Charles University Third Faculty of Medicine Entrance Exam 2027: Complete Preparation Guide

Forty official headings, grouped below in the syllabus's own order. Human anatomy and physiology was the heaviest area of the official 2025 sample by some distance.

• Living systems and bioenergetics: characteristics of living systems (organisation, homeostasis, metabolism, growth, adaptation, response to stimuli, reproduction), the second law of thermodynamics, parthenogenesis and sexual reproduction, photosynthesis, cell respiration, glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, the electron transport chain, oxidative phosphorylation and fermentation
• Prokaryotes and bacteria: phylogenetic division and archaebacteria, genome organisation, bacterial shapes, cell wall composition including Gram-positive peptidoglycan, movement, growth of populations, transformation and conjugation, endospores, nutritional and metabolic diversity, nitrogen fixation, symbiosis, pathogenicity and bacteria in technology
• Viruses and non-cellular agents: division according to host, icosahedral models and capsid configuration, bacteriophage structure, virus classification and evolution, reverse transcription, reproduction, lytic and lysogenic cycles, latent viruses, tumour viruses, prions, heredity, disease and HIV infection
• Eukaryotic cells and membranes: nucleus, plasma membrane, endomembrane system and lysosomes, mitochondria and chloroplasts, centrosomes, cytoskeleton, flagella, actin filaments, muscle, cell surfaces and intracellular junctions, the fluid mosaic model, membrane proteins and carbohydrates, transport and osmosis
• DNA, chromosomes and replication: bacterial transformation, informational polymers, purines and pyrimidines, pentose, nucleotides and nucleosides, bonds between nucleotides, replication and DNA polymerase, euchromatin and heterochromatin, chromosome ultrastructure and condensation, sister and non-sister chromatids, karyotypes
• Gene expression and protein synthesis: transcription and translation, RNA structure and types, processing of the primary transcript, the genetic code, ribosomes and polyribosomes, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, protein structure and synthesis, regulation of gene expression and the differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes
• Cell cycle and mitosis: the cell cycle and its phases, proliferating and resting cells, chromatid counts at each stage, the phases of mitosis, centrosomes and kinetochores, checkpoints, cyclins and CDKs, proto-oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, carcinogenesis, signal molecules and signal transduction, ageing, apoptosis and necrosis
• Meiosis and gametogenesis: asexual and sexual reproduction, alternation of haploid and diploid phases, meiosis-mitosis differences, prophase I, synapsis, the synaptonemal complex, crossing over, the phases of both meiotic divisions, spermatogenesis and oogenesis, fertilisation, nondisjunction and anaphase lag, errors of fertilisation, gynogenesis and androgenesis
• Classical and bacterial genetics: the bacterial chromosome, transformation, transduction, conjugation, F and R plasmids, transposons, operons and positive and negative gene regulation, eukaryotic chromosomes and mitochondrial DNA, Mendel's pea characters, character and trait, monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, testcross, parental and filial generations, the laws of uniformity, segregation and independent assortment, Morgan's gene linkage and gene order from recombination frequencies
• Human genetics and cytogenetics: gene, allele and gene expression, heredity and variability, homozygous and heterozygous, genome and gene pool, genotype and phenotype, complete and incomplete dominance, codominance, ABO and Rh blood groups, structure and classification of chromosomes, the human karyotype, gamete maturation, sex determination in different species and Barr bodies
• Genetic disorders and DNA technology: gene mutations (substitution, deletion, insertion), autosomal and X-linked dominant and recessive traits, chromosome mutations (deletion, duplication, inversion, translocation), genome mutations (aneuploidy, trisomy, monosomy, polyploidy), genetic counselling and testing, carrier recognition, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, newborn screening, PCR, sequencing, restriction digestion, reverse transcription, blotting and cloning
