Transfer from Charles University First Faculty of Medicine: Where to Continue Medicine or Dentistry in 2026

Is a transfer from Charles University First Faculty of Medicine possible in 2026?

Yes. Students of the English-taught General Medicine or Dentistry programme at the First Faculty of Medicine of Charles University can transfer to another university in Europe in 2026, whether their studies are going well or they are fighting the credit minimum and a repeated subject. Passed courses and their ECTS credits stay on the transcript. Medschool Experts organises the move to a matching European partner university, and the consultation is free.

The First Faculty is the oldest medical faculty in Central Europe and one of the most prestigious in the region. Around 800 students from about 50 countries study in its English programmes, taught in groups of roughly 25. Leaving it is rarely about quality. It is about whether the rules, the costs and the setting still fit your situation.

What do the Charles University First Faculty exam regulations say about resits and failing a year?

Under the Rules for Organization of Studies at the First Faculty of Medicine (third full wording, in force since 1 October 2023), every course credit and exam can be taken at most three times: one regular date and two resit dates. To enrol in the next year you need a set credit minimum, starting with 50 credits after year one. A compulsory subject failed three times may be repeated only once, in the following year.

The Czech system works with credits, not with a Polish-style conditional year. A full year is worth 60 ECTS. The faculty speaks of a normal number of credits (60 per year) and a minimum number for enrolment in the next year: 50 after year one, 110 after year two, 170 after year three, 230 after year four and 300 after year five. In General Medicine all 360 credits are required for the sixth year to close, without exception. Dentistry runs on the same thresholds up to its 300 credits in year five. Elective credits count for no more than 15 per cent of the year, so you cannot buy your way past a failed core subject with extra electives.

Inside the year, the pressure builds through the exam periods. In 2025/26 the winter exam period ran from 24 January to 22 February 2026 and the summer period from 6 June to 3 July 2026, with a prolonged period from 31 August to 11 September 2026. For 2026/27 the dates are 23 January to 21 February 2027, 5 June to 2 July 2027 and the prolonged period from 30 August to 10 September 2027. After that last date no exams are held.

The most dangerous rule is the repeated subject. Fail Anatomy or Biochemistry three times in one year and the subject is not lost for good: you register it again next year, usually inside an individual study plan, and get three fresh attempts. But fail it again in that repeated year and the studies end. One difficult subject can therefore become a two-year risk.

The second trap is the examining board. Your third attempt at an oral exam in a compulsory subject is a committee exam, and many students say that is where nerves decide more than knowledge. Prerequisites add a third layer: one failed course can block the next one and push you below the credit minimum even if you pass everything else.

Check the exact dates and prerequisites for your year in the study information system. They decide how much room you really have.

What happens if you are dismissed from Charles University First Faculty?

At the First Faculty, studies end with a formal decision of the dean when a student fails to meet the requirements of the programme, for example by missing the credit minimum or failing a repeated subject. Under the Czech Higher Education Act you can request a review within 30 days of delivery. Your passed credits remain on your transcript.

In Czech terms this is ukončení studia pro nesplnění požadavků, termination of studies for failure to meet the requirements under § 56(1)(b) of Act No. 111/1998. The decision arrives in writing, and the studies end on the day it becomes final.

• The 30-day window. A request for review can be filed within 30 days of delivery, and the rector decides on it. It makes sense when there are concrete grounds, such as a documented illness during the exam period or an administrative error.
• No second individual plan in a row. Because an individual study plan is not allowed in two consecutive years, a student who already used one has no further safety net the next year.
• Your credits remain. Every passed course with its ECTS and grade stays on the transcript. That record is what a receiving faculty assesses.
• Settle open fees. Outstanding tuition can delay the documents you need, so clear it before you leave.

Timing is everything. Act before the decision arrives, ideally in June or July when it becomes clear that the credit minimum or a repeated subject is wobbling. While you are still enrolled, documents are easier to obtain and the transfer can be planned for the next semester start. We help in both situations, before and after termination.

Which subjects do students fail most at Charles University First Faculty?

At the First Faculty, students most often name Anatomy, Histology and Embryology and Latin terminology in the first year, then Biochemistry and Physiology in the second year as the subjects that decide whether they progress. Pathology, Pathophysiology and Pharmacology follow in the third year. Many of these exams are oral, end with a committee on the last attempt and cover very large amounts of material.

