Studying Medicine in Hradec Králové: Costs and Recognition

Hradec Králové at a glance

Hradec Králové, Königgrätz in German, lies on the Elbe around 100 kilometres east of Prague and has around 94,000 inhabitants. The Faculty of Medicine belongs to Charles University, founded in 1348 and therefore the oldest university in Central Europe (lfhk.cuni.cz, 2026). Human medicine and dentistry are taught here entirely in English, and the programme begins in October.

The most important figure in this table is the fee, the second most important the number of places. In the English-language human medicine programme the faculty awards 105 places per year, and 25 in dentistry (lfhk.cuni.cz, academic year 2026/2027). Both are fixed quantities you can plan around.

University and hospital

Charles University runs five medical faculties, three of them in Prague and one each in Pilsen and Hradec Králové. The faculty on the Elbe is the smallest of the five, and that shapes daily life: of around 1,500 students at the faculty, some 350 are international, and the cohorts in the English-language programme stay manageable.

Teaching and treatment take place at the University Hospital Hradec Králové, which comprises 37 clinical departments and around 1,400 beds. The hospital serves a catchment area of about a million people, treats more than 41,000 inpatients a year, and records around 715,000 outpatient treatments annually (fnhk.cz, 2026). For you that means: the cases you see in the clinical stage come from genuine maximum-care provision, not from a teaching collection.

The faculty and the hospital are in the same district, and the university is building a new education and research centre there together with the Faculty of Pharmacy, scheduled for completion in 2026 (lfhk.cuni.cz). What strikes me again and again about locations of this size is how short the distances are between lecture theatre, laboratory, and ward. That sounds trivial, but it determines whether you still have time to study in a full semester.

High-performing students can complete practical placements in the USA or in England. This is not automatic, but an opportunity tied to performance.

Which programmes are offered, and in which language?

The faculty offers two programmes that are relevant to international applicants: human medicine and dentistry, both entirely in English. Alongside these there are Czech-language programmes as well as bachelor's degrees in nursing and midwifery, which run through a separate procedure.

English-language teaching at this faculty is not an add-on but a distinct programme, run for decades with its own cohort and its own admissions procedure. So you are not a guest in a Czech course but part of an international cohort in which German, Austrian, Scandinavian, and overseas students come together.

Both degrees are listed in Annex V of Directive 2005/36/EC, the medical degree under number 5.1.1 and the dental degree under number 5.3.2, in each case in the version of Delegated Decision (EU) 2023/2383 of 23.05.2023, applicable since 09.10.2023. Good English is a prerequisite for admission, because all teaching takes place in English.

How does admission work?

There is no admission cap based on school-leaving grades. What is required is a general university entrance qualification and adequate English. Selection is by a science entrance examination covering upper secondary school material.

The faculty awards 100 points in its procedure: 25 for biology, 25 for chemistry, 10 for physics or mathematics as you choose, and 40 for an interview assessing scientific and medical reasoning, decision-making, communication, and teamwork (lfhk.cuni.cz, admissions procedure 2026). The written part consists of multiple-choice questions, and wrong answers cost no points.

Medschool Experts organises registration, the application, and the entrance examination. Participation is generally possible entirely online, so no trip to the Czech Republic is required. We take care of the documents and keep track of each year's dates, because they are set anew annually.

We prepare you specifically for the academic part, so that you go into the examination with a structured revision of biology and chemistry rather than residual knowledge from school. We also practise the interview: it is not about memorised answers but about being able to present your motivation and your reasoning clearly in English. I have observed for years that this part in particular is underestimated, even though it accounts for 40 of the 100 points.

There are four points to be realistic about. First, the material is upper secondary school material, not university content. Second, the technical language is English, so you need the English terms for cell organelles, metabolic pathways, and basic reactions. Third, preparation takes months, not weeks. And fourth: we have a suitable partner university for almost every case, should this location not work out.

What does the programme cost?

The faculty quotes its fees in Czech crowns: 400,000 CZK per academic year for human medicine and 410,000 CZK for dentistry (lfhk.cuni.cz, academic year 2026/2027). In our documentation this corresponds to 8,150 EUR and 8,400 EUR per semester respectively.

That names the largest item, but not the whole calculation. The breakdown below is our estimate over the full length of the programme. It assumes around 550 EUR a month for living costs, the figure studimed applies to a Czech study location with a hall of residence place (studimed.de, 2026).

That is the one limitation I name clearly about this location: the fee falls due regardless of how the degree goes, and it should be financed before you apply. Because payment in the Czech Republic is in crowns, your everyday costs in euros can shift with the exchange rate. Compared with the other Charles University locations, Hradec Králové sits in the middle.

We have described the other two Charles University locations in detail, in Prague and in Pilsen. An overall picture of the region is in our round-up article on the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

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How is the programme structured?

The structure follows the classic European pattern of pre-clinical stage, clinical stage, and final practical year. Credits are counted in ECTS, you receive a Transcript of Records, and the programme ends with the state final examination.

In dentistry, two students work at one treatment unit in the clinical courses, and the faculty states a supervision ratio of one teacher to two to six students (lfhk.cuni.cz, 2026). Anyone wanting to study dentistry should keep an eye on that figure, because it says more about practical training than any ranking position.

The pre-clinical stage is the filter where most students work hardest. Anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry come in close succession, and anyone who postpones examinations automatically postpones entry into the clinical stage. From the third year the rhythm changes noticeably: teaching moves into small groups on the wards of the university hospital, and study material turns into patients. The sixth year is practically oriented and corresponds in scope and function to the German Praktisches Jahr.

