Charles University's Historical Doctoral Registers Available Online

Since 2013, Charles University has offered a publicly accessible online search tool featuring historical records of its doctoral graduates from 1882 to 1939. The database includes information on more than 24,000 students, allowing users to find out whether their ancestors graduated from the university—or how many academics came from a particular town or village.

The records cover the period following the division of the university into Czech and German branches up to the closure of Czech universities during the Nazi occupation. Due to data protection regulations, post-war registers are not yet available.

"By searching for names, anyone can verify how many of their ancestors or namesakes graduated from the Prague University, when and at which faculty they earned their degree, where they were born, what their religion was, and the names and occupations of their parents," explained Petr Cajthaml, head of the Charles University Archive at the time of the launch.

In addition to the Czech records, digitized doctoral registers from the German University in Prague (1882–1945) are also available for browsing. Although these documents are not yet fully searchable, they provide valuable insights into the university's shared academic history. Among the graduates of the German university were Franz Kafka, Max Brod, and Nobel Prize laureates Gerty Theresa Radnitz and Karl Ferdinand Cori. The Czech university counts figures like Karel Čapek, Jaroslav Heyrovský, Vladislav Vančura, and Jan Patočka among its alumni.

The searchable archive is part of a long-term project to digitize and make available a wide range of university documents, including degree records, examination protocols, and student catalogues, covering more than 150,000 individuals.

Access the archive here.

Contact:

Archive of Charles University

Ovocný trh 5, Prague 116 36

Phone: +420 224 491 463

Website: https://udauk.cuni.cz

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