Oxford is the leading centre in the UK for the study of Czech and Slovak language, linguistics and literature to honours degree level and beyond. We are one of very few universities in the world where you can explore Czech-language literature from the fourteenth century to the present day, and Slovak literature from the 1840s to the present, in a wide range of historical and cultural contexts. You can also study the histories of the Czech and Slovak languages.
The study of Czech – with closely related Slovak – is a gateway to the rich culture and turbulent history of Central Europe and an ideal introduction to the Slavonic languages. The Czechs and their magnificent capital city, Prague, have found themselves at the centre of Europe’s most dramatic episodes, from the Holy Roman Empire, the Reformation, the Habsburgs and the Thirty Years War to Nazism, the Cold War and the fall of Communism.
Most students start Czech from scratch, though we regularly take students with more knowledge of Czech or Slovak, including heritage learners and native speakers. Czech frequently appears in lists of the world's top ten most difficult languages for English speakers to learn, but after four years, you can expect to impress friends, family and employers with your excellent all-round competence, alongside an advanced reading knowledge of Slovak.
Czech with Slovak is a distinctive version of the traditional modern languages degree, enabling you to discover the languages and cultures of smaller European nations that have not built empires, but instead created, negotiated and preserved their identities and culture within and alongside them. Graduates of Czech are viewed as exceptional linguists, with a rare, valuable version of an essential and well-understood skill-set, prized in careers as varied as business, finance, law, diplomacy, international aid and development, the armed forces, security services, interpreting, publishing, journalism and teaching.
The Faculty is also a lively hub for Czech- and Slovak-related events, which bring together students and tutors of Czech and Slovak or of Czech, Slovak and Central and East European history and politics, and students from the Czech Republic and Slovakia from throughout the university. We work closely with, among others, the Czech Centre and Czech and Slovak embassies in London to host regular visiting speakers from or connected with the Czech Republic or Slovakia. In recent years, these have included the Czech and Slovak ambassadors to the UK, leading academics including Professor Jonathan Bolton (Harvard, Taylor Lecture 2019-20) on the political novel and Professor Libuše Heczková (Charles University, Prague, 2023-24 Ilchester Lecture) on twentieth-century Czechoslovak feminist intellectuals, and workshops and Q&As with writers and translators including Jáchym Topol, Zuzana Ríhová, Nicol Hochholczerová, Daniela Kapitánová, Julia Sherwood and Alex Zucker, often in conjunction with the Queen's Translation Exchange.
To learn more, here are some recent pieces relating to Czech at Oxford:
- 'Reimagined Czech classic launches Schwarzman Theatre', a review of Ella Road's Robota, the first full dramatic production staged in the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities theatre, a radical adaptation of Karel Capek's 'robot play', R.U.R. (1920), one of the first texts you study in Czech at Oxford.
- 'Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the UK, Václav Bartuška, visits the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages'.
- 'At home in Brno', written by Jamie, a student of Czech and French, about his experience of teaching English in a Czech grammar school during his year abroad in 2025-26.
- Radio Prague International interview with Rajendra Chitnis (in English).
- Czech Radio Ostrava interview with Rajendra Chitnis (in Czech).
- 'Translating Slovak fiction', about the visit of the Slovak novelist, Nicol Hochholczerová, written by doctoral students Georgie and Mary, who is working on the portrayal of pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood in Czech, Russian and Slovak fiction since the 1990s.
- 'Unlocking some family secrets of the past', a conversation with Paul Adler, an Old Member of University College, Oxford, who created a project for two undergraduates to translate Czech-language correspondence relating to his uncle Henry, who fled twice from Czechoslovakia to Britain, before the German occupation in 1938 and after the Communist takeover in 1948.
- 'A taste of Czech literature and translation: a visit from Jáchym Topol and Alex Zucker', written by Josie, a student of Czech and Spanish now working in the civil service.
- 'Why study Czech?', written by Joe, a graduate in Czech and Spanish now pursuing a diplomatic career in the FCO.
If you have any questions about studying Czech and Slovak at Oxford at any level, please don't hesitate to contact Dr Rajendra Chitnis: rajendra.chitnis@mod-langs.ox.ac.uk
Current undergraduates seeking information about their course should consult the relevant Czech with Slovak pages on Canvas.
Undergraduate Studies
Graduate Studies
Research