Prague’s largest business school sees dramatic rise in foreign admissions

According to Andrea Petránková from VŠE Public Relations, the school has seen a dramatic increase in applicants to its English-taught international degree programs over the years.

“In 2013 it was 338 students, and in 2019 that number is up to 892 students,” says Petránková, adding that VŠE students represent almost 100 different countries.

The large majority of students hail from Asia, while the percentage of British and American students comprises about 1.2 % of total admissions.

Foreign students who attend business school abroad, particularly programs in Europe, are often attracted by shorter, more affordable, and internationally diverse programs.

Petránková believes that in addition to these factors, the high quality of education and safe and attractive Prague location accounts for the increase in foreign admissions.

Alicia Fawcett from the US is an alumni of the University of Economics’ International and Diplomatic Studies program.

She says she opted to attend school in Prague because, “It’s a great city for students: cheap rent, food, health care, and 3-euro tickets to the opera.” She adds, “The University of Economics is a gateway between the East and West.”

The University of Economics, Prague offers bachelor, master, PhD, and MBA study programs. Bachelor’s degree study programs are offered in Czech, English, and Russian; master’s degree study programs are offered in Czech and English. A PhD can be pursued in English or Czech, MBA programs are offered in English, French and Czech.

Summer courses and Czech/English preparatory language classes are also available.

Among the international degree programs available are a bachelor’s of international business, business administration, international and diplomatic studies, and economics while economics and public policy, finance and accounting, management or economic data analysis can be studied at the master’s level.

Many graduates of the university go on to careers in public policy, and business administration — the school counts a number of high-profile Czech politicians among its alumni including two presidents, Milos Zeman (current president) and Vaclav Klaus and former prime ministers Jiri Paroubek and Jan Fischer.

More recent graduates of the The University of Economics international program have gone onto careers in many different fields.

Markéta Česká, a graduate of the International Business program, says of her experience:

“I chose the IBB program at VŠE, because the university is well respected, the Faculty of International Relations is excellent, and I knew I would be guaranteed a high-quality education.”

Česka says that after having lived abroad for 20 years, she was looking for a program taught in English, to continue to hone her foreign languages skills, particularly English.

“The three-year bachelor’s program gave me an excellent comprehension of the world economy, international trade, and their interconnections. The studies met my expectations.”

She adds that the price-to-quality ratio of studying at VŠE in Prague, the personal interactions of the IBB program team, and being in a truly international setting were additional benefits of the program.

The school’s five faculties are located in the center of Prague – the Faculty of Finance and Accounting, the Faculty of International Relations, the Faculty of Business Administration, the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics, and the Faculty of Economics.

Currently, there are about 14,000 students at VŠE.

In 2019, the school ranked among the top universities on the Financial Times global business school ranking, establishing itself in two categories. It gained 15th place in the evaluation of the management follow-up Master’s programs represented by the Faculty of Business Administration and 55th place for the qualification structure of the teaching staff.

From the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, only the Czech Republic (VŠE), Hungary (Corvinus University), Poland (Kozminski University, Warsaw School of Economics), Russia (St. Petersburg University) and Slovenia (University of Ljubljana) were represented.

Petránková says she isn’t surprised by the correlation between the university’s rising admissions and international recognition.

“Not only do we offer academic excellence in an international setting, we have a great student life where students feel at home even when they are away from home.”

She also says that despite the current state of emergency in the Czech Republic, students shouldn’t postpone their education. 

“We are still encouraging students to apply. The admissions process for all of our English-taught international degree programs takes place entirely online.”

The new application deadline for all programs is June 30, with the exception of the Master in International Management/CEMS, Information Systems Management and Economic and Data Analysis (April 30).