Aim & Scope

This document sets out the general guidelines for recognising or transferring credits to the Master in Economics and Finance (MEF) Degree Program at the Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University (IES FSV UK). Recognised credits may be applied toward fulfilling the minimum credit requirements in the relevant course categories of the MEF program.

Credits may be recognised for courses that are (i) relevant to the MEF program and (ii) of sufficient academic rigour.

Procedure

When applying for course recognition, students provide (i) a written request specifying the required information listed below and (ii) an official transcript of records confirming successful course completion. For courses completed outside Charles University, applicants also provide (iii) a detailed course syllabus indicating the course level, topics covered, time allocation, and other relevant details, (iv) information about the examination format (this may be included in the syllabus), (v) information about the grading scale used at the institution where the students completed the course (this may be included in the syllabus or transcript).

The MEF program director decides whether to recognise the credits, applying the guidelines set out below. While these guidelines define the general principles for recognition, the program director retains discretion to deviate from them in both directions in justified cases that merit special consideration. The program director bases the decision on the documentation provided by the student and may request additional clarification or explanation.

Students selected for official study exchanges (e.g., Erasmus+) need to submit the required documents to the MEF program director in advance as a supplement to the official Erasmus+ Learning Agreement, which is subsequently signed by the MEF program director. If, during the exchange, they are unable to follow their initially approved plan, they need to consult the MEF program director on how changes may affect prospective course recognition and categorization, and submit the adjusted Learning Agreement for a new approval.

General Conditions

Students may apply for credit recognition only after enrolling in the degree program.

Courses are always recognized based on the official Transcript of Records (ToR) issued by the institution where the course was completed. Possible earlier recognition of courses in other programs is not taken into consideration.

The total number of credits recognized in the MEF program from courses completed outside IES FSV UK that are not earned through official student exchanges (e.g., Erasmus+) may typically not exceed 30 ECTS credits.

Students who enroll and actively engage in a course included in the MEF study plan that is identical in content to a course they have previously successfully completed (e.g., a student who completed JEB044 during bachelor’s studies and later enrolls in and starts fulfilling course requirements to pass JEM337 during master’s studies) forfeit eligibility to have the earlier course (i.e., JEB044) recognized in the MEF program.

Qualification Criteria

Courses are generally eligible for recognition if they meet all of the following qualification criteria:

1. recency,
2. institution,
3. level,
4. use.

Recency

The time between course completion and the credit recognition application may not exceed five years.

Institution

An institution is typically considered sufficiently rigorous if (i) it is located in a country ranked in the top quartile (top 25%) of the United Nations  Human Development Index (HDI) and at the same time (ii) it is ranked in the top quartile of academic institutions within that country in commonly used rankings such as UniversityGuru or RePEc. Courses completed at official study exchanges (e.g., Erasmus+) automatically meet this condition.

Level

The course must be at the master’s academic level to be recognized in MEF. Courses from a lower-level degree program (i.e., bachelor’s), as well as stand-alone courses not part of a degree program, are typically not eligible for recognition.

Use

With the exception specified below, credits cannot be used to fulfill study requirements in more than one degree program. Courses from previously completed degree programs may be recognized in the MEF program only if the student would have satisfied all requirements of the earlier program even without those courses. For example, current MEF students may seek recognition only for those courses completed during their bachelor’s studies that were in excess of the minimum 180 credits required for the bachelor’s degree and that were not necessary to meet any other requirements, e.g., the minimum number of credits within designated group(s) of electives. An exception applies to four bachelor’s-level courses that are offered at IES FSV UK also as intermediate electives in microeconomics and macroeconomics (JEM175 ≈ JEB104, JEM176 ≈ JEB108, JEM177 ≈ JEB114, JEM178 ≈ JEB115). These four courses may be recognized in the MEF program regardless of the total number of credits the student completed in the bachelor’s program.

Course Types

The recognition procedure distinguishes between three main types of courses: (i) courses previously completed at IES FSV UK, (ii) courses completed outside IES FSV UK (both at Charles University and elsewhere) with an equivalent course listed in the student’s valid MEF study plan, and (iii) courses completed outside IES FSV UK without an equivalent.

