DEAN'S DECREE NO. 5/2024 ON BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S DEGREE PROGRAMMES AT DAMU

Dean's Decree No. 5/2024, regulating the RULES FOR STUDY IN ACCREDITED BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S STUDY PROGRAMS AT THE FACULTY OF THEATRE AT THE ACADEMY OF MUSICAL ARTS IN PRAGUE ACCORDING TO THE STUDY AND EXPERIENCE REGULATIONS OF THE ACADEMY OF MUSICAL ARTS IN PRAGUE.

Pursuant to Article 13, clause 4 of the Statutes of the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague, the Dean of the Theatre Faculty (“DAMU” of the "Faculty") of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ("AMU") is issuing this Decree within the confines of legislation and the internal regulations of AMU and the Faculty, to regulate the rules for study in accredited bachelor’s programmes and master’s programmes in accordance with the Attendance and Examination Regulations of AMU (the “AER”).

Article 1: Academic year schedule

(1) Further to the AMU academic year schedule announced by the Rector, the Dean shall announce the DAMU academic year schedule on or before 15 June.

Article 2: AMU information system

(1) DAMU shall use, in particular, its information system (the „KOS“), electronic mail sent to assigned addresses, announcements posted in the public section of DAMU's website or public notices posted at the official notice board at DAMU to communicate with its students, including providing information about their obligations and binding dates associated with their study. Analogously, students shall use the information system and electronic mail to communicate with DAMU.

(2) DAMU’s official notice board is situated in the connection corridor on the ground floor of the building between the Karlova part and the central part of the DAMU building at Karlova 26.

Article 3: Admission procedure

(1) The Dean shall announce conditions of the admission procedure after approval thereof by the academic senate of the Faculty no less than 4 months prior the final date for the applications; for new accreditations, no less than 1 month prior to the final date for the applications.

(2) The conditions of admission to all study programmes at the DAMU for a given academic year always include the maximum number of admitted applicants. In the case of study programmes with specialisations, the limit may be set separately for each specialisation. In the case of study programmes taught in different forms of study, the limit will be set separately for each form of study. 

(3) The applicants for study shall file their applications exclusively using the electronic interface accessible from https://prihlaska.amu.cz where they shall complete the electronic application, send it, pay the administrative fee by wire transfer or using a credit card and upload the required attachments. The application must be sent and paid on or before the date stipulated in the announcement. Applicants will not submit printed application forms. Details are covered in the Rules for the admission procedure and requirements for admission to study that the Faculty issues for each academic year.

(4) The Dean shall appoint the chair and members of the admission examination commission (the “Admission Panel”) upon a motion filed by the head of the department. The Commission shall comprise no less than five members. At least three members of the Commission must always attend the examination (with the exception of written examination). The course of the admission procedure and the publication of results are not public. The dean may appoint several sub-committees to evaluate the admission procedure in parallel for different groups of applicants to one study programme.

(5) The Admission Panel shall draft one report about the course of the admission procedure (all examinations and their parts, i.e. talent, theoretic written or oral) which shall record assessment of the admission procedure and indicate explicitly the facts relevant for admission or non-admission of an applicant. The report on admission procedure of an applicant, signed by all members of the Admission Panel, shall be handed over by an individual authorised by the chair of the Admission Panel to the Study Department within 14 days, at the latest, following the date on which the prescribed examinations for the specific applicant ended, i.e. following the date on which the applicant has been proposed by the Commission for admission or non-admission for study. If the admission procedure or a part thereof was organised for a specific applicant before a sub-Admission Panel appointed by the Dean, only all members of this sub-Admission Panel shall sign the report or the relevant part of the report.

(5) Following the notification of the decision on admission or non-admission to study, applicants have the right to view their files, always subject to a prior arrangement with the secretariat of the Department concerned. The file shall be provided for viewing by the chair of the Admission Panel or their appointed deputy. Instead of allowing applicants to view their files, DAMU may also provide a copy of the file to the applicant. The right to view one’s file does not include the applicant’s right to seek consultations with members of the Admission Panel.

