Charles University
Charles University is the oldest university in Central Europe. It was founded in 1348 by the Holy Roman Emperor and Czech King Charles IV, in the Old Town of the city of Prague. The preserved gothic building, Karolinum, contains the University administration and the Great Hall (Aula Magna). The rest of the university occupies historical buildings all over the city centre and also new buildings more on the periphery.
Four original Faculties (Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts) have multiplied into seventeen, with 34,000 students and 3,400 teaching and research staff. After the dramatic and repressive period of German occupation (1939-1945) and the Communist regime (1948-1989), Charles University has once again become an autonomous institution of higher learning, observing the principles of academic freedoms as declared in the Magna Charta of European universities. It maintains and develops links with over 170 universities throughout the world. Since 1990, the University has been actively involved in a wide range of international educational and research programs.
Charles University ranks 141st in the world by the Webometrics World Ranking 2021. In the QS World University Ranking 2021, it ranks on 260th place and in the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities 2020, it is ranked on the 222th place.
Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University
The Faculty of Social Sciences was founded in 1990 and currently constitutes the second youngest faculty of Charles University. It promotes teaching and research in the key fields of social sciences: Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Area Studies, and Communication Studies. Most of these disciplines were not developed properly (if at all) under Communism, yet in a relatively short time the Faculty has gained a considerable reputation for both its level of instruction and its research. It is now widely regarded as one of the top social sciences institutions in the country. Today, the faculty has more than 5,000 students with several hundred international students coming from all continents.
Academic Senate of Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University
The Academic Senate is a self-governing academic body of the Faculty. It has 20 members, including 10 students. Members of the Academic Senate are expected to represent the academic community.
