General conditions for admitting to bachelor studies
Applicants for the bachelor studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, Comenius University in Bratislava, must comply with two conditions - apart from completed secondary/high school education, they must meet the entrance examinations criteria. Taking the entrance examinations is essential as the number of those interested in studying at the Faculty of Philosophy exceeds the capacity of the Faculty in about four times. Admitting new students is a transparent system process.
The entrance examinations conditions and rules are set annually by 15 September by the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Philosophy. The basic condition for being admitted to bachelor studies is the successful passing of the A-level exam at the secondary/high school. The secondary/high school results (the A-level certificate) are usually evaluated by points ranging from 0 to 50 and are an integral part of the entrance examination evaluation.
The entrance examinations are administered exclusively in the form of a written test, there are no oral examinations held. The tests are based on the authorized secondary/high school curriculum in Slovakia. There are courses requiring tests of specific knowledge, which can be acquired by studying books set for the particular subject; for some courses specific talent and prerequisites are inevitable, which are tested as well.
The entrance examinations requirements for individual courses and specializations are available on the Faculty website, as well as in a brochure published annually and delivered to the applicants by post after obtaining their application forms. Test evaluating is based on the point system which is universal for the whole Faculty. The contestants who have acquired the most points are admitted to studies, however, the number of those admitted is determined every year by the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Philosophy. The lists of the admitted contestants are then authorized by the admittance committee of the Dean of the Faculty on the basis of the results of entrance tests. Due to the present capacity of the Faculty, about 950 contestants can be admitted for the first year of studies. Every contestant is allowed to check the correctness of evaluation of their own test. For foreigners interested in studying at the Faculty of Philosophy, the same rules and criteria are applied as those for Slovak citizens.
The process of entrance examinations is supervised by the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Philosophy, as well as by the representatives of the Faculty and the University. In recent years the admission process has been inspected by activists of the Institute for the Well-Run Society. The correct and transparent character of entrance examinations at the Faculty of Philosophy has been proved by the fact that within the previous five years Rector of Comenius University did not have to revise any of the decisions made by the Dean of the Faculty concerning the contestants admitted.