Anatomy is the first big test. Students learn the structures of the whole body, recognise them on specimens in the dissection hall and defend them orally. Histology and Embryology sits next to it, with slide identification and examiners who ask for very small details. Students describe weeks of 15-hour study days before these exams, and Latin vocabulary, a few thousand terms a year, adds to the load more than freshers expect.

The second year brings the next wall. Biochemistry and Physiology demand that you connect chemistry, cell biology and anatomy, and both are classic subjects for a second or third attempt. Because they are prerequisites for the clinical subjects, a failure here hits the credit count twice. In the third year, Pathology and Pathophysiology mark the step into clinical thinking.

Dentistry students share much of the preclinical load with General Medicine and the same credit thresholds. A failed preclinical subject therefore weighs just as heavily on the shorter five-year programme.

So the first two years decide most outcomes. A failed Anatomy or Biochemistry, repeated a year later, is the classic case we see from Prague.

What do students criticise about Charles University First Faculty?

Recurring criticism of the English programmes at the First Faculty concerns the tuition of €24,250 per year on top of Prague rents, the race for exam dates in the study information system, strict examiners with committee exams on the last attempt, limited patient contact in English during the clinical years, and teaching spread over many sites across the city. Students praise the prestige, the teaching hospitals and the small study groups.

These themes recur in student reviews and public discussions.

• Costs. €24,250 per year plus €900 to €1,200 a month for living makes a year in Prague cost roughly €35,000 to €39,000. Over six years that is well above €200,000, and families whose finances change halfway feel it hard.
• Exam registration. Exam dates are released in the study information system and some fill within seconds. The faculty itself advises students to register early on a fast connection. No dates are added once they are gone.
• Strict examining. Oral exams with high expectations, three attempts and a board on the last one create real pressure, especially in Anatomy, Histology and Biochemistry.
• Czech on the wards. Patients in Prague hospitals speak Czech. International students learn the language alongside their studies, but many say they watch more than they take histories during clinical rotations.
• A faculty spread across the city. Institutes in the historic centre and clinics in five hospitals mean a lot of travelling between sites, particularly in the clinical years.

For some students these points are exactly why a different faculty fits better: one with a lower fee, a calmer exam format or clinical teaching where English is the working language. In that situation we look for a partner university where your credits count and the setting suits you. We help with that every day.

To be fair, the First Faculty has real strengths. Its name carries weight internationally, its research is strong, its teaching hospitals cover every speciality, and many students value the small groups and the experienced teachers. A student who is doing well in Prague has every reason to stay.

Failed exams at Charles University First Faculty: what now?

If you have failed an exam at the First Faculty, first check which attempt it was and whether the subject is already in its repeated year. After the first or second attempt you still have dates left. After the third attempt the subject has to be repeated next year, and a failure in that repeated year ends the studies, so that case needs a plan before the last sitting.

A short decision guide:

1. Regular date failed. Book a resit immediately, before the dates are gone. Ask the examiner what went wrong; oral exams often fail on structure, not on knowledge.
2. First resit failed. The next attempt in a compulsory oral subject is before a board. Prepare for the format, not only the content, and use the remaining time in the prolonged period wisely.
3. Third attempt failed. The subject must be repeated next year. Count your credits now: below the minimum (50 after year one), enrolment in the next year fails.
4. Repeated subject at risk. This is the critical case. If it fails again, the studies end. Talk to us before the last attempt, not after the decision.

An interruption of studies pauses the clock but does not solve an open subject. Many students pass the repeated year in Prague with help from the study advisors and student guides. Those who want a different setting should plan the alternative while still enrolled.

Why do students consider a transfer from Charles University First Faculty?

Students consider leaving the First Faculty for five recurring reasons in 2026: failed or repeated subjects that put enrolment at risk, tuition of €24,250 per year plus Prague living costs, the wish for a different exam format, limited patient contact in English, and personal reasons such as family, health or distance from home.

• Exam risk. The repeated-subject rule leaves no room for a second failure. A faculty with a different exam format can change the outcome.
• Costs. Our European partner universities teach Medicine and Dentistry in English from €1,750 per semester.
• Clinical work in English. Students who want to take histories and examine patients themselves look for faculties where English works on the wards.
• Exam format. Some students do better with written or structured practical exams than with long oral exams before a board.
• Personal circumstances. Family, health or the wish to live closer to home can make a move sensible.

How are credits from Charles University First Faculty recognised (ECTS)?

