Transfer and Visiting Students
Every semester, ARCHIP welcomes a number of transfer students who have decided to finish their undergraduate degree with us in Prague, in addition to many visiting students from our partner universities who will join us for a semester or two.
About the programme
You are a visiting student if you intend to stay with us for a semester or two and you intend to return to your original university afterwards. You are a transfer student if you want to leave your university and continue your architectural studies at ARCHIP with the intention of obtaining a degree.
Upcoming deadlines
(EU/Non EU citizens)
January 31, 2025
Note that if you need a visa, the process should be started as soon as you are admitted.
General conditions for visiting students
These are general conditions for visiting students before they are admitted. If you are already admitted, scroll down please.
- Are you coming to ARCHIP through the Erasmus+ programme? Please see the Erasmus section of our website instead. The deadlines are different for you and you do not have to pay any fee.
- Visiting Students can register and start in the fall or the spring term.
- Visiting students are welcome for a minimum of one (1) and a maximum of two (2) terms.
- The admissions procedure, requirements and fees are the same for all applicants.
- We expect your English to be at B2 level or higher.
These are the study conditions and information for visiting students that are already admitted for studies at ARCHIP. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our study department or international office.
- The full academic year’s itinerary can be found here. Note that the fall semester has a zero (orientation) week. Spring semester does not.
- Please find the BA courses here and MA courses here.
- Visiting undergraduate students can only take BA courses. Visiting graduate students can take both BA and MA courses.
- You can only select courses from odd-numbered terms in the fall semester and even-numbered terms in spring semester.
- There is no minimum or maximum number of credits you can take per semester. However, visiting students are discouraged to take more than 30-credits worth of courses.
- It is obligatory to join an appropriate Architectural Design course (e.g. if you are a second year student, you will join AD3 in fall semester or AD4 in spring semester). Note that visiting students are not allowed to take the AD6 or AD10 course (please take AD4 or AD8 instead).
- Several other courses are usually not available for visiting students. These include PC and GD. Exceptions are possible but only after contacting our study department or our international office.
- Attendance at all courses is obligatory. This may later force you to change your schedule if you’re picking courses from different grades.
- If you need more info (i.e. syllabus) on a particular course, don’t hesitate to contact our study department or our international office.
General conditions for visiting students
Following are the conditions for students that intend to transfer to ARCHIP from another university.
- We only accept undergraduate (BA) transfer students.
- Transfer students can register and start in the winter term or the summer term.
- Transfer students must complete a minimum of 3 terms of full-time study at ARCHIP before being allowed to obtain a degree.
- The admissions procedure, requirements and fees are the same for all applicants.
- We expect your English to be on a B2 level or higher.
Admission process
Dates are the same for both Bachelor’s and Master’s applications. The results will be announced within 2 weeks. Note that the deadline for EU citizens is on July 31 and for Erasmus+ students on October 30.
Your abilities, skills and knowledge will be tested in an admission examination to which we will invite you after we examine the submissions you made online:
Transfer or Visiting Students for the Bachelor Programme:
If you wish to apply for the Bachelor programme you will first have to prepare an application form containting:
- Your proof of having completed secondary (high) school education (if applicable) or a copy of your records from your current (previous) undergraduate school
- Your recent photograph
After completing your Application From you will need to prepare a portfolio consisting of:
- A cover page with your name
- A motivation letter of 400–500 words (in which you introduce yourself, your choice of field and your motivation for studying architecture
- Images of your architecture design projects and/or drawings, sketches etc.
The portfolio, compiled into one PDF file, must be of no more than 10MB in size (alternatively, numbered JPEG files in one .zip directory of no more than 10MB in total).
For further advice, please see our Portfolio Guide by clicking here.
- All admissions-related documents must be submitted via our Information system: is.archip.eu.
We will send you your login details and further instructions after you register your email address in the box below:
Apply to the Bachelor programme here:
By submitting this form you agree with the processing of your personal information according to the Act No. 101/2000 Coll. by the provider Archip.
ARCHIP undertakes to treat your personal information private and confidential, and to store it in accordance with the EU Regulation 2016/679 known as GDPR (see our statement in Czech and in English) and by the applicable laws of the Czech Republic, in particular the Act No. 101/2000 Coll., on the protection of personal information, amending certain other laws, as amended.
ARCHIP Admissions Committee will evaluate applications against several criteria (content and style, originality and artistic distinction, formal presentation of the portfolio).
Transfer or Visiting Students for the Master Programme:
If you are applying for the Master programme you will need to complete the Application Form which we will send you after you register your email address with us (see step 7). You will also need to attach to this a proof of completed secondary (high) school and undergraduate education (name of the school, year of completion and your degree).
After completing your Application Form, you will need to upload three attachments through the School’s Information System (IS, see step 7) containing the following:
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Your recent passport-style photo
- A Transcript of Records from the school where you received your undergraduate degree or are presently graduating from (in Architecture, Planning, Landscape Architecture, Industrial Design or Civil Engineering) and your Bc-level diploma (if you had already successfully passed your exams)
If you are not a citizen of an English-speaking country (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States) or if you do not have at least one undergraduate degree from a school which teaches in English, you will need to submit a proof of your English level proficiency with the level of achievement indicated as per requirements stated below:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) IBT with a minimum score of 79 points; TOEFL Paper with minimum of 550 points; TOEFL CBT with a minimum score of 213 points.
