The educational system in the Slovak Republic is regulated by Act No. 131/2002 Coll. on Higher Education and by the Decree of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic No. 614/2002 on a Credit System. The central authority of state administration for the educational system is the Ministry of Education, which is also the main political actor for the Bologna Process in Slovakia. The Slovak Republic has signed all of the political documents relating to the Bologna Process after 1999, and the goals set forth by these documents have been applied to the Slovak legislation regarding the institutions of higher education. The Ministry of Education monitors the status of the Bologna Process in the Slovak Republic on a regular basis.
Specialised and complex higher education in the area of arts is provided in the Slovak Republic by three academies of arts:
- Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava: it has 3 faculties (Theatre Faculty, Faculty of Music and Dance, Faculty of Film and TV) and provides study courses in the area of arts and sciences in three degrees (Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degree programmes);
- Academy of Fine Arts and Design, Bratislava: it provides Bachelor and Master study courses in the area of fine arts, architecture, design and restoration, and Doctoral courses also in the area of the theory and history of fine arts and architecture;
- Academy of Arts, Banská Bystrica:it has 3 faculties (Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Faculty of Performing Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts and Design) and it provides education in the area of arts in three degrees (Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degree programmes).
Other institutions of higher education in the Slovak Republic that provide higher education in some areas of arts and culture are the:
- Faculty of Arts of the Technical University in Košice (public institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master degree programmes in the area of architecture and urbanism, fine arts and design);
- Faculty of Architecture of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (public institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master degree programmes in the area of architecture and design);
- Faculty of Philosophy of the Comenius University in Bratislava (public institution of higher education: Bachelor, Master and Doctoral degree programmes in the area of cultural studies, languages, archaeology, history of arts, musical sciences, literary sciences, library sciences and informatics);
- Bratislava University of Law (private institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master degree programmes in the area of mass-media communication);
- Faculty of Philosophy of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (public institution of higher education: Bachelor, Master and Doctoral study courses in the area of languages, cultural studies and culture management);
- Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Prešov in Prešov (public institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master study courses in the area of languages and mass-media studies);
- Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Trnava in Trnava (public institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master study courses in the area of arts and archaeology theory and history); and
- Faculty of Mass Media Communication of the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava (public institution of higher education: Bachelor and Master study courses in the area of mass media).
The institutions of higher education provide study courses in the study fields that are being accredited on a regular basis, according to criteria set forth by the Accreditation Commission (an advisory body of the government). The Commission evaluates the content of individual study courses, as well as pedagogic and professional guarantees of the study at individual institutions of higher education. On the basis of this evaluation, the Commission grants or withdraws the right to grant degrees at individual levels of study.
The higher education system in the Slovak Republic, for the area of arts and culture, is adequately diversified and it covers all areas of artistic production, cultural studies, theory and history of arts, as well as culture and media management. What is still missing is a research and scientific centre focused on the continuous development of culture in Slovakia, and a specialised educational centre focused on higher education in the area of cultural policy and public administration in culture.
Second level education in the area of arts and culture is provided by secondary arts schools and conservatories (a total of 5 conservatories and 8 specialised secondary schools). The founders of the secondary schools are the self-governed regions.
A special part of the educational system, in the area of arts and culture, represents a network of public and private elementary schools of arts that focus on the specialised basic education in the individual areas of arts performance and production – music, dance, fine arts and literary-dramatic arts. The founders of the public elementary schools of arts are the self-governed regions.
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