• Evolution and population genetics: conditions on early Earth, abiotic synthesis, the primordial soup and the Miller-Urey experiment, microspheres, liposomes and protobionts, the RNA world, evolution of prokaryotic metabolism, endosymbiotic theory and the phylogenetic tree, macro- and microevolution, Lamarck, Darwin and de Vries, mutation, recombination, gene duplication, horizontal transfer, natural and artificial selection, genetic drift, species and gene pools, the geological time scale, radiometric dating, taxonomy and cladistics, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, the five causes of microevolution, hominid evolution from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, multiregional and monogenesis models and cultural evolution
• Human development and tissues: human specification, diblastic and triblastic organisation, protostomes and deuterostomes, types of coelom, vertebrates and mammals, genetic bases of development, morphogen gradients, ontogenesis, ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm and the organs derived from each, differentiation, epithelial tissue, connective tissue (loose, fibrous, cartilage, bone, adipose, blood), muscle tissue (skeletal, cardiac, smooth) and nervous tissue (neurons and glia)
• Skeletal and muscular systems: structure and function of the skeleton, shapes of joints, the trunk framework and ribs, skeleton of the limbs and pelvis, skeleton of the head, bone cells and synthesis of the extracellular matrix, structure and function of muscle, muscles of the arm, leg, trunk and back, and frequent diseases of both systems
• Circulatory and respiratory systems: body fluids and the intracellular and extracellular compartments, vessels and heart, blood circulation and the origin of the great vessels, heart activity, blood pressure, the lymphatic system, spleen and nodes, external and internal respiration, gas exchange, larynx, vocal cords, trachea, bronchi, lungs, bronchioles and alveoli, positive and negative pressure breathing, tidal volume, vital capacity and residual volume, and frequent diseases
• Digestive system and nutrition: oral cavity, tongue, salivary glands and teeth, pharynx, oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, rectum and anus, pancreas, liver and gallbladder, digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, hepatitis and other frequent diseases, nutritional requirements and essential nutrients, leptin and homeostatic mechanisms, overnourishment, undernourishment and malnourishment as distinct terms, metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, vitamins and minerals
• Excretory system and the internal environment: filtration, reabsorption and secretion, kidney, nephron, collecting duct and renal pelvis, ureter, urinary bladder and urethra, frequent diseases, thermoregulation by conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation, water and mineral balance, diffusion and osmosis, homeostasis of blood osmolarity, pressure and volume, and the nitrogenous wastes ammonia, urea and uric acid
• Skin and reproductive systems: epidermis and dermis, nerve endings, pain and touch receptors, sweat glands, body defence and thermoregulation, male reproductive anatomy (testis, epididymis, vas deferens, seminal vesicle, prostate), female reproductive anatomy (ovary, oviduct, uterus, vagina), embryonic and fetal development and frequent diseases
• Endocrine control: the endocrine glands and their hormones, chemical classes of hormones, hormone action and regulation, positive and negative feedback loops such as oxytocin and milk release, and homeostasis of blood calcium and blood glucose
• Nervous control and sense organs: central and peripheral nervous systems, somatic and autonomic divisions with sympathetic and parasympathetic branches, neuron structure and supporting cells including the glia lining the ventricles, sensory and motor neurons, reflexes, ganglia and nuclei, membrane and action potentials and ion permeability, electrical and chemical synapses, medulla oblongata, pons, cerebellum, midbrain, diencephalon, thalamus and hypothalamus, cerebral hemispheres, cortex, white matter, basal nuclei, corpus callosum, limbic system and the structural and functional areas of the cortex, mechanoreceptors, nociceptors, thermoreceptors, gustatory and olfactory chemoreceptors, and photoreceptors including accommodation of the lens
• Blood and the immune system: plasma and cellular elements (erythrocytes, leucocytes, thrombocytes), haematocrit and serum, haematopoiesis and its regulation by erythropoietin, blood clotting and haemophilia, the organs of the immune system, classification of leucocytes, non-specific and specific defence, and the cellular and humoral components
• Man and the environment: agricultural effects on nutrient cycling, accelerated eutrophication of lakes, biological magnification of toxins, carbon dioxide emissions and the greenhouse effect, depletion of atmospheric ozone, plus the broader ecosystem facts the official sample draws on at this point such as the composition of the atmosphere and the order of an ecological energy pyramid