- IELTS Academic version (International English Language Testing Service, British Council) with a minimum score of 6.5 points
- CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) C1 level
- Cambridge Exam (Certificate in Advanced English or Certificate of Proficiency in English from University of Cambridge)
As a Master programme applicant you will also have to prepare a Design Portfolio of your works. Compiled into one PDF file, the Portfolio should not exceed 10MB in size. It also must not contain more than fifteen A3/Landscape pages and should be consisting of the following:
- A Cover page with your name and your contact information
- A maximum of FIVE (5) distinct projects (we recommend your final thesis projects or your most recent projects)
- Each project must come with following information: name of the project, location, indication whether it is an academic or a professional project, your own effort or group work; your role in the process and exact contribution; level of the project (year/term when the project was carried out); date of the project; name and email of the project supervisor)
- Each project documentation must include: concept sketches, development of ideas, approaches and methods; finished drawings of original design work documented in a clear and precise manner and showing both the intent and the resolution of each project; a written explanation (in English) of the design concept and solution (include the inspiration behind the project as well as the goals and objectives of the design)
- No more than two projects are allowed to be from professional practice (projects from working in a professional studio/office/independent practice)
- At least two projects must be your individual effort (you are the only author). At least one project should clearly demonstrate your structural design and technical knowledge and its application.
The portfolio must be attached to the application through the School’s Information system (IS, see step 7).
For further advice, please see our Portfolio Guide by clicking here.
As a part of you application, you will also be expected to write a descriptive essay.
The essay should describe one of the projects displayed in your Design Portfolio. You should explain in it the meaning and significance of the project (urban/suburban/rural location) in the communicative space within which it is located. This demands (i) explaining its placement in the network of spatial relations of a given location, as well as (ii) its relevance to the tradition of architectural theory and history. Please do also point out any significant innovation introduced by your project and explain its nature and the difference from previous solutions and styles.
The essay must not exceed 1,000 words; the minimum length is 750 words. The first page of the essay must contain its title and the full name of the author. Concerning references and quotations, follow one of the major styles (APA, Chicago, Harvard Referencing, MLA). The essay must be submitted in PDF format to the IS (see step 7)
Later, after the ARCHIP Admissions Committee evaluates the submitted materials, you may be asked to give an online interview (via Skype).
All admissions-related documents must be submitted via our Information system: is.archip.eu.
We will send you your login details and further instructions after you register your email address in the box below:
Apply to the Master programme here:
By submitting this form you agree with the processing of your personal information according to the Act No. 101/2000 Coll. by the provider Archip.
ARCHIP undertakes to treat your personal information private and confidential, and to store it in accordance with the EU Regulation 2016/679 known as GDPR (see our statement in Czech and in English) and by the applicable laws of the Czech Republic, in particular the Act No. 101/2000 Coll., on the protection of personal information, amending certain other laws, as amended.
ARCHIP Admissions Committee will evaluate applications against several criteria (content and style, originality and artistic distinction, formal presentation of the portfolio).
Tution fees
The fees will cover the course instruction and basic study content for lectures and seminars along with literature as well. Material for studio work will be excluded. Prices are as follows:
EUR 4,300
per semester for EU, EFTA** and UK nationals
EUR 4,300
per semester for students from the rest of the world
- The school also offers some services – like printing – on a commercial basis.
- Early bird discount of 5% applies.**
- * EFTA members include Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
- ** New students qualify as early birds if they pay before May 31. Current students should refer to IS for information on early bird discounts.
Scholarships
ARCHIP scholarships are awarded to those who perform above-average in terms of academia and successfully complete all enrolled courses. Other criteria evaluated by the scholarship committee include diligence in study, attendance, extra-curricular activities in and out of school, other interests and an overall attitude. Bachelor and Master students may be eligible for the scholarship after the 1st year of study at ARCHIP.
Visa Requirements
If you are a foreign national and applying to study with us in the Czech Republic, you must contact the Czech embassy in your home country to obtain up-to-date information on the visa requirements for study purposes. Thanks to their EU membership, citizens of the European Union, citizens of the EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), and citizens of Switzerland, do not require visa for any type of visit or stay in the Czech Republic.
For more information please visit the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic on this web address.
Please direct your admissions enquiries: admissions@archip.eu
Important dates for academic year 2024/2025
WEEK 0 - ORIENTATION
AUG 28 – AUG 30, 2024
WINTER TERM (14+2 weeks)
SEP 2 – DEC 20, 2024
SUMMER TERM (14+2 weeks)
FEB 3 – MAY 16, 2025
BANK HOLIDAYS
OCT 28, 2024
MAY 1, 2025
May 8, 2025
BANK HOLIDAYS (EASTER)
APR 18 – APR 21, 2025
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
DEC 21, 2024 – JAN 5, 2025
SUMMER EXAM PERIOD (6 WEEKS)
MAY 12 – JUN 20, 2025
WINTER EXAM PERIOD (5 WEEKS)
DEC 19 – 20 2024,JAN 6 – 31 2025
SUMMER HOLIDAYS
JUN 23 – AUG 29, 2025