The majority of foreign students who choose to study in the Czech Republic do so due to an interest in specific study programmes or universities. More than half of them plan to remain in the country to continue their studies or work after graduating, indicating high overall satisfaction among students. Photo credit: Freepik / For illustrative purposes.
Czech Rep., Sep 7 (BD) – Research focused on quality of life and studies for foreigners in Czech universities has shown that most students are satisfied with their overall study conditions. The number of foreign students in the Czech Republic has been increasing consistently since 2000, according to statistics from SIMS monitoring.
The Czech National Agency for International Education (DZS), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and other institutions, carried out the research from November 15th, 2019, to January 27th, 2020, to understand why the Czech Republic is a study destination for these students.
According to the study, foreign students make up 16% of university students in the Czech Republic, with over half of those coming from Slovakia and Russia. Students from Ukraine are the third largest group, with 8% of the overall number.
| Nationality of foreign students | Percentage of foreign students |
| Slovakia | 45% |
| Russia | 14% |
| Ukraine | 8% |
| Kazakhstan | 4% |
Why Do Young People Choose the Czech Republic?
The majority of students who come to Czech universities do so because of a specific interest in a university or course of study, according to the report. The most preferred fields of study among foreign students are Business Administration, Health and Welfare, Engineering and Manufacturing and Information and Communication Technology.
About half of foreign students said that they chose the Czech Republic because of their interest in studying a specific programme, while 46% had interest in specific universities. Only 3% named the quality of the universities in the Czech Republic as a motivation.
Overall Satisfaction with Quality of Teaching
While 89% of the students are satisfied with the quality of the equipment in the laboratories and classroom, two-thirds believe that the university staff sufficiently consider their needs as foreign students. A little more than half of the students find their studies too demanding. The results also show that about 40% of foreign students are not satisfied with the quality of the teaching in the Czech Republic.
About a third of the students are dissatisfied with the standard of English in Czech universities. The highest level of dissatisfaction in the quality of teaching was recorded among masters students, while according to the countries of origin, 43% of German students expressed dissatisfaction.
Over Half of Students Plan to Stay After Their Studies
Two thirds of the foreign students have successfully integrated with Czech students, according to the report, but students from Slovakia find it much easier. Students from other countries, especially those studying on English programmes, feel more integrated among the foreign students.
When it comes to balance of work and studies, about 35% of the students do not work at all, while 38% work over 10 hours per week.
As for their future plans, 27% of the students would like to remain in the Czech Republic to work, while a further 24% would like to stay to complete a higher degree.
The study focused on 55 universities across the country, of which 26 are public, 28 are private, and one is state-run.