Article 4: Orientation days

(1) The Orientation Days are a typically one- to two-day programme for students admitted to DAMU, composed of information seminars with the DAMU and AMU staff, introduction to information systems and services, tours of educational facilities and the like, the purpose of which is to support seamless integration of new students in the academic environment of the Faculty.

(2) The Orientation Days are a compulsory part of study for all first-year students in all bachelor's and master's programmes at DAMU and they are held shortly before the start of the academic year.

(3) If, for serious reasons, a student was unable to participate in the orientation days to the extent specified, the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs will determine alternative performance.

Article 5: Course of study

(1) Students shall monitor and check the observance of their study obligations in KOS, follow their study plan and the academic year schedule and address any issues promptly with the teacher of the relevant subject, the study programme guarantor, the Head of the Department, the Department Secretary or the Study Department.

(2) The student is obliged to continuously monitor messages received by e-mail to the assigned school address and to respond to them adequately without delay. In the interest of seamless communication, the student is required to regularly update the information system or through the Student Services Department. DAMU changes in personal data, including telephone number, data box for individuals and correspondence address

(3) In addition, students shall comply with AMU and DAMU internal regulations and internal policies, including the obligation to observe the rules applicable to special-purpose facilities at DAMU available to the entire Faculty (including but not limited to the Operating Rules of the DISK theatre studio and the Rules for the Operation of Řetízek) and the instructions of those in charge.

(4) Students shall enrol in a higher year of study and/or in the next academic year (those on the waiting list) by submitting an application using KOS within the periods of time set out in the AER and the academic year schedule of the Faculty.

Article 6: Subjects

(1) Students shall become entitled to receive a grade provided they meet the conditions for the award of a grade as set out by the teacher in the syllabus of the subject; the teacher may not make the award of a grade subject to the meeting of other conditions not set out in the syllabus of the subject.

(2) The setting of assignments in the core subjects (the so-called clause assignments) is always done in writing, usually by e-mail and well in advance.

(3) Once the period for the registration of subjects stipulated by the schedule has ended, the status of the registered optional and mandatory optional subjects may only be changed through the Study Department in substantiated cases and only until the beginning of the relevant semester’s examination period.

(4) A request to change the status of registered optional and mandatory optional subjects after the end of the period stipulated in the academic year schedule may be approved in the following cases in particular:

(a) the subject has not been taught; or

(b) the subject's timetable has been changed after the end of the period for registration of subjects; or

(c) if the student is unable to complete the subject for health reasons and this is documented by a medical report from a general practitioner or specialist.

(5) After the beginning of the examination period, no changes in the registered mandatory optional and optional subject may be made for any reason any longer.

(6) A failed mandatory optional or optional subject is not shown on the Diploma Supplement and shall not be a bar to registration in a higher year or the next academic year, nor shall it affect re-registration of a failed subject if permitted. According to Article 4 (2) (b) of the AMU Scholarship Regulations, the student loses the right to be awarded a scholarship for outstanding academic performance in such a case.

(7) Students may register for subjects taught at AMU’s other Faculties and included in the “optional for AMU” category in KOS by themselves. If a subject that a student wishes to register for is a mandatory subject taught in a different study programme and is not offered for registration as an optional subject, a Study Department employee may register the student for such a subject further to a written (usually e-mail) approval of the teacher concerned.

(8) The teacher of the subject is responsible for the proper conclusion of the classification of the subject and the recording of its result in the KOS. The teacher is obliged to enter the classification into the KOS no later than 5 working days from the date on which the student has demonstrated the fulfilment of study obligations, both in the case of successful (Z for credits or A, B, C, D, E for exams) and unsuccessful (N for credits, F for exams) completion of the course by the student.

(9) In the event of a student's failure to complete the major course, the examination board shall prepare a written justification describing how the student has failed to meet the requirements of the course syllabus and the written assignment. This justification, together with a copy of the written assignment, shall be submitted by the chair of the committee to the Study Department within 5 days of the examination/credit.

(10) In the case of unsuccessful completion of a PO subject (a mandatory subject with the possibility of recurrent registration), recurrent registration of the subject may only be allowed on the basis of a student's request, which is commented on by the Head of the Department and approved by the Vice-dean for Student Affairs.