Part I General Chemistry (sixteen headings) and Part II Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (twenty-three), in the syllabus's own order. Calculations are frequent and must be solvable without a calculator.

• Atomic structure and the periodic table: atoms, atomic number, mass number, protons and neutrons, electron configuration, orbitals, the Pauli exclusion principle, Hund's rule, the Aufbau principle, the periodic law, representative, transition and inner transition elements, metals and non-metals, biologically important elements (macroelements, inorganic ions, trace elements), ionic compounds, the shapes, sizes and radii of ions, and the octet rule
• Chemical bonding and inorganic nomenclature: molecules and chemical bonds, covalent, polar covalent and ionic bonding, bond polarity and electronegativity, intermolecular attractive forces, naming and writing formulas of oxides, acids, bases and salts, charge balance in ionic formulas, oxidation states of common biological ions such as Fe(II) and Fe(III), and acid nomenclature families including the hypohalous acids
• States of matter and energy: physical quantities (mass, volume, temperature, time, amount of substance), density and specific gravity, kinetic and potential energy, chemical energy and conservation of energy, heat, specific heat and heat capacity, melting and boiling points, exothermic and endothermic reactions, the gaseous state, the pressure-volume-temperature relationship, the general gas law, Avogadro's principle, Dalton's law of partial pressures, the liquid state, dynamic equilibrium, vapour pressure, water and hydrogen bonds, surface tension, surfactants, the solid state and sublimation
• Mixtures, solutions and transport: heterogeneous and homogeneous mixtures, solutions, colloidal dispersions and suspensions, aqueous solutions, the product of solubility, solubility of gases, Henry's law, gas tension, diffusion, osmosis and dialysis
• Stoichiometry and concentration: quantitative relationships in chemical reactions, the mole concept, percentage concentration, molar concentration, conversion between concentration units, preparing dilute solutions from concentrated ones, balanced equations and stoichiometry, grams of solute required for a given volume and molarity, the concentration of a particular ion in solution, and conversions between micromoles, millimoles and moles per litre
• Equilibrium and reaction kinetics: chemical equilibrium and the shifting of equilibrium, Le Chatelier's principle, reaction kinetics, the Guldberg-Waage law, catalysts and their effect on activation energy as distinct from the equilibrium constant, and rate of reaction
• Acids, bases and pH: electrolytes, the Arrhenius and Brönsted theories, strong and weak acids and bases, conjugate acid-base pairs, salts and the product of solubility, the pH concept, the ionic product of water and the ion concentrations at neutrality, acid ionisation constants, buffers, acid-base titration, neutralisation products, the pH change on dilution, and the effect of dissolved carbon dioxide on the pH of water
• Redox reactions: oxidation-reduction equilibria, the oxidation number, identifying which species is oxidised and which is reduced, balancing redox equations, and reduction potentials
• Foundations of organic chemistry: classification into hydrocarbons and their derivatives, valence of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and the halogens, alkyl, aryl and aromatic compound, constitution, conformation and configuration, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, functional groups, cyclic hydrocarbons, single and multiple bonds, sigma and pi electrons, primary, secondary and tertiary carbon, molecular, empirical and structural formulas, structural isomerism and stereoisomerism (optical and geometrical cis-trans), reaction types (substitution, addition, elimination, rearrangement), nomenclature with its prefixes and suffixes, systematic and common names, and the priority of functional groups
• Hydrocarbons and arenes: alkanes, alkenes and alkynes, their physical and biological properties, occurrence and reactivity (oxidation, halogenation, reduction, addition, polymerisation), common names such as ethylene, acetylene, chloroform and vinyl chloride, and arenes: planar rings, delocalised pi electrons, aromaticity and reactivity compared with alkenes, plus the common names benzene, phenyl-, toluene, benzyl-, the o-, m- and p-xylenes, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, biphenyl and styrene
• Alcohols, carbonyls and sulfur compounds: alcohols and phenols (naming, primary, secondary and tertiary, monofunctional and polyfunctional, dehydration, oxidation, esterification, and the common names glycerol, phenol, cresols, hydroquinone, pyrocatechol and benzyl alcohol), ethers and epoxides, thiols, sulfides and disulfides including formation of a disulfide bond on oxidation, aldehydes and ketones (oxidation, reduction, addition of water, alcohols and nitrogen compounds, keto-enol tautomerism, aldol condensation, and the common names formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, acetone, dihydroxyacetone, quinones and phenones), and the effect of these groups on water solubility
• Carboxylic acids and derivatives: naming, structure and classification as saturated, unsaturated, monocarboxylic and dicarboxylic, the terms acyl, anion, alpha-carbon and omega-carbon, common names of the C1-C4, C16 and C18 monocarboxylic acids and the C2-C5 dicarboxylic acids, fumaric, maleic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic and benzoic acid, substitutional derivatives (lactic, malic, pyruvic, oxaloacetic, 2-oxoglutaric, citric and salicylic acid), functional derivatives (salts, anhydrides, esters, amides, halides and nitriles), sulfonic acids and carbonic acid derivatives (urea, phosgene, guanidine)
• Amines, nitro compounds and heterocycles: heterocyclic compounds and their structures (pyrrole, indole, pyridine, pyrimidine, purine, imidazole, furan, pyran), amines (naming, classification as primary, secondary and tertiary amines and quaternary ammonium, physical and biological properties, diazotation, and the common names aniline and choline), and nitro compounds
• Biomolecules: nucleic acids (purine and pyrimidine bases, nucleosides and nucleotides, keto-enol tautomerism, complementary base pairing, hydrogen, N-glycosidic, phosphoester and phosphodiester bonds, the structure of DNA and RNA and the types of RNA), proteins (proteinogenic amino acids and their classification and properties, isoelectric point, chiral carbon and functional-group count, primary to quaternary structure, the peptide -CO-NH- arrangement, denaturation, classification and functions), lipids and terpenes (fatty acids, triacylglycerols, phospholipids, sphingolipids, steroids and cholesterol, transport of poorly soluble molecules by protein carriers, isoprene), saccharides (mono-, oligo- and polysaccharides, Fischer, Tollens and Haworth projections, oxidation, reduction, esterification and glycosylation, ketose-aldose and pyran-furan isomerism, alpha and beta anomers, epimers, D and L enantiomers, glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose, ribose, deoxyribose, sucrose, lactose, maltose, starch, glycogen and cellulose), and the anhydride bond hydrolysed when ATP becomes ADP and phosphate

