If you are expat or foreigner in Poland, you might wonder what kind of a possibilities do you have if you want to study in Poland? Can you continue your education in Poland? If yes, what are the conditions to be met? Allow me to present below bulleted list of covered subjects:
- Types, modes, grades
- How does the recruitmenet look like?
- Can you study for free?
- If not, than how much does the study in Poland cost?
- Language
Types, modes, grades
Firstly, I would like to remind quickly what is the structure of Studies in Poland. Studies are divided into 3 levels:
- 1st level: Bachelor (Licencjat) or Engineer (Inżynier)
- 2nd level: Master’s degree (Magister)
- 3rd level: PhD (Doktorat)
Polish universities have two forms of study – full-time and part-time studies. Classes in the stationary mode are held from Monday to Thursday or Friday. In extramural aka. part-time studies, classes are held twice a month, from Friday to Sunday. Some universities offer online studies. It is up to you, which mode is the most applicable for you.
I explained already Polish system of education in details in my previous post. If you would like to know more about the whole structure, just click here to open mentioned article. Current post is dedicated to the possibilities and conditions to be met in case of starting or continuing studies in Poland.
Before I will start with recruitment part, I need to mention that Polish studies are part of a Bologna Process. This is the unified system which allows you to understand and compare degrees between the membership countries witihn Europe.
The Bologna Process is a series of ministerial meetings and agreements between European countries to ensure comparability in the standards and quality of higher-education qualifications.
Wikipedia
Recruitment – Study in Poland
To apply for an undergraduate degree (1st level – licencjat or inżynier), you must first provide a secondary school leaving certificate with grades. In case of your graduate application (2nd level – magister), you must provide a bachelor’s degree. In addition, if you are foreigner and you finished your secondary school or 1st level studies abroad, you will need to deliver additional paperwork. Almost every university in Poland requires legalized apostille documents. This is a stamp that gives you legal status to any official Foreign Public Document.
Also, delivered documents as school diploma or certifications must be translated into Polish by a sworn translator. In general, each single university may also have a slightly different expectations related with translation of documentation from abroad. Therefore, I highly recommend specifying the requirements with chosen university. More detailed information on submitting documents to a Polish academy can be found directly on the websites of the universities you are interested in.
There are also postgraduate studies available in Poland, which you can enroll if you have a first or second degree diploma. The length of postgraduate studies depends on the university or field of study which you chose. Usually, it takes one or a year and a half.
Can I study for free?
The cost of studying in Poland for foreigners depends on factors such as the choice of university (private or public), major and specialization, or the choice of language (Polish or English) and the choice of the form of study (full-time, part-time or online). As the official GOV page says, you may take an advantage of free at Polish state university, if you:
- have a Pole’s card (Karta Polaka)
- have refugee status
- are allowed to settle in Poland
- use temporary protection in Poland
- are migrant workers, EU / EEA nationals or family members of an EU / EEA migrant worker
- have a long-term resident’s EU residence permit
- are EU / EEA citizens with the right of permanent residence
The use of free education at Polish universities applies to full-time state studies. Appropriate fees are required when choosing the extramural or evening mode. If you do not have a Pole’s Card or you do not meet the other conditions that allow you to study in Poland for free, you can study for a fee.
Average cost – Study in Poland
The average cost of private studies per year oscillates around 4000zł to 6000zł. This is equivalent with 1000-1500 euro. At the same time, it is worth noting that studies for foreigners at state universities in Poland often cost much more than at private ones! For one year of state study, you have to spend from 2000 EUR above.
You need to be aware, that the fee from university, is not the only cost which you need to cover. Costs of living, such as renting a flat, daily shopping or entertainment, are much more challenging. Luckily, as the GOV page claims, all foreign students who started their studies in Poland are entitled to apply for other types of material assistance benefits. For example:
- rector’s scholarship
- scholarship for disabled people
- financial assistance for the most needy
- scholarship financed by the local government unit
- scholarship for results in science or in sport
Language
To study in Poland, you will need to speak and understand Polish or provide proof of your English language proficiency. The certificates generally accepted by Polish universities are:
- PTE Academic
- TOEFL iBT
- IELTS Academic
- C1 or C2 Proficiency
Still, you should always check your university’s website to be sure what the exact requirements are.
Summary of Study in Poland
Today, the Polish higher education system is developing rapidly. Poland holds fourth place in Europe (after the United Kingdom, Germany and France) in terms of the number of people enrolled in higher education. The total student population at over 400 university level schools is almost one and a half million.
Each year almost half a million young people begin their education at universities and colleges. The Polish university level schools offer over 200 high quality types of study as an integral part of the European Higher Education Area. Most schools offer courses in foreign languages.
All of this combined with Bologna process, high quality of education and competitive costs of living and studying makes Poland, make it very attractive place to study. At the end, I would like to add few search engines which can help you a lot with choosing your dream study. Nevertheless, mentioned search engines do not cover up 100% of all academies available in Poland. Therefore especially in case of part-time studies, I recommend you to check its availability via google.
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https://www.gov.pl/, wikipedia.pl, https://studia.pl/, https://studia.gov.pl/, https://www.otouczelnie.pl/
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