(11) If a student is unable to attend classes due to DAMU-approved mobility (e.g. ERASMUS+), the teacher may, at the student's request, stipulate certain obligations to the student, upon the fulfilment of which the student will compensate for its attendance.

(12) If a student is unable to attend classes for serious reasons in the stipulated scope, the teacher shall stipulate obligations to the student the completion of which will compensate for the student’s attendance. In the case of a dispute, the Vice-dean for Student Affairs shall decide on the legitimacy of the student's request for compensatory completion of the subject.

(13) Recurrent registration of a failed subject refers to a situation in which a student (either on his/her own or through the Department or Study Department) registers for a subject which they have already registered for in the past but have completed unsuccessfully.

(14) Recurrent registration for a completed course refers to a situation in which a student (either on his/her own or through the Department or Study Department) registers for a subject that they have already completed in the past. A subject so registered is considered to be a mandatory optional or an optional subject, even if the student has the subject listed in a different category in his/her study plan, different classification must be approved by the Vice-dean for Student Affairs. Repeated completion is possible only for selected subjects. A maximum number of recurrent registrations may be set for a subject.

(15) Re-enrolling in a course is defined as a situation in which a student (on his/her own or through the department or study unit) enrolls in a course that he/she has already taken in the past. A repeatedly enrolled course is considered to be a course in the PV or VV category even if it is in a different category in the student's plan of study. Repeated enrolment is possible only for selected courses. A maximum number of repeat enrolments may be set for a course.

(16) Students who have fulfilled the requirements of their study plan and have obtained the number of credits required to sit the state final examination (waiters) may enrol in elective courses offered in their study programme on a faculty-wide or school-wide basis, up to a maximum of 6 ECTS per semester. In this case, the courses will be included in the student's study plan by the study department only upon written approval of the teacher of the selected course and the head of the student's home department.   The student shall request enrolment by submitting an application in accordance with Article 16.

Article 7: Recognition of a subject

(1) In exceptional cases, DAMU may, at a student’s request, recognise the completion of a registered subject achieved at a different university in the Czech Republic, abroad or in a different study programme at AMU in accordance with Article 11 of the AER. There is no legal title to having the completion of a subject recognised.

(2) The student shall attach documents demonstrating the completion of the subject, the grade, and the scope and content of the instruction to the application for the recognition of having completed the subject. Subjects completed more than five years before the application was made cannot be recognised.

(3) The decision on whether a subject will be recognised is the authority of DAMU’s Vice-Dean for Student Affairs, and if the subject was completed as part of a study stay abroad, of the Vice-Dean for International Affairs.

(4) Recognition of optional language subjects completed within a study programme at AMU is not possible within further study at AMU with the exception of study of a study programme following upon a study programme whose accreditation has been terminated.

(5) Completion of a mandatory subject may not be recognised by completion of a different, optional subject with the same study at AMU.

Article 8: Exemption from meeting the study plan’s conditions

(1) In exceptional cases, students may, for serious reasons (for example, health, family, social or other reasons that prevent from completing obligations and the existence of which shall be documented with appropriate documents by the individual invoking these reasons in a reliable manner; the “serious reasons”) that cannot be addressed in any other way, apply with an exemption from the obligation to complete subjects in the PH, PB and PO categories in the specific semester.

(2) The Head of the Department shall provide his/her statement on the request for an exemption from meeting a study plan's conditions and the Vice-dean for Student Affairs shall decide on it.

Article 9: Change of the year of study

(1) For serious reasons, students may apply for one year of study to be distributed into two academic years or for two years to be combined into one (the “change of the year of study”) in accordance with the relevant provisions of the AER. There is no legal title to a change of the year of study.

(2) Applications for a change of the year of study must be justified properly and must contain detailed information indicating the semesters in which the student shall complete individual subjects from the PH, PB and PO categories.

(3) The Head of the Department and, provided that the student files the application due to a concluded contract on a study stay abroad, also Vice-dean for International Relations shall give their opinion on the application for the distribution of one year and the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs makes the decision.

Article 10: Interruption of studies

(1) Studies at DAMU can be interrupted, even repeatedly, at a student’s request or ex officio subject to the relevant provisions of the AER. Unless specified otherwise, there is no legal title to the interruption of studies.

