Institute
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE
The Institute of International Studies (IMS) is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague (FSV UK), which was established in 1990 to respond to the current needs of the society. The IMS was founded in 1994 as the youngest part of the FSV UK. Its current structure is the result of a long-term process characterized, among others, by the deliberate formation of a new field of study "Area Studies." It is also positively influenced by the rising and changing demand of students, i.e. by satisfying the increasingly urgent "social demand" of the missing field of area studies, which is so important for further development in the practice of the Czech foreign and domestic politics.
Graduates of the study fields which are taught at the IMS are characterized by a contextually, regionally and methodologically based knowledge of modern history and of the legal, political, economic and socio-cultural background in those regions which are the contents of the Institute's scientific and pedagogical work. Furthermore, they orientate themselves in the practical consequences of recent historical events and essential contemporary problems and are equipped with basic analytic-interpretive skills. The graduates of these fields find jobs in all types of governmental and non-governmental institutions that focus on the issues of the respective regions, both domestic and foreign, in their historical and contemporary context.
News
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Prof. dr. Detlef Brandes, dr. h. c.
On Tuesday, 2 September, Prof. Dr. Detlef Brandes, Dr. h. c. (1941–2025), a prominent German historian, founding member of the joint Czech-German and Slovak-German Commission and long-time director of the Institute for the History of Germans in Eastern Europe at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, died in Berlin after a long illness. -
The Institute of International Studies at Charles University's Faculty of Social Sciences has been awarded a prestigious Erasmus+ grant for cooperation with the Western Balkans
The Institute of International Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, has been successful in the 2025 call for proposals for the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme, and has received a prestigious grant to support cooperation with three Western Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. -
Certificate in Digital Humanities
The newly offered programme is aimed at students of all levels of study (Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral) without prior (or with minimal) technical training and provides an understandable but methodologically solid introduction to the world of digital humanities. Registration is open until 21 September. -
Jana Sehnálková from KSAS Is the New Head of the Fulbright Commission
Since August, Dr. Jana Sehnálková from the Department of North American Studies at the IMS has been leading the prestigious Fulbright Commission following a selection process. -
Remembering crises: FSV UK as a host of the Annual Meeting of the Memory Studies Association
From July 14 to 18, 2025, the Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University (FSV UK) served as one of the main hosts of the 9th Annual Meeting of the Memory Studies Association (MSA). Themed “Beyond Crises: Resilience and (In)Stability”, the conference brought over 1,200 academics, artists and activists from nearly 100 countries to Prague to explore how societies remember, respond to, and recover from crises—both past and present. -
Josef Vavrousek Award
The Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University announces the 30th annual faculty student competition for the Josef Vavroušek Award, which is intended for students focusing on scientific research in the fields of environmental protection, sustainable development, and ecological studies.
