Media Sciences at the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University
******************************************************************************************
*
******************************************************************************************
When I went to a language course, my goal was to enter the Faculty of Social Sciences of C
to study media and marketing.
Strictly speaking, I was aiming to spend a year studying the language and preparing for th
before coming to the Czech Republic, I only had a superficial knowledge of the entrance ex
me and got a little familiar with the Czech language at the beginner level.
Even at home, I understood that it would not be easy. And after arriving in Prague, I foun
is very difficult for a international student to enter this program at Charles University
requirements for knowledge of the language and difficult exams that require special prepar
so far no one from UJOP students was accepted to study this specialty.
But I did not want to stop and search for easy ways. After creating some decent back-up pl
continued to delve into the specialty of my dreams. In addition to intensive preparation f
attended open doors days, followed pages on social networks, and looked for students and g
faculty. At some moments, I got more excited about this idea, at other times, my interest
fading away, but I never stopped preparing for the entrance exams. To be honest, sometimes
seemed more like a dream to me than like a possible reality.
When I was invited to the second part of the exam, I cried with happiness and at the same
because the tasks of the second part seemed to me no less difficult than those of the firs
******************************************************************************************
* Now I will tell you more about the structure of the entrance exams
******************************************************************************************
At the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University there is a program Communication S
"https://fsv.cuni.cz/fakulta/instituty-pracoviste/institut-komunikacnich-studii-zurnalisti
branches into 3 specialties: Media Sciences (my specialty), Marketing Communications and P
It is very important to understand which of these specializations is more suitable for you
apply for only one of them.
Also, the specializations differ when it comes to the second part of the entrance exam, I
to this later. The number of the applicants that can be accepted is limited and does not d
number of submitted applications: 80-90 people for each specialty. This year, the interest
almost the same: 386 applications for Marketing Communications and PR, 359 for Journalism
Sciences.
The entrance exam consists of two parts, where you can get from 0 to 100 points. The borde
passing to the second part and for admission change every year depending on the rating of
Do you want to study at the best Czech universities for free?
style="border: 1px solid #D22D40; padding: 10px; text-align: center; width: 100%;">
You only need to do two things for thist – learn Czech and
for the entrance exams.
All this ca
href="https://ujop.cuni.cz/UJOPEN-69.html?filtrvalue_oborstudia=9" target="_blank">ILPS pr
of Charles University
Apply in t
div>
******************************************************************************************
* First part of the entrance exams
******************************************************************************************
The points for the first part are the sum of the OSP Test results (general academic prereq
something similar to the IQ test) and the results of the SCIO association English test. Yo
for the OSP test and 3 attempts for the English test. You can learn more about OSP from ot
on the blog. The points you get for OSP are multiplied by 0.7, the points for English – by
are summed up and this sum is your ticket to the second part. This year, to pass to the se
the specialty Media Sciences you had to get at least 57.4 points, for Journalism – 65.05,
Communications and PR – 60.15. At this stage, I got 60.25 points.
Everyone has their own way of preparing for the entrance exams, my personal strategy was t
English tests from previous years and collections. This helped me solve some of the tasks
develop my own approaches to solving different types of tasks.
In addition to the subjects that are part of the program at Krystal, which are aimed at pr
OSP (Verbal Thinking, Logic, Mathematics), I advise you to expand your vocabulary as much
the help of books, newspapers, magazines and TV shows in Czech, because to succeed in this
the knowledge of different vocabulary, including professional or even obsolete words.
From my experience, I want to say that it is better to go for all possible dates of these
first one is usually in December and the rest – almost every month throughout the year. Th
will probably not be encouraging, given the low level of the language proficiency and lack
I recommend you take it as a dry run and start taking OSP and English tests as early as po
you have the opportunity to correct mistakes and develop a strategy. My first OSP percenti
managed to improve it to 72.5.
******************************************************************************************
* Second part of the entrance exams
******************************************************************************************
The second part of the entrance exam is an interview that consists of several blocks. As I
the requirements for each specialty are slightly different.
In the first block for the areas of Marketing Communications and PR and Journalism, you ne
your own motivation and ideas about applying your future knowledge in practice. For the Me
area, you need to present any media product (video, publication on a social network, adver
blog article, etc.) and talk about its main idea, content, and why you are interested in i
I was inspired by a video – an ad called “Dare Change” directed by John Doe (2006) for a c
Saga Fallabella – and I used it on the entrance exam.
The second block is the presentation of a literature list. For Marketing Communications an
need to provide a list of professional literature related to the specialty, for Journalism
fiction of your own choice, for Media Sciences – a list of at least 9 works (films, books,
performances, etc.), of which three are related to media environment, three are adaptation
media products (a film as an adaptation of a book, for example), and three are professiona
science publications about society.
The third block concerns your past experience and activities in the chosen area. An exampl
blog on a social network, involvement in a school newspaper production, participation in v
participation in social studies competitions, volunteering, etc. It is important to show t
interested in your specialty and that you are already slowly making some progress in this
These three blocks make up 60% of the total score, the remaining 40% is the fourth block,
There you need to answer topical questions about Czech and international politics, contemp
social sciences, and cultural events. The examiners prepare some cards with questions, fro
to pick one and tell what you know about this problem.
In addition to everything mentioned above, you need to bring your resume and motivation le
there are about 3 weeks between determining the borderline points for the 2nd part and the
itself, but this year, due to the coronavirus, I had 12 days.
But I can say right away that it is best to prepare for this stage throughout the year. I
you to follow the news. I used the Události [ URL "https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/109
udalosti/"] program on the ČT1 website, the news websites seznamzpravy.cz [ URL "https://
and iDNES.cz [ URL "https://www.idnes.cz/"] , the Reportér magazine [ URL "https://report
Also, a thing that helped me to understand the cultural life of Prague and the Czech Repub
was the subject called společensko-kulturní seminář (SKS), which includes the most importa
history and culture. After watching a movie that interests you, try to find some informati
background. Often films turn out to be adaptations of works of fiction, which you can also
with and add them to your list of literature. Choose films, series or books related to adv
journalism, marketing. This will be useful both for preparing for the interview and for en
specialty.
Questions will be asked about 3-4 works from your list of literature. 9 works is the minim
you can add some more, but you should not make the list too big. When making your literatu
choose the things you can really talk about and answer confidently. It’s best to prepare s
for yourself in advance, such as the main thoughts of the work, your attitude to the chara
can use the information in real life, why you got interested in it, what you learned from
it on your list.
I got 70 points for this part and started waiting for the pass rate to be announced. Each
felt like an eternity. The borderline to be accepted this year was 55 points for Journalis
Sciences, and 70 points for Marketing Communications and PR. My dream came true! I am look
starting my studies and I am not afraid of any difficulties.
Believe in yourself, do not give up on what is called difficult. After all, difficult does
impossible. Gear up for a busy period, but do not forget that this is not for nothing. A y
courses is just the right time to immerse yourself in the preparation for the entrance exa
learning Czech, at least – to diversify the learning process, at most – to achieve your go
your dreams.