Recognition and assessment of foreign education

ASSESSMENT OF FOREIGN EDUCATION FOR PURPOSES
OF ADMISSION procedure to but recognition of foreign education
for other purposes

Assessment of foreign education within the admission procedure to BUT

The following procedure does not apply to applicants who received their education in the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Germany and applicants who completed secondary or Master’s studies in Slovenia. Education certificate from these countries is automatically equivalent to the education certificate issued in the Czech Republic.

As a higher education institution possessing institutional accreditation, BUT may assess foreign education of applicants within the admission procedure to all faculties and university institutes of BUT. However, such assessment of education only assesses whether the applicant for studies at BUT meets the condition of completing previous education pursuant to Section 48 of Act No. 111/1998, Coll., on higher education institutions and amending and supplementing other laws (Act on Higher Education Institutions) (hereinafter the “Act”) for assessment to a specific programme. Assessment of education within the admission procedure to BUT does not mean recognition of either education generally applicable in the Czech Republic or at other higher education institutions in the Czech Republic or abroad.

The assessment of the foreign education must be requested by the applicant. When assessing foreign education, BUT shall proceed in accordance with Section 48 of the Act and Directive No. 11/2019. For acts related to the assessment of foreign education, an applicant must pay fee in the amount which is determined for the relevant admission procedure by the Rector in the Resolution no. 2/2023.

Procedure for submitting the request:

1. The applicant fills in the request form and sends it to the faculty to which he/she is applying together with the education certificate (an officially certified copy of the original counterpart). The authenticity of the signatures and stamps on the education certificate must be certified according to the conditions of the country where the institution at which the applicant has obtained the education has its seat. The request form can also be found in the electronic application. The request has to be submitted separately for each electronic application.
2. Simultaneously with submitting the request, the applicant shall pay the fee. The payment information can be found in the applicant´s electronic application. The applicant is obliged to pay the fee for each request submitted.
3. In addition to the education certificate, the faculty may require other documents, specifically:
   • certified translation of the certificate;
   • supplementary information on the contents and scope of studies;
   • certificate issued by the relevant foreign institution or a different competent foreign authority proving that the graduate is eligible for admission into a programme in said foreign country;
   • certificate of the relevant foreign authority that the relevant institution is authorised to provide required education in said foreign country.
4. After the applicant has submitted all necessary documents, the documented education shall be assessed as to whether it meets the condition of completing previous education necessary for admission to the relevant programme required by the Act. The faculty will accept the certificate if it has no doubts that the applicant has proven that he/she meets the admission conditions.
5. The applicant will be notified of the result of the assessment.
6. If the certificate has not been accepted, the applicant is requested to submit a certificate of general recognition of education in the Czech Republic (link to validations of foreign degrees).
7. If the applicant fails to deliver the necessary documents, expresses his/her will not to continue the proceedings or he/she ceases to co-operate in the proceedings, the applicant shall be considered as if he/she did not prove his/her education within the admission procedure.
8. The fee that has already been paid shall not be refunded in the cases specified in paragraphs 6 and 7 and its payment cannot be included in the fee for any request for general recognition of education (“validation”).

Recognition of foreign higher education

1. Recognition of foreign higher education obtained by studying at a foreign university is regulated by these legal regulations:
• Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on higher education institutions and amending and supplementing other laws (Act on Higher Education Institutions), Section 89, 90, 90a, 90b and 106
• Act No. 500/2004 Coll., on administrative proceedings (the Code of Administrative Procedure)
• Bilateral agreements on legal aid
• International agreements by which the Czech Republic is bound (bilateral international agreements on mutual recognition of equivalence of education certificates)
• The convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education (The Lisbon Convention)
• The Hague Convention
2. Authorities which decide on recognition of foreign higher education
• Public higher education institutions decide on the recognition of higher education received in the states specified in the list (except for military and security service education of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior) provided that these offer an accredited programme with a similar content.
• Ministry of Defence – decides on education received in the military field
• Ministry of the Interior – decides on education received in the security service field
• Procedure under equivalence agreements – Slovakia, Poland, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia; for more information, see the website of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
3. Request for recognition of foreign higher education

A foreign university graduate submits a written request (sent by post) to the Rectorate of a public higher education institution which offers the same or similar accredited programme. If BUT is such competent recognising authority, the graduate submits the written Request (duly completed form) to the following address:

Rektorát Vysokého učení technického v Brně Study Affairs Department Antonínská 548/1 602 00 Brno Contact person: Ing. Michaela Fojtová, fojtova@vutbr.cz, tel.: +420 541 145 243 - Currently, consultations are possible only by telephone or e-mail - personal visits are canceled.

