Origin

When the Faculty of Humanities, the seventeenth faculty at Charles University came into being in 2000, the idea arose to establish a master’s degree program to prepare graduates for careers in the nonprofit sector. The program was established by Marie Dohnalová and Marek Skovajsa, together with several other individuals from civil society organizations.  They drew their inspiration from Western universities. The program aims are to provide specialists in civil society and the civil sector with adequate knowledge of theoretical approaches to the area and a broad range of practical skills and knowledge, to allow them to be applied in a versatile, flexible manner on the labour market.  Graduates find jobs both in the civil sector and NGOs as well as in public administration, the private sector, business (in managerial positions), and so on. More information is available in the Graduates section.

Currently, approximately 100 students study in the department. There are 30 students in each year. The department possesses a database of its graduates, who as of year-end 2015 number almost 330.

Accreditation

The ‘Civil Sector Studies’ program won accreditation in December 2006. In June 2014, the program’s re-accreditation application was approved and its accreditation was extended for a further six years. Accreditation of the Civil Sector Studies Ph.D. program was approved in April 2012. Currently, Ph.D. students have been studying in the Department for three years.