(2) In addition to the reasons listed in the AER, a student may apply for the interruption of studies for serious personal, artistic, or professional reasons.

(3) Applications for the interruption of studies must be justified in writing.

(4) The Head of the Department shall give their opinion on the application for the interruption of studies and the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs approves the application.

(5) After the period of interruption of studies has ended, the student shall register for study with the period of time stipulated in the decision, otherwise their study may be terminated pursuant to Section 56 (1) (b) of the Act.

(6) Having re-commenced their studies, students shall complete any mandatory subjects newly incorporated in the study plan during the interruption period.

(7) Students have no right to use DAMU funds, educational, spatial, technical and material resources during the interruption period.

(8) Under Section 54 of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., the student does not have the official status of a university student during the interruption period.

Article 11: Students with the status of a studying parent

(1) Students who have been granted the status of a studying parent by the Dean have the right, pursuant to Article 15 of the AER, to an extension of the periods of time for completing their study obligations as well as for meeting the conditions for advancement to the next semester or year, or to an extension of the maximum period of study by the period of their maternity or parental leave, unless they interrupt their studies during this period pursuant to Section 54 of the Act.

(2) Unless students with the status of a studying parent are able to complete a subject from the study plan successfully within the periods of time stipulated by the academic year schedule, they may apply for a change of the date for completion of that subject in accordance with Article 12 of the AER. The Faculty recommends that students with the status of a studying parent consider their capacities already at the beginning of the semester and, if necessary, apply for a change in the date for completion of certain subjects in accordance with Article 12 of the AER after the start of classes.

(3) All other provisions of the AER, except for the concessions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, shall also be binding upon students with the status of a studying parent, including the conditions for grading of the subject, the number of available attempts to pass an examination, etc.

Article 12: Licence to school works

(1) Upon admission, at the beginning of the studies at DAMU, the Faculty and the student will enter into a Master Licensing Agreement for the use of school works under the standard terms and conditions, which will form the basis for the future licensing of specific school works and school performances, as they are created and submitted to AMU.

(2) The Master Licensing Agreement specifies the scope of licensing rights to the individual school works in advance.

(3) Upon every submission of a physical medium with a school work (within 5 days following a request), the student (author) and AMU shall sign a certificate of the submission of the physical medium whereby a Sub-licence to such school work will be granted. The basic identification information must be provided in advance for each certificate of the submission of a physical medium (e.g., the type, form and title of the school work). The model certificate of the submission of a physical medium forms Schedule A to the Master Licensing Agreement. The same provisions shall apply reasonably to school works submitted without a physical medium (Schedule B to the Master Licensing Agreement – model certificate of the submission of a school work) and to school performances (Schedule C to the Master Licensing Agreement – model certificate of the submission of a school performance).

(4) The Master Licensing Agreement and any schedules thereto shall be signed in two counterparts. The student shall receive one and the other shall be filed with the Study Department in accordance with the Filing and Shredding Rules of AMU and labelled with the shredding label “A”.

Article 13: Qualification theses

(1) Final-year students shall enter the assignment of the bachelor’s and/or diploma thesis (collectively the “qualification theses”) indicating the title of the thesis in Czech and English, the topic of the thesis, the name of the supervisor and the language in which the thesis will be prepared in KOS. Students who have been granted an exemption from study by distributing their final year into two academic years shall enter the assignment in the first ear of the distributed study. After printing the assignment form from KOS, students sign and submit it to the Head of the Department.

(2) The Head of the Department shall enter the name of the opponent, if known at that time, on the assignment form, it shall sign it, and submit it to the Dean for approval with the period of time stipulated by the academic year schedule. The Dean appoints the qualification thesis supervisor and opponent further to the recommendation from the Head of the Department. The supervisor of the qualification thesis may supervise no more than eight qualification theses, in aggregate, both for bachelor’s and master’s programmes.

(3) Following approval by the Dean, the Study Department shall change the status of the qualification thesis in KOS to the “Approved” status, no later than three months prior to the date for the thesis submission.

