Most students have long ago submitted applications to universities. Masters have a bit more time than bachelors - most faculties accept master's applications until the end of April.
I decided quite a long time ago, for a long time didn't do anything special and just waited for exams, prepared :)
You should decide on your profile quickly, preferably in September-October. Unfortunately, there's very little information on the internet, so I decided to write a couple of words about it. I'll tell about universities, faculties and specialties that a humanities student can study in Czech Republic.
What universities in general can you study something humanitarian at? Information can be easily found on the internet or in the prospective student handbook.
I'll immediately note that in the article I'll only consider those universities whose education I consider adequate. I.e. I won't consider very small ones, and most importantly - I'll pass by private ones. I believe that going to a foreign country to study for big money at a weak university is stupid.
In first place, of course, is Charles University. This is the main goal of all humanities students in Czech Republic.
In second place is Masaryk University in Brno. It's easier to get in there, programs are simpler, but still - not the worst option.
Third place should be given to Palacký University in Olomouc. I was there on open door day. Good place, but quite simple.
Fourth place I'd give to several universities at once: South Bohemian University in České Budějovice, West Bohemian University in Plzeň, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Ostrava University, Silesian University in Opava...but, in my humble opinion, studying there is quite stupid, at home you can get an education no worse.
There are also "other places" where a humanities student can study, but I won't write about them at all - extremely rarely does anyone set a goal to enter exactly a weak university. If you really need to get into some dump - google "Czech language courses" and ask any Russian curator on the internet - that's exactly what they specialize in.
There are, by the way, also several private universities, but this is a complete failure.
By the way, when I finished school, in grade 9-10 (it was a long time ago), I contacted representatives of different agencies, they said that getting into state universities is generally unrealistic, you need to go to a private one and transfer. After living here for less than a year, I, of course, understood that this is nonsense with a capital N. Essentially, even a quite lazy student will find a free place.
And now, I'll tell in more detail about each of them, as well as a bit about study programs.
Charles University
Doesn't need special description. Studying there is hard, applying - too. Competition is high. Many interesting programs.
You should start by viewing the Faculty of Arts website.
It's worth telling about study programs. There are many of them, every year the list changes - something's accreditation expires, something new is added. I, for example, need to choose from these (list is current for 2014 🙃)
You should also pay attention to the Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Humanities.
Personally I submitted 2 applications, both to the Faculty of Arts. One of them - for cuneiform, the other - for new media studies.
You can apply essentially anywhere, the main thing is to pass all exams. Mainly, they're divided into 2 stages - written and oral. Written often passes in the form of a test. Exams for humanities specialties, accordingly, pass in their own way. If you score at least 25 points out of 50, you'll get into the second round, oral. There you'll have an interview with teachers, conditions are different for everyone. Mainly - everyone wants to see something about your motivation, as well as your CV. Further - everyone has different things, someone asks to tell about the future thesis project, someone - about what was written in the bachelor's thesis.
It also happens that there's only 1 round - oral.
If the number of students is less than the maximum number accepted - they take everyone who scored at least 50% from both parts. If the number is more (for example, for new media there were 120 people for 20 places) - they take the first 20, based on the result. If someone has as many points as the 20th, they'll all be taken.
Very often it happens that they don't even reach the planned number - it may well be that for 20 places only 10 people will be accepted. They won't take those who didn't score the minimum points, even though there are places.
Masaryk University in Brno
This university is located in the second largest (and, possibly, most significant) city of Czech Republic - Brno.
It has several faculties, including Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Social Studies.
I submitted only one application, for general linguistics at the Faculty of Arts. I did this, by the way, for free.
At Masaryk University the application submission process differs a bit from Charles. Here you can submit an application only for the specialty you studied as a bachelor. For others - they simply won't accept the application.
In theory, you can write to the student office, prove that you have enough hours and knowledge to study something else, but it's difficult and doesn't always work.
For example, I wanted to submit a backup application for "Theories of Interactive Media", but it wasn't accepted, citing that my previous specialty is completely different. So I was advised to apply for my specialty, general linguistics, and then just take subjects that will interest me.
Getting in here is much easier: many specialties don't even have exams. I.e. you just need to have nostrification of diploma in your hands, which says you have a similar specialty. For some popular specialties there are exams, still - but they're mainly easy, and you need to score fewer points. Conditions this year can be viewed, for example, here.
Essentially, by submitting an application I was already accepted, it only remained to come for enrollment in summer. This was pleasing, as the safety cushion was already there, I definitely wouldn't go home :)
Palacký University in Olomouc
Essentially, here only the Faculty of Arts can interest us.
In principle, there are all the most popular specialties here, so you can consider the university as a real alternative to the first two.
Unfortunately, for personal reasons, I didn't submit applications here at all, and, accordingly, can't say anything for sure. I can, for example, say that for the specialty "general linguistics" there should have been an oral interview, where you need to tell about your motivation, about your scientific work. So getting in was quite realistic.
The full list can be viewed, for example, here.
I can't say anything about other universities - it's unlikely that future masters will have a real interest in studying in small, unremarkable universities. Mainly, applications there were submitted by non-Russian-speaking scholarship recipients who have problems with everything - both with Czech and with diploma nostrification; and those who very carefully approached admission and submitted many backup applications. I, for example, didn't need this at all, because I was 100% taken to Brno.