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The University of West Bohemia (UWB) is the only public institution of higher education located in the Pilsen region of Czechoslovakia. The University currently has nine faculties with more than 60 departments and two institutes of higher learning. Nearly 15,000 students can choose from a wide range of bachelor, master and doctoral degree programs, and can pursue these programs via the traditional classroom model or through distance education courses offered online.

More about the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen

The educational activities provided through the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen involve the lifelong learning of citizens through lectures, courses and comprehensive educational programs, including the popular University of the Third Age. In addition to offering world-class teaching, the university is also a center of research and development, as evidenced by the massive investment the administration has made in the development of both the university and to the construction of the university campus.

Currently the university is in the process of adding a tremendous new center that will bear the name the “European Centre of Excellence NTIS,” a center which will offer technical and scientific education and research. Also in the works is a major—and quite massive—extension of the university library.  These additions, which together represent the largest investment in the history of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, promise to align the university in cooperation with other universities around the world, not only in the field of research and development, but also for student exchange programs. The emerging new centers of research will also strengthen the links between the university and the professional community.

The History of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen

The University of West Bohemia in Pilsen was established by Act of the Czech National Council no. 314/1991 Sb., which established Silesian University, the University of South Bohemia, the West Bohemia University, the university's Association and the University of Ostrava.  It was established by merging the existing College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and the Faculty of Education in Pilsen in 1991.

The College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering was established in 1949 as part of the Czech Technical University in Prague. In 1953, the college gained independent status and began to develop rapidly.  In 1960 it was divided into two faculties—Engineering and Electrical Engineering.  At that time, the majority of course offerings led to undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of mechanical and electrical engineering.  Two other faculties –Applied Sciences and Economics—were created in Pilsen in 1990, shortly after the Velvet Revolution.

The Faculty of Education in Pilsen was founded in 1948 initially as a branch of the Faculty of Education of Charles University in Prague. Since 1953, the college has worked as an independent Higher School of Education and later as a Pedagogical Institute and since 1964 has been a pedagogical faculty. Its task is to prepare teachers to serve in the region’s primary and secondary schools. In 1991 it became part of the University of West Bohemia.

In 1993, two years after the University of West Bohemia was founded, the Faculty of Law was established to meet the increasing need for educated lawyers at a time of great social transformation.

In 2004, the UWB established the Institute of Art and Design as an independent university institute.  In 2008 the Faculty of Health Studies was established, and in that same year, the Institute of Language Training was also added.

Today UWB is able to provide education in most major fields of study, and the school attracts students from all over the country and abroad.  Students can receive education and training in a variety of different disciplines, including engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, applied mathematics, physics and mechanics, economics, education, philosophy, philology, social and cultural anthropology, archeology, law, public administration and healthcare.

Information for International Students

International students, including those students participating in organized study abroad and student exchange programs, can get all the help they need from UWB’s International Office, which engages in the following activities: 

• Providing information about educational programs in the European Union (EU)
• Counseling on study and employment opportunities abroad
• Coordinating the Socrates-Erasmus projects on the institutional level
• Coordinating Leonardo da Vinci projects (IN-CO work placements)
• Recruiting and taking care of international students
• Organizing the annual International Summer Language School (ISLS)
• Developing and strengthening international links on the institutional level
  (in cooperation with international partners, foundations, embassies etc.)
• Marketing the University abroad

University of West Bohemia in Pilsen holds a significant position among universities in the Czech Republic and in the European Higher Education Area. The university is anchored in the tradition of European higher education, a moor that was strengthened at the end of 2012 when it switched over to the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), which confirms that the learning environment at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen fully conforms to European standards.

• Philology, Languages, Literature
  • Language Courses
  • Language Courses and Cultural Immersion Programs

International Office - Univerzitni 8, Pilsen, Czech Republic, CZ - 306 14