Where may you work as a doctor with this degree?

The Czech Republic is an EU member state, and the Charles University degree falls under the automatic recognition of the Professional Qualifications Directive. An equivalence assessment or knowledge examination is therefore not required.

Responsible for your Approbation is the authority of the federal state in which you want to work; processing times vary. Because you studied in English, the German specialist language certificate is the point you are most likely to need to prepare for.

Dentist, pharmacist, psychologist, veterinarian: the legal position for each profession

Dentist. Dentistry in Hradec Králové lasts five years and concludes with the MDDr. The degree is listed in Annex V number 5.3.2 of Directive 2005/36/EC and is automatically recognised in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The route runs via the Approbation from the competent state authority; after that, specialist training is open to you on the same terms as to graduates of German faculties.

Pharmacist. Pharmacy is not part of the Faculty of Medicine's offering. The Faculty of Pharmacy of Charles University is, however, also based in Hradec Králové and shares the new campus with medicine. In legal terms, pharmacy training is harmonised: Annex V number 5.6.2 requires at least five years of training, after which the Approbation as a pharmacist follows in Germany.

Psychologist. Psychology and psychotherapy are not harmonised at EU level. There is no Annex V entry for them and no automatic recognition. Anyone wanting to work as a psychotherapist in Germany needs the Approbation under the Psychotherapists Act, and the state authority assesses foreign academic credits case by case. So do not plan this route via a medical degree.

Veterinarian. Veterinary medicine is not offered in Hradec Králové; in the Czech Republic, Brno is the location for it. The veterinary degree is listed in Annex V number 5.4.2 and is therefore also automatically recognised EU-wide. Anyone looking for veterinary medicine is simply in the wrong place at this location, and we would rather say so beforehand than afterwards.

Career paths after graduation

With the MUDr. and the German Approbation you move directly into specialist training, at hospitals and practices with training authorisation, on the same terms as graduates of German faculties. Training periods follow the regulations of the relevant state medical association, and your place of study no longer plays any role.

Equally possible is starting in the Czech Republic itself, for instance at the university hospital where you trained, or in another EU state. Anyone heading towards research will find suitable next steps at a faculty with its own doctoral programmes and a new research centre. And anyone who has used the placements in the USA or England already has contacts for a later move to an English-speaking country.

What options an EU degree opens up worldwide, from specialist training through the route to Switzerland to ECFMG certification, we have compiled in our overview of career paths with an EU medical degree.

A note on sequencing: apply for training posts in Germany early and in parallel with your Approbation application, because many hospitals hire subject to the Approbation being granted. You should have your academic records from Hradec Králové complete for that, which is why I advise students to collect them continuously during their studies rather than all at once at the end.

Lateral entry, transfers, and switching back to Germany

Transferring to Hradec Králové from an ongoing degree is possible, but not a given: the faculty decides which credits it recognises, and in practice most start in the first year. That is less dramatic than it sounds, because English-language teaching is an adjustment in any case.

The same applies in reverse: for a switch back to a German faculty, a place must be free in the desired semester, and the receiving faculty decides for itself on the recognition of your credits. Nothing is automatic. Plan the degree, therefore, through to graduation in the Czech Republic and treat a later transfer as an option, not a route. You should keep ECTS credits, the Transcript of Records, and module descriptions complete from the first semester, because they are the basis of any recognition. Whether a transfer makes sense in your case is something we assess individually in a free consultation.

Living in Hradec Králové: city, distances, costs

The city has a reputation it earned in the 1920s: the development plan drawn up by the architect Josef Gočár between 1926 and 1928 still shapes the city centre today, and Hradec Králové was known at the time as the „salon of the republic“. Added to that is a dense network of cycle paths that lets you connect faculty, hospital, and flat without a car.

Rents at this location are well below German levels. Numbeo reports 12,875 CZK a month for a one-bedroom apartment in the centre and 11,675 CZK outside the centre, which corresponds to around 525 and 475 EUR respectively (Numbeo, as of 31.07.2026). In addition there are Charles University halls of residence, which are cheaper still but fill up quickly at the start of the semester.

You can reach Prague by train or bus in about an hour and a half, and the Giant Mountains in around an hour. You do not need Czech for admission, but it is very helpful in contact with patients at the university hospital. I studied in a country whose language I did not speak at the start, and today I would learn the first vocabulary earlier than I did then: on the ward it opens doors that otherwise stay shut.

Daily life is manageably organised: faculty, hospital, and halls of residence are close together, shopping and eating out are considerably cheaper than in Germany, and with around 350 international students at the faculty you meet an established community rather than a handful of individuals going it alone. Anyone who wants to get out at the weekend has the Giant Mountains on the doorstep and Prague within reach. Anyone expecting a large metropolis should know that in advance.

Who this location suits

Hradec Králové suits you if you are looking for a small faculty with strong clinical ties at a university steeped in tradition, with English as the language of instruction and a selection process that relies on science and an interview rather than school-leaving grades. It also suits you if short distances matter more to you than a big city.

The location is a less good fit if you are looking for big-city life, or if the fee has no place in your financial planning. In that case it is worth looking at the other locations in the region, which we compare in our round-up article on the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

My assessment: anyone who takes the entrance examination seriously and settles the funding beforehand gets a degree in Hradec Králové that takes place in the daily clinical work of a maximum-care hospital and leads in the end to a qualification automatically recognised across Europe. Whether this location fits your starting position is something we look at together, in a free consultation.