Incomings :: Brno

About our university:
Masaryk University, located in Brno, is the second-largest public university in the Czech Republic and the leading higher education institution in Moravia. At present it comprises nine faculties with more than 200 departments, institutes and clinics. Recognized as one of the most important teaching and research institutions in the Czech Republic and a highly-regarded Central European university, it has been marked by a strong democratic spirit ever since its establishment in 1919. The university also plays a major role in the social and cultural life of the South Moravia Region.

One of the top priorities for Masaryk University is scientific research. It has attained a leading position in competitions for research grants, is making considerable financial investments at its new university campus to enhance its research and teaching capacity and is developing tools for the transfer of knowledge and improved support for research and innovation.

Masaryk University offers degrees in a wide spectrum of traditional as well as newly-emerging disciplines and is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Europe. In recent years it has consistently attracted the largest number of applicants for studies of any Czech university, which allows it to remain highly selective when admitting students. Masaryk University was one of the first to introduce a three-tier structure of studies based on the ECTS system for the transfer and accumulation of credits.

The university is heavily involved in the mobility activities and research programmes of the European Union and other countries, thanks to which graduates of Bachelor´s or Master´s studies at other institutions may continue at the Master?s or doctoral levels at Masaryk University. The same principle applies to Masaryk University students, who may study abroad and then return to their alma mater.

A special feature of the university is its policy with regard to students with sensory or physical disabilities. The Support Centre for Students with Special Needs ensures that the fields of study accredited by the university are open to those students and that they enjoy the same standards of education as the rest of the university´s student body.

Masaryk University places a strong accent on international cooperation with prestigious foreign universities and research institutions. It supports the continuous exchange of knowledge, ideas, information, researchers, instructors and students throughout the world and assures equal chances of access to education and the free exploration of ideas.

Masaryk University is firmly committed to electronic forms of communication. To improve access to information and the quality of studies it has developed its own intranet system featuring a number of tools designed for assessing tens of thousands of application forms for studies, implementing e-learning, registering students for examinations, helping staff to work more efficiently and supporting rapid communication between offices and departments. In 2005 Masaryk University´s information system received the prestigious EUNIS Elite Award in recognition of the university´s leading position in the use of information technology within the university community. It was the first university in the Czech Republic and in the new European Union member countries to win the award.


History (longer one is here):
Masaryk University was founded on 28 January 1919 by Act No. 50/1919. Constitution of the second Czech university was possible only after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy because of resistance of German-controlled city council. Brno was at that time a bilingual city. Notable demonstrations in favour of establishing a university in Brno happened in 1905 and on 8 November 1913.

From the beginning, the university suffered from a lack of funds. The volatile state of public finances in 1923-1925 and 1933-1934 led to proposals of abolishing both the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science respectively. Both faculties eventually survived up until 17 November 1939 when the whole university was closed by the Nazi occupiers. A number of professors of Masaryk University were executed or tortured and for example the Faculty of Science lost one quarter of its teaching staff.

The renewal of university life after the end of the war was interrupted by the Communist putsch. Students expelled ranged from 5 percent at the Faculty of Education to 46 percent at the Faculty of Law, which was completely closed in 1950. In 1953, the Faculty of Education (founded in 1946) was separated from the university. In August 1960, a government decree abolished the Pharmaceutical Faculty and the University was renamed Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Brno.

Relaxation occurred in 1964 with reintegration of the Faculty of Education to the university and with reestablishment of the Faculty of Law in 1969. But conditions changed again rapidly with the Normalization of the 1970s after the 1968 invasion of Warsaw Pact troops to Czechoslovakia.

The University was renamed Masaryk University in Brno in 1990, regaining its original name by dropping "in Brno" from the title in 2006. A new era of development began after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and establishment of faculty of Economics and Administration in 1991, Informatics in 1994, Social Studies in 1998 and Sports Studies in 2002. The University Campus has been under construction in Brno Bohunice since 2002. The last stage of development should be completed in 2015.

Some useful links:
about Masaryk university www.muni.cz
about the faculty of medicine med.muni.cz

Booklets:
Booklet about the university here
Booklet about the faculty of medicine with many photos and information here

if there is not enough information for you, you can also look at Guide for international student made by ISC MU Brno (not IFMSA!!)