After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• apply their professional education in the field of Czech studies and a variety of specialized fields, as an expert in both linguistics (onomastics, dialectology, or corpus linguistics, for instance), and literary science
• have a perfect command of codified standard Czech, as well as a thorough understanding of the development of this prestigious language variety
• display knowledge of Czech literature in a comparative perspective
• gain an understanding of linguistic and literary theories, concepts, and the methodology of work with any kind of text and gain independent writing and composition skills
• work independently with literary and scholarly texts
• create and present scholarly texts in compliance with academic standards

Graduates will be suitable for a number of professions that require deeper expert knowledge of Czech in terms of both language and literature. Graduates are also trained for independent research, critical assessment, and adequate use of various sources of information, as well as to operate with language and survey SW applications as well as to create them. These professions include specialized positions in media (both printed and electronic), publishing houses, and other cultural institutions, in state administration, as well as in the private sector as professional experts - journalists, editors, spokespersons, documentarians, language consultants, proof-readers, instructors, etc. Double-subject graduates will be suited for a wider range of positions, thanks to the second study programme – if they study other languages, for instance, the above-stated list is enriched with positions involving translation and interpretation. The complex character of the Master’s degree study programme provides students with the opportunity to gain a more varied choice of positions in the employment market, with the potential to hold higher positions. Graduates who are interested in further education gain a theoretical and methodological background for the doctoral degree study programme.

The standard period of study is four semesters. Students must earn 120 credits in total in order to be able to take the final state examination. The 120 credits include type A/required, type B/selective, and type C/elective courses (credits are divided for double-subject study programmes). Type A/required courses form the basis of the programme’s academic profile, and are strictly regulated by programme’s accreditation. The choice of type B/selective courses is modified in accordance with the current situation, the development of particular disciplines, the market requirements of the moment, and the department’s current possibilities. Students must also pass the faculty courses that are mandatory for all study programmes.

Type C/elective courses can be chosen from courses taught throughout the university, depending on student interests and on future professional orientation.

During the course of their studies, students should follow the study catalogue valid for their year of matriculation. The study catalogues for the individual years of matriculation are available at the Faculty of Arts website.

Students must meet all requirements set by the study programme and registered in their particular control template in the Masaryk University Information System, after which they can take the final state examination, which consists of two parts.

1. Defence of the Master’s diploma thesis (in the degree study programme).

2. Oral exam in Czech language and literature. The exam consists of two parts that are focused on language and literature respectively. Questions are based on topics available on the websites of both the Department of Czech Language and the Department of Czech Literature and Library Studies.

After completion of the Master’s degree study programme. it is possible for gifted students to continue further studies in a doctoral degree study programme in Czech language or Czech literature.