The aim of post-secondary vocational education is to develop and improve the student's expertise and skills acquired in secondary education. It provides general and specialised education and practical training to perform demanding activities. Study is concluded with a discharge examination; graduates acquire a certificate of discharge examination and the right to use the non-academic title “specialist with diploma” (DiS.). The discharge examination includes defence of the graduate thesis.
The study programs are for three years including work experience (in medical fields they last 3.5 years for combined forms of education). At public post-secondary vocational schools (PVS), tuition is paid up to a limit of CZK 5,000 per year depending on the field of education. At private and church PVS, tuition is not limited.
Acceptance procedure
The condition for acceptance is the completion of secondary education with a school leaving examination and successful passing of the acceptance procedure. The details of the acceptance procedure are determined by the school principal, who must first stipulate the criteria and define their mutual weight.
The school principal will publish the decision on acceptance or non-acceptance of the applicant for study in a list of accepted applicants within seven days from stipulating the results of the acceptance procedure (or from the date of the acceptance examination, if it is part of the procedure). Unaccepted applicants may file an appeal within 15 days. Accepted applicants become student from the date of registration, which is stipulated by the school, but is at latest on 31 October.
In choosing, applicants for study at PVS may use the Infoabsolvent website, which is only in the Czech language.
Evaluation and attendance
The standard ECTS qualification system is used at PVS. Subjects are concluded with a credit, qualified credit or examination in four grades (1 - excellent, 2 - very good, 3 - good, 4 - failed). The same grades are used to evaluate the discharge examination. The student is obliged to attend schooling.
Compared to universities, post-secondary vocational education includes practical training, which is also conducted on the workplaces of natural persons or legal entities authorised to conduct activities related to the given field of education.
Transfer to university
A graduate of a post-secondary vocational education program is not allowed to access follow-up master’s studies, which require a completed bachelor’s study program at university. However, graduates of post-secondary vocational education may be accepted to a later year of a related bachelor’s study program. This is entirely at the discretion of the given university.
PVS and Erasmus+
PVS students who acquire a Erasmus University Charter can participate in international mobility within the Erasmus+ program for university education. All PVS students have the option of participating in exchange programs and projects within Erasmus+ for vocational education. Successful graduates from these internships can then become involved in the EuroApprentices Network.