Times
  • Digital Marketing and New Technologies
  • Global Trade and Business Economics
  • Media Trends and Distribution
  • Storytelling for Emerging Platforms
  • Understanding and Leading Change
  • Web Design and Development

During the spring semester, if you choose a PCU elective class, you will remain on-site approximately three weeks longer than if you choose a Charles University elective class. Not only does this offer you additional time with your lecturers and classmates, but you can also experience the graduating student exhibitions and screenings in PCU campuses across the city, as well as in Prague’s famous arthouse cinema, Bio Oko.

Prague City University
IFSA students are not eligible to enroll in the School of Education at Prague City University. Certain classes in other PCU Schools may not be open to visiting students. Please consult CHART and speak with your IFSA Enrollment Counselor for more information.

Prerequisites
Class prerequisites as stated in syllabi.

INTERNSHIPS
IFSA internships include real-world work experience, along with developing intercultural skills and experiences that are key to personal, academic, and professional success. Expect to devote a total of 120 hours working with your host organization, with supervision from your seminar instructor, coordinated by on-site IFSA team members. In addition, interns complete the International Internship Seminar for 3 U.S. semester credit hours. Internships are not remunerated.

Students have interned at galleries and museums, business incubators, development agencies, religiously affiliated non-profits, marketing firms, and human rights advocacy groups in Prague.

Your goals are carefully considered, tailoring the placement process to ensure the best possible fit. Keep in mind that final placements depend on your skills, prior experience, and availability. Although every effort is made to match your placement with your preferred field or area of business, it can’t be guaranteed. Internships are conducted in English.

Application. After you submit your application, resume, and IFSA Internship Intent Form, an IFSA Enrollment Counselor and an on-site IFSA Team member will work with you to identify your professional strengths, review your goals, and refine your internship interests to establish a match. From there, you’ll have an interview with your potential internship host. You will be provided with tips and resources to prepare for your interview.

Sample Placements. The following are examples of internships IFSA students have recently completed. Placement options vary from term to term.

Organization: Business, communications, and marketing coaching institution
Potential Projects: You can assist with operations management, support community management and social media, conduct marketing research, advise on marketing strategies, or develop website content.

Organization: Non-profit, human rights organization
Potential Projects: You will engage in international research and write reports to support the fair migration policy project.

Organization: Not-for-profit legal advocacy institute
Potential Projects: You may collaborate on event organization, write research reports, and producing and editing content for the institute’s local and international activities.

Organization: International business consulting firm
Potential Projects: You may work in Human Resources assisting with recruitment support; in Marketing supporting communication management market analysis; in Computing reviewing code and helping with in-house software development; or in Finance helping with basic account and payroll services.

Organization: Language-training company
Potential Projects: You may review marketing strategies and a campaign for a teacher-training program; produce, edit, and review content for international target audiences in various media; assist with reestablishing alumni engagement; or develop strategy for implementing a new remote learning program.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility

  • You must be at least 18 years of age. Students under 18 may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
  • You must be currently attending or recently graduated from a U.S. or Canadian community college, technical college, two-year college, four-year college, or four-year university.
  • You must have completed at least one (1) full-time year of study at your home institution before the beginning of the term.

Recommendation Letter
Not required.

 

TRANSCRIPT
Upon completion of your program, IFSA will send an official Butler University transcript to your home university with your coursework converted to the U.S. semester credit hour system. You will also have access to an unofficial transcript in your IFSA Student Portal. The transcript reflects classes taken, credits attempted, and grades earned during your term abroad. This service is included in your study abroad program at no additional cost. See our Transcripts page for more information.

Excursions

Activities and excursions are designed to pull you into the communities you visit and encourage cultural connections of every kind. There’s no extra fee to participate in these optional outings—everything is included in your program fee.

Below are examples from previous terms; outings may be different for your program. We’ll make every effort to run them all, but sometimes things we can’t control, such as local regulations and health protocols, get in the way. As result, we cannot guarantee activities and excursions.