IES Courses

Courses taken during earlier studies at IES FSV UK are typically recognized using the original course code, with the same number of credits, and for the grade originally awarded when the course was completed. The original course code determines whether the recognized course counts towards area electives, other electives, or free electives in the student’s valid MEF study plan.

External Courses with Equivalents

Students may apply for recognition of an external course as equivalent to a course listed in their valid MEF study plan if (i) there is at least 50% overlap between the contents of the two courses, (ii) the time allocation of lectures and seminars is comparable, and (iii) the course requirements are comparable.

For courses completed outside IES FSV UK, the number of credits and the grades are converted to align as closely as possible with the grading scale used at IES FSV UK (A–B–C–D–E–F). The conversion takes into account the correspondence between the grading scale of the institution where the course was completed and that of IES FSV UK, as well as any available information on the distribution of grades at the host institution.

In their application for course recognition, students (i) identify the equivalent course in their valid MEF study plan, and (ii) provide a list of the overlapping topics between the two courses. The course category (area elective, other elective) and number of credits granted are typically set based on the attributes of the equivalent course.

External Courses without Equivalent

If no equivalent course with at least 50% overlap exists, students may apply for recognition without an equivalent course. External courses without equivalents are typically recognized as optional courses (i.e., free electives, “volně volitelné”). External courses without equivalents may be recognized as (i) area electives or (ii) other electives if there is sufficient evidence that these courses would likely be classified in these categories if offered at IES FSV UK. In the application, students (i) specify the proposed course category (area elective or other elective); and (ii) provide written justification explaining how the course meets the criteria for that category. The MEF program director may either approve or change the proposed classification of recognized courses.

Courses without equivalents are generally recognized for the number of credits the course gives at the institution where it was completed, and for the original grade. However, the MEF program director may adjust the number of credits and the grade for the recognized course to reflect the course’s rigor and difficulty.

Recognition Modes

Course recognition is granted in either (i) the complete mode or (ii) the restricted mode.

Complete Mode

In the complete recognition mode, all passed courses that meet the qualification criteria are recognized regardless of the number of exam attempts or the final grade achieved, i.e., even courses passed with grades F – F – E may be recognized in the complete mode.

The complete mode is typically applied to:

• courses completed at official study exchanges (e.g., Erasmus+),
• courses completed by free-mover students (“stážisté”) during study internships at IES FSV UK before their subsequent enrollment in the MEF program,
• “pure master’s-level” courses completed during earlier bachelor’s studies at IES FSV UK, i.e., those that are included in the student’s valid MEF study plan but not included in the study plan of the bachelor’s program completed earlier.

Restricted Mode

In the restricted recognition mode, only courses passed with “solid grades” are recognized. When credible evidence on individual exam attempts is available (e.g., for courses studied at IES FSV UK), a solid grade is defined as either (i) a grade of D or better achieved on the first examination attempt, or (ii) a grade of C or better achieved on the second attempt. No grade achieved at the third attempt to pass the course is considered solid. When information on the individual exam attempts is unavailable, a solid grade is defined as the equivalent of the IES FSV UK grade C or better.

The restricted mode is generally applied to:

• courses completed outside IES FSV UK during studies that are not an integral part of the MEF program,
• courses completed during earlier studies in a degree program of the same level as MEF, e.g., in cases where a student did not complete a previous master’s program at IES FSV UK and was subsequently admitted to the same or another master’s program at IES FSV UK,
• “mixed-level” courses that are offered both at the bachelor’s and master’s level at IES FSV UK, e.g., JEM175 ≈ JEB104, JEM176 ≈ JEB108, JEM177 ≈ JEB114, JEM178 ≈ JEB115, JEB044 ≈ JEM337, JEM020, JEM207, JEM209, JEM211, JEM212, JEM233, JEM236, JEM334.

Time Stamp: Last updated on September 18, 2025.