The Faculty of Medicine, CU in Plzeň is one of seventeen faculties of the venerable Charles University in Prague. It was established by Decree No. 135 of 27th October 1945 issued by President Edvard Beneš. From its humble beginnings, the Faculty of Medicine in Plzeň has grown into a modern university from which 7814 doctors operating both in the Czech Republic and abroad have already graduated, as well as 499 students of the bachelor study programme. In the academic year 2009/2010, 2032 students studied at the Faculty, of which 427 were foreigners.
The medical studies are divided into two basic study programmes – General Medicine and Dentistry. Students have been accepted in the Dentistry study programme since the academic year 2004/2005 and it has gradually replaced the Stomatology study programme. General Medicine is a six-year study programme; the study of the Dentistry programme takes five years. The first two years are dedicated to theoretical fields – biology, biophysics, anatomy, histology, physiology and biochemistry. The third and a part of the fourth years focus on the study of preclinical subjects – Pathological Anatomy, Pathological Physiology, Microbiology and Pharmacology, and study of the clinical subjects begins as well. The last years fully focus on clinical fields.
The Faculty also provides teaching in English for foreign self-funding students. The study is finished by a graduation ceremony taking place in the venerable Carolinum Hall in Prague, where graduates receive their diplomas. Graduates of the General Medicine study programme receive the title of MUDr. (equals MD) and graduates of the Dentistry study programme receive the title of MDDr. (equals DMD). Not only are students educated for medical practice; they are also introduced to the basics of research and are led to their independent research work.
In the course of their studies, particularly during the summer holidays, students have a number of opportunities to study and gain experience abroad. Not only for these reasons, but particularly because students are required to study foreign resources, emphasis is placed on language teaching. Thus, besides Latin, each student must pass an examination in English and one more foreign language.