(4) Prior to submitting the qualification thesis, students shall enter the required details about the qualification thesis in KOS: an abstract in Czech and English, keywords in Czech and English.

(5) The deadline for the submission of qualifying theses is at least 1 month before the date of the defence and is set by the Dean of the Faculty within the Faculty timetable.

(6) Qualification theses are submitted electronically through KOS where students shall upload their qualification theses in PDF, complete all the mandatory fields and indicate the qualification thesis status as “Submitted” using the “Confirm Submission” button.

  • Students shall also submit their qualification theses in one bound hardcover copy to the secretariat of the relevant Department. Qualification theses may be printed on both sides. The cover of the hardcover copy of the thesis shall contain the following information:
    1. Name of the school in capital letters on top in the centre (“ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS IN PRAGUE – AKADEMIE MÚZICKÝCH UMĚNÍ V PRAZE”)
    2. Name of the Faculty in capital letters on top in the centre below the name of the school (“THEATRE FACULTY – DIVADELNÍ FAKULTA”)
    3. Specification of the type of thesis, in the centre in the middle of the page in capital letters (“BACHELOR’S THESIS - BAKALÁŘSKÁ PRÁCE” or “DIPLOMA THESIS – DIPLOMOVÁ PRÁCE”)
    4. Identification of the place and year of submission in left-hand bottom of the page (“Prague, 2023”)
    5. Name of the author of the thesis, including any academic titles, in the right-hand bottom of the page (“BcA. Jan Novák”)

(8) After the electronic copy of the thesis is submitted, KOS shall prompt the supervisor of the thesis and the opponent to upload their expert opinions of the qualification thesis via an automated e-mail message and shall send the thesis for plagiarism checking.

(9) At least three business days prior to the date of defence of a qualification thesis, the thesis supervisor and opponent shall upload their written expert opinions on the thesis to KOS on a prescribed form with their explicit proposal for grade and a statement on whether or not they recommend the thesis for defence.

(10) At least five business days prior to the date of defence, qualification thesis shall be available to the public for viewing at the secretariat of the Department within its standard office hours. Any applicant for an excerpt, copy or photocopy of a qualification thesis shall pay a charge of CZK 15 for every A4 page. Applicants may make copies using their own means and at their cost (e.g., using their cameras) with no charge to be paid to AMU.

(11) Qualification theses shall be submitted by students in the language of the accreditation; in the case of programmes implemented in the Czech language, students may also submit their qualification theses in the Slovak language. In exceptional and justified cases, especially if students uses mainly foreign language literature or conducts research for the qualification thesis in a foreign-language environment, the Dean may, on the basis of the student's request and after a positive opinion from the thesis supervisor and the Head of the Department, allow the submission of the thesis in another foreign language. The expert opinions of the thesis supervisor and opponent shall always be submitted in the language of the accreditation, or may be submitted in the Slovak language in cases where the thesis is submitted in the Slovak language according to the first sentence of this paragraph. The defence of the qualification thesis shall always take place in the language of the accreditation.

(12) Any changes in the thesis supervisor, opponent, language or topic of the qualification thesis shall be approved by the Dean upon the request of the student and with the consent of the thesis supervisor and the Head of the Department, or in the case of a request for a change in the thesis supervisor with the consent of the new thesis supervisor. After the Dean approves the change, the Department will modify the relevant particulars of the thesis in KOS. The change of the title of the qualification thesis is approved by the supervisor of the qualification thesis, the Department is responsible for entering the approved change into KOS

Article 14: Graduation performance

(1) The Head of the Department shall assign the graduation performance based on the student’s proposal with the period of time stipulated in the academic year schedule.

(2) The assignment shall contain the title of the graduation performance, a brief characteristics, the name of the head of the performance and the latest date for the performance.

(3) The Head of the Department appoints the graduation performance opponent(s).

(4) The graduation performance is assigned upon entering it in the information system of which the Department is in charge.

(5) The Head of the Department approves any change in the title of the graduation performance, the head or the opponent of the graduation performance, the date of the performance and/or the brief characteristics of the graduation performance on the basis of a proposal from the student and approving opinion of the head of the graduation performance; if the head of the graduation performance is to be changed, after an approving opinion of the new head. Upon approval, the Department shall amend the details of the graduation performance in KOS.