It's the two-part admission process the Third Faculty of Medicine uses for its English-taught General Medicine programme in Prague. The first part is a 60-question written test: 30 Biology and 30 Chemistry, four options each, one point per question, scored 0 to 60. The second part is a separately scored interview worth 12 to 62 points.

Neither. There is no shared national medical entrance test in the Czech Republic, and Charles University's five medical faculties run structurally different papers. LF3 is the only one of the three Prague faculties that tests just two subjects: the First Faculty runs Biology, Chemistry and General Science across 75 questions, and the Second Faculty runs four sections including Physics and Logic. Preparation built for one does not transfer cleanly to another.

No. The English-taught written test is Biology and Chemistry only. This is worth checking carefully against anything you read elsewhere, because LF3's syllabus PDF has the word 'physics' in its filename while the document body and the admissions page both describe a two-subject test, and because LF3 publishes a separate Czech-language document for its Czech-medium programme that does describe a 90-question paper including Physics. That is a different exam.

LF3 does not say. IvyTest re-read the faculty's official admissions page in full on 7 October 2026, with Charles University's 2027/28 admissions record and the 2025 sample test, and none of them gives a time limit for the written test (the only duration LF3 states is the interview's 10 minutes), and a '3 hours' figure that circulates on third-party sites could not be corroborated in either PDF linked from LF3's own pages. Rather than print a number the university has never published, we leave it unverified, and recommend practising the same 60-question paper at more than one pace.

It is an electronic test taken on the applicant's own laptop or other device, in Prague or at a partner agency's sitting abroad. For 2027/28, Charles University's admissions record adds that sittings abroad may be online, with the first round then run by the testing company Scio on questions the faculty supplies, and the faculty itself running the second round. Practically, that means your equipment is part of your preparation. The expected level of knowledge corresponds to the Czech grammar-school framework.

Each question is worth one point and the written part scores from 0 to 60; that much LF3 states directly. Whether a wrong answer carries a penalty is not stated anywhere. IvyTest assesses a no-penalty scheme as likely rather than confirmed, on the reasoning that a stated floor of exactly 0 across 60 one-point questions is what a no-penalty scheme produces, while a negative-marking scheme would need a floor rule the faculty has never issued. If that assessment is right, a blind four-option guess is worth +0.25 points and there is no reason to leave anything blank, but confirm the rule with the faculty rather than taking it as settled.

There is no fixed pass mark, and this is a design choice rather than an omission. LF3 states that the Dean sets the minimum number of points needed to proceed to the second part on the basis of that year's first-part results, and the points required for admission according to the expected number of admissions, so the threshold is produced by the cohort after the exam, not published before it. There are also no per-subject floors; LF3 has no equivalent of the per-subject minimums used by some Italian medical schools.

An interview scored from 12 to 62 points, covering interpretation of a popular-scientific text, general overview, independent judgement, communication skills, motivation and an evaluator recommendation. It lasts 10 minutes in all: five criteria in a text round and six in an interview round, each scored 1 to 5, plus each evaluator's recommendation scored 1 to 7. It is scored separately from the written test. LF3 does not publish how the two scores are combined in the final ranking, so we leave that unverified rather than assuming they are summed.

None at all. The official 2025 sample test contains no figures: every item, including anatomical and structural questions, is posed as plain text, and organic structures are written inline in the form CH3-CH2-NH-CH3 or HOOC-CH(NH2)-CH2-SH. Practising from diagram-heavy material leaves that specific reading skill untrained.

LF3 expects to admit 90 students for 2027/28, as for 2026/27. Charles University's 2027/28 admissions record reports that 92 of 548 applicants were admitted in the past academic year, an acceptance rate of about 17%; the 2026/27 record gave 90 of 436, about 21%. Up to 25 places can go to applicants admitted without the exam, and the threshold to reach the interview is set from that year's results, which makes the competition explicitly relative to the cohort.