Activities

  • Cultural Life in Prague: The social, intellectual, and spiritual life of Praguians is deeply intertwined with cultural events, and classical music is an art widely embraced as local. Attending a concert at one of Central Europe’s most prestigious concert halls provides a deeply personal experience and gives you an opportunity to connect with the local psyche on a special occasion.
  • Cold War in Prague: This activity will take you deep under the ground, to a Cold War constructed nuclear shelter, which currently houses a local Cold War Museum. Through a group discussion, you will be able to connect your knowledge and impressions of the city landmarks to date with a more intimate understanding of what everyday life in the Cold War and in the Eastern Block looked like.
  • Eating Local-Food, People, and Sustainability: Gain a new understanding of your own views on sustainable living and eating. Discuss what “local” means in the European context, the challenges of sustainable food production and distribution, and the reasons for the current revival of local farmer’s markets, some essential questions will guide you through one of Prague’s farmer’s markets. Learn about what is local fare traditionally and currently and gain a new appreciation of eating out or shopping for food. The activity is followed by a tasting of specific local produce and products.
  • Czech Buddy Pizza Night: Meet local peers and find out what it’s like to be a local student. Network to put your foot in the door for exploring the local culture on your own, with a buddy as a guide.

Excursions

  • Back to the Woods Trip: This weekend excursion will take you to the western part of Bohemia to enjoy the hospitality of a Czech-Indian family sans your phone and Wi-Fi. Here you will be able to disconnect from the digital world and listen to the story of a local inter-cultural family while preparing your own naan on a real woodstove. You will wander around a beautiful landscape with a rich history of a border region and will be able to cross the German border on foot—literally where the Iron Curtain stood for 40 years. Finally, you will visit Karlovy Vary, the regional capital, with its beautiful architecture and history of healing industry and culture. To prepare you better for the context of this experience, the excursion is preceded by a film night where you’ll learn more about the relevant local and regional history.
  • Kutná Hora Trip: This unique location is definitely one where exploring the topic of religion in the Czech context and in your experience will generate discussion and thought, as we ponder the architecture and history of the town’s landmarks. On this day trip, we will visit the town with the famous “Bone Church” and discover why the bone church was built. Both Kutna Hora and Sedlec are UNESCO Heritage Sites.
  • Czech Outdoor Culture: Where do the locals disappear to every weekend? Escaping the town and enjoying the countryside has been a local tradition that goes back to the 18th century. Join in a similar experience on a walk through the Silent Valley to a small village just outside Prague. Like locals, you will enjoy not only the nature surrounding us, but also a lunch at a local brewery house.

Housing and Meals

Housing

Apartment/Flat, Single Room Option

Meals

Self-Catering

Details

Prague students typically live in apartments shared by four to six IFSA students in the city’s residential neighborhood. Home to Czech and international locals, this neighborhood is a short tram ride from the historic city center. Apartments vary but are generally in updated historic buildings, a 5- to 25-minute walk from the IFSA Program Center.  

Flats could be single-gender or mixed-gender. Bedrooms are shared by same gender students. Students can request single roomskeep in mind that private rooms include an additional fee to cover the higher cost. Students are responsible for their own meals, and often cook in their apartment kitchens, which are fully equipped. 

Sample housing 

Take a look at Slezska 23 to see what your Prague home might be like:  

  • Location: Vinohrady, an international residential neighborhood. 
  • Commute: A 15-minute walk to the IFSA Program Center at Villa Grébovka. 
  • Living space: Apartments for four to six students in older, historic buildings. Students share bedrooms with two single-gender students per room. Bedrooms include two beds, desks, and storage. Residents share bathroom, living space, eating area, and kitchen with oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, and basic utensils. Duvet and pillow provided; students provide sheets and towels.  
  • Meals: No meal plan. Students prepare or purchase meals, and often tell us cooking together is a fun, social part of the day.  
  • Other details: Internet included. Washing machines and drying racks in each apartment 
  • Nearby: Cafes, restaurants, shops, galleries, concert venues, farmers’ markets, tram and metro. Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. Žižkov TV tower. Riegrovy Sady. Náměstí Míru Square.    

Dates and Fees

Term
Term begins
Term ends
Program costs
Application deadline
Fall 2024
September 4, 2024
December 20, 2024
$18,575
April 15, 2024

Get Started

Eleni Katsarelas

Eleni Katsarelas

Enrollment Counselor