Credits from the First Faculty are recognised through the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). Each year is worth 60 credits, General Medicine 360 and Dentistry 300 in total. A receiving faculty compares every passed course by content, hours and credits with its own curriculum. The rule of thumb in 2026: usually no more than two exams may be open, and their credits must stay below a maximum.

Transcripts from Charles University are among the cleanest we see: syllabi in English, clear stages and a Bologna structure that maps well onto other European curricula. Receiving faculties check the hours of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, the practicals and any clinical rotations. The First Faculty itself recognises courses completed elsewhere on written application, so this comparison is routine.

Faculties often place transfer students into higher years when the record is complete. A student with two full years often enters year three, sometimes with one or two modules to catch up in the first semester. Two documents decide the outcome: the official transcript of records with grades and credits, and the syllabi of the passed courses. Request them while you are still enrolled.

Which universities accept transfer students from Charles University First Faculty?

Students from the First Faculty can transfer to European medical and dental faculties that admit students with ECTS credits into higher years. Medschool Experts has 25+ partner universities in Europe specifically for this situation, with English-taught Medicine and Dentistry. The right faculty depends on your transcript, your open or repeated subjects and the country where you want to work.

We do not publish a list of target universities. A student with a complete second year and one failed Physiology exam needs a different match than a student whose studies were terminated after a repeated Anatomy. We check every profile individually and free of charge, compare it with our partner network and present the option where your credits count the most.

A study transfer is a complex undertaking. Our experts have almost 10 years of experience in study transfers worldwide, which is why they plan and carry it out confidently. The consultation is free.

What does studying at our European partner universities cost compared with Charles University First Faculty?

At the First Faculty, General Medicine and Dentistry in English cost €24,250 tuition per year in 2026/27, plus living costs of roughly €900 to €1,200 per month in Prague. English-taught Medicine and Dentistry at our European partner universities start from €1,750 tuition per semester. For comparison, Pharmacy starts from €1,500 and Veterinary Medicine from €3,000 per semester.

Over three remaining years the tuition difference alone can exceed €60,000, before lower rents in many partner cities are counted. We put the real numbers side by side before you decide, including one-off costs such as application fees and the move itself. We help with the application without loss of time and protect the career you have already invested in.

Can I transfer from Charles University First Faculty without losing a year?

Yes, in many cases. Transfers from the First Faculty can often be planned so that you continue at the matching level, especially when no more than two exams are open and their credits stay below the receiving faculty's maximum. Medschool Experts aims for the highest possible entry year and times the move to the next semester start in 2026 or 2027.

• Open and repeated subjects. Every open exam has to be made up before or after the move. A failed repeated subject needs a faculty that credits everything else.
• Curriculum overlap. Courses are matched by content. The Prague structure with 60 ECTS per year is close to many European programmes, which helps.
• Timing. Starting in spring, before the summer exam period and the September study check, keeps far more options open than starting after a termination letter.

Stay enrolled in Prague until the new study place is confirmed in writing. It keeps your options open and your record without gaps.

Will my degree still be recognised, and does the USMLE route stay open?

Yes. A medical or dental degree from an EU member state is automatically recognised across the European Union under Directive 2005/36/EC, and that applies after a transfer within the EU as well. The final diploma is issued by the university where you graduate, and your Prague credits are part of it.

Students who plan the US route take USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK and apply for ECFMG certification as graduates of a European medical school; time the transfer so that the move and Step 1 do not fall into the same term. Every country still asks for professional language skills, so decide early where you want to work.

How does a transfer from Charles University First Faculty work with Medschool Experts, step by step?

A transfer from the First Faculty with Medschool Experts runs in six steps and usually takes four to seven months: free consultation, transcript and syllabus check, a matching partner university, the application file, written confirmation of the study place, and the start at the new faculty. You stay enrolled in Prague until the new place is confirmed.

1. Free consultation. We look at your credits, any repeated subjects and the September study check.
2. Transcript and syllabus check. We review your ECTS, course hours, practicals and rotations.
3. Matching partner university. You receive a concrete option with the entry year we can achieve.
4. Application file. We prepare and submit it with you, so no deadline is missed.
5. Confirmation. You receive the study place in writing before you leave Prague.
6. Start. You move, enrol and continue your degree.

The earlier you contact us, the more options remain. Read how others experienced their move on our student stories page, and book your free consultation.