Within the EU, yes: automatically, as a standard Czech medical degree. There is no separate national licensing exam afterwards: the Czech state exam is built into the MUDr degree itself, and registration with the Czech Medical Chamber (ČLK) is compulsory to practise in the country. Outside the EU recognition isn't automatic as a rule, but the UK is an exception. Under the Medical Act 1983 (section 21B, as in force on 12 October 2026), a Czech medical degree (MUDr.) is a 'relevant European qualification', so a graduate who applies to the GMC with one, whatever their nationality, is not asked to show the knowledge and skills other international graduates prove through PLAB/UKMLA; evidence of English is still required, and the rule is UK policy that can change. US-bound graduates need ECFMG certification via USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, the same requirement every international medical graduate faces.

Yes. The IvyTest simulator runs LF3-format practice (60 questions, 30 Biology and 30 Chemistry, four options with one correct answer, in the plain-text style of the official sample) in timed, tutor and review modes, with a free diagnostic available without payment.

LF3 publishes no archive of past papers, but its Entrance exam page links three free PDFs: the premedical syllabus for Chemistry and Biology, last year's sample test (the 2025 paper: 30 Biology and 30 Chemistry questions, four options each) and its key, a one-page scanned answer grid. Its Prospects and documents page also points to the premedical course's study materials, lecture handouts from 2016.

Charles University's admissions record for 2027/28 sets the application deadline at 30 April 2027, also the day by which a request to waive the exam must be posted. The written test is in Prague on 28 May 2027, with an alternative date on 1 July 2027, and sittings abroad, some possibly online, run from February to July 2027. Applications open on 1 November 2026, according to LF3's How to apply page; the interview dates are not yet published.

Secondary education completed with a school-leaving examination, an online application with its fee (CZK 2,000 for 2027/28), and the entrance exam unless you qualify for the waiver: A-levels of A, A, B in English, Chemistry and Biology, 19 points in Higher Level IB Chemistry, Biology and English, or similar results taken in 2025/26 or later. Once admitted you post an authenticated, translated school-leaving certificate, a transcript and a passport copy, and pay CZK 990 for its recognition. No English certificate is asked of first-year applicants.

Tuition is CZK 440,000 a year (about €18,000) for students starting in 2027/28, according to Charles University's admissions record and LF3's own pages; it was CZK 420,000 for 2026/27. It is due by 30 October, and students in a difficult financial situation can ask to pay in instalments. The application fee is CZK 2,000 for 2027/28 and the recognition of a foreign school certificate CZK 1,050. LF3 publishes no living-cost estimate; its optional Premedical Course costs CZK 125,000.

Six years, taught in English since 1991/92 alongside the Czech programme and leading to the MUDr. (M.D.) degree. LF3's integrated curriculum runs in three cycles: basic biomedical sciences in years 1 and 2, principles of clinical medicine in years 3 and 4, and clinical preparation in years 5 and 6, with an emphasis on preventive care. Students must be able to use Czech by the end of year 2. The main clinical base is the University Hospital Královské Vinohrady in Prague 10.

LF3 traces its roots to the medical faculty founded with Charles University in 1348; it became the Faculty of Hygiene in 1953 and the Third Faculty of Medicine in 1990. It calls its integrated curriculum the only such reform at a medical school in Central and Eastern Europe, and is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education for U.S. students. LF3's pages cite no world ranking; Charles University's preparatory institute cites the QS World University Rankings 2025 (top 250) and 151-200 in QS Medicine and ShanghaiRanking's Clinical Medicine, for the whole university.

IvyTest publishes no student reviews of its own. LF3's Students and graduates to applicants page carries accounts from four graduates, three of them now in residencies in the USA and Sweden, describing a demanding programme with problem-based learning, and one mentions the language barrier on clinical placements. Its students' association TRIMED has a podcast for applicants, and LF3 offers visits guided by a current student (its Open Day page last listed 9 January 2026).

The content is school Biology and Chemistry at Czech grammar-school level, 30 questions each with one correct answer and every item posed in plain text. What makes it hard is the competition: about 17% of applicants were admitted in the past academic year, the threshold to reach the interview is set from that year's results, and there is no third section to make up for a weak subject.

Yes: r/CharlesThirdFaculty, where Charles University, Third Faculty of Medicine applicants ask each other about the Charles University LF3 Entrance Exam and share how their preparation is going. It is run by the IvyTest team. Dates, rules and results come only from the university's own pages, listed under Official sources on this page.

r/CharlesThirdFaculty