In case of any doubts, the competence of the public higher education institution shall be determined by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. A suitable university and programme can be found at: https://regvssp.msmt.cz/registrvssp/csplist.aspx

Fee for proceedings concerning the request

Section 90a of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on higher education institutions and amending and supplementing other laws, stipulates the obligation to collect a fee of CZK 3,000 for proceedings concerning the request for recognition of foreign higher education and qualification when submitting this request to a public higher education institution. The fee of CZK 3,000 is paid by the applicant at the beginning of the proceedings. When submitting the request, it is necessary to provide a proof of payment of the fee.

Payment of the fee: The fee of CZK 3,000 shall be paid by bank transfer or postal order (please specify your name and purpose of payment: request for recognition of foreign education) to the BUT account (kept by ČSOB – RCB Brno, Milady Horákové 6, CZ-601 79 Brno): Account No.: 111043273/0300 variable symbol: 6499939121

for foreign payments, please specify also: IBAN: CZ21 0300 0000 0001 1104 3273 BIC (SWIFT): CEKOCZPP

Requisites of the request that the applicant must meet so that the application can be formally accepted and the proceedings initiated:

1) The written request of a foreign university graduate contains:

• name and surname of the foreign university graduate
• nationality
• address of permanent residence
• address of reported residence in the Czech Republic (if applicable)
• name of the university attended and its seat (address)
• date of commencement and completion of the studies
• name of the programme and field of studies
• date of submission and signature of the graduate of the foreign university (if the request is submitted by a representative of the graduate of the foreign university, the representative must provide an officially certified power of attorney)
• the purpose for which the applicant is applying for recognition (whether for the purpose of further studies or the exercise of a profession in the Czech Republic).

2) Mandatory annexes to the request:

• the original or an officially certified copy of a diploma or equivalent certificate of completion of studies issued by a foreign higher education institution
• diploma supplement or other extract from the study records (completed examinations) for the entire period of studies
• official translations of both documents into the Czech language (no translations are required for documents written in the English language)
• written power of attorney (if the request is submitted by a person other than the graduate)
• decision on granting the refugee status if recognition is requested by a person who has been granted refugee status
• the list of publications and the doctoral thesis in the English language or its translation into the Czech language must be enclosed with the request for recognition of doctoral studies
• proof of payment of the fee in the amount of CZK 3,000

1. Authentication of signatures and stamps on original documents

The authenticity of signatures and stamps on the original documents must be certified in accordance with Section 90 of the Act on Higher Education Institutions. The authentication must be made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the state in which the higher education institution which issued the document has its registered office or by the competent foreign authority and the competent embassy of the Czech Republic, unless the international convention by which the Czech Republic is bound stipulates otherwise.

According to existing international commitments, the verification procedure can be divided into three groups.

1. Bilateral agreements on legal aid

allow the submission of public instruments (diplomas and other education certificates) issued in a contracting state to the authorities of the other contracting state without further verification.

1. Multilateral convention on simplification of legalisation of foreign public instruments (The Hague Convention)

According to the Hague Convention, legalisation of documents made by the embassy is not required for the signatories of the convention; it is sufficient to provide an apostille issued by the authorised body of the country where the institution which issued the certificate is based (“apostille authority”). The list of apostille authorities is available on the Hague Convention website: http://hcch.e-vision.nl – Authorities, per Convention, Convention No. 12, direct link: http://hcch.e-vision.nl/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41

1. Other countries:

The authenticity of signatures and stamps on the original documents must be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where the higher education institution which issued the document has its seat, or by the competent foreign authority and the relevant embassy of the Czech Republic in the country where the higher education institution which issued the diploma has its registered office.

Table – required authentication of higher education diplomas classified according to the country in which the applicant obtained higher education and received higher education diploma.

Authentication and legalisation of diplomas and certificates of foreign education can be consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Department of Authentication of Documents of the Consular Department. The addresses of Czech embassies abroad and foreign embassies can be found on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.cz.