(7) The student shall deliver their graduation performance in accordance with the study plan at one of AMU’s workplaces no later than five business days prior to the date of the defence. Students may, on an exceptional basis, deliver their graduation performances outside AMU subject to the Head of the Department’s prior approval.

(8) If a student applies for the opportunity to deliver their graduation performance outside AMU, the consent of third parties involved in the graduation performance with its publication as a part of the student’s graduation thesis in accordance with the Tertiary Education Act, the Copyright Act and AMU’s internal regulations shall be attached to the application.

(9) If a student delivers their graduation performance outside AMU, they shall submit an audio-visual recording of their graduation performance to the relevant Department no later than five business days prior to the date of defence.

(10) The head of the graduation performance and its opponent shall upload the opinions regarding the graduation performance in KOS no later than 3 business days prior to the date of defence.

(11) If the supervisor of the graduate performance is also the supervisor of the qualifying work, or the opponent of the graduate performance is also the opponent of the qualifying work, he/she may prepare one joint opinion, which he/she shall insert to both parts.

Article 15: Oral part of the state final examination

(1) At least one month prior to the date of the state final examination, students shall register electronically in the relevant section of KOS for the offered date of the state final examination.

(2) At least three business days prior to the date of the state final examination, the classification of all subjects defined by the study plan of the study programme, including the satisfaction of all requirements and obtaining the requisite number of credits, must be registered in KOS.

(3) The dates for the oral part of the state final examination are usually:
- at least one date in June,
- at least one date in the course of September.

(4) In exceptional cases, for serious reasons, that cannot be resolved in any other manner, the Vice-dean for Student Affairs may, upon a proposal from the Head of the Department, allow students to take the state final examination at dates other than the dates stipulated by the Department originally. Students shall apply for the extraordinary date in writing in line with Article 12 of the AER.

(5) A condition for joining the oral part of the state final examination is the proper and complete submission of the university qualification thesis according to Article 8, paragraphs 4 - 8 of this Decree and the implementation of the graduation according to Article 9, paragraphs 6 - 8 of this Decree, if this is part of the state final examination according to the valid accreditation. 

(6) Prior to taking the oral part of the state final examination, the student shall return any borrowed items (e.g., musical instruments, books, equipment, sports equipment, etc.), settle all of their liabilities towards DAMU, and submit a fully completed and signed exit certificate and the student card to the Study Department. The observance of this obligation has no effect on the eligibility to take the oral part of the state final examination or on the proper completion of studies and obtaining an academic degree. However, non-discharged obligations may be enforced under applicable legal regulations even after the completion of studies.

Article 16: Applications by students

(1) Student applications hereunder shall be submitted using a prescribed Application Form for Student Affairs, with the following exceptions:

  1. Students shall submit their applications for a change of the year of study (distribution/combination of the year of study) using the Application Form for a Change of the Year of Study;
  2. Students shall submit their applications for a change of the topic, head or language of their qualification theses using the Application form for a Change of the Assignment of VŠKP (qualification thesis).
  3. Students shall submit their applications for a change in the title of their qualification theses using the Application form for a Change of the Title of VŠKP (qualification thesis).

(2) The applications forms are available online at damu.cz at the page of Study Department.

(3) Students may submit their applications using one of the following methods:

  1. Paper form with the original authentic signature of the student delivered in person to the Study Department of DAMU
  2. Paper form with the original authentic signature of the student delivered in person to the Filing Office of AMU at Malostranské nám 12, 118 00 Prague 1.
  3. Paper form with the original authentic signature of the student delivered by mail to: AMU in Prague, Theatre Faculty, Malostranské nám 12, 118 00 Prague 1
  4. Using data box if the student uses one under his/her own name to ikwj9fx
  5. Via e-mail with an inserted acknowledged electronic signature to the address of the Study Department.

Article 17: Transitional and closing provisions

  • This Decree becomes valid on the day of signing and takes effect on 1 October 2024.
  • This Decree cancels Decree 3/2023 of the Dean of DAMU.

Karel František Tománek, Dean of DAMU

14. October 2024