Studying in Poland RESEARCH & GO! POLAND Table of Contents Studying in Poland will provide a solid education which will thor- Research & be successful! Research & taste life! oughly prepare you for work in the most advanced labor markets of the world, at the same time stimulating your own personal develop- Poland! Poland! Introduction ment. You will also have the unique opportunity of meeting outstand- > Higher Education > Visas, Temporary Resident Research & go! Poland!__3 ing specialists and renowned intellectuals in your chosen field. Pursu- Institutions in Poland__12 Card, Polish Charter__34 ing your studies in Poland, a country of great historical significance > Structure of studies > Medical insurance__38 Research & discover! and continued aspiration, will undoubtedly be a fascinating, even life-changing, adventure. The in Poland__17 > Accommodation__38 Poland! reform of science and the higher education sector launched in the years 2010-2011 introduces > Examinations__19 > Cost of living in > Why Poland__6 a new model of financing, based on the principles of competitiveness, quality and transparency > ECTS credits__20 Poland__39 > Poland in brief__9 of procedures. The reform is followed by increased spending which will allow the best among > Diploma__21 > Working in Poland as Polish academic institutions to compete with the world’s recognized educational centers. I firmly > Accreditation and quality a student__39 believe that Polish colleges will soon be ranked among the most desirable places for carrying out assurance__22 study abroad programs. It is, then, with great pride that I present here a comprehensive offer of > Academic calendar__23 Research & stay! higher education in Poland, introducing the whole range of Polish public and private universities > Scholarships and exchange Poland! and colleges which conduct education to the highest current standards of teaching and meet programmes__24 > Higher Education all quality criteria. I welcome you to study the possibilities and consider the great opportunity > Studying in foreign in Poland__42 which awaits you in Poland. languages__26 > European > Studying in the Polish programmes__44 Professor Barbara Kudrycka language__27 > General information Minister of Science and Higher Education > Admission on Poland__45 requirements__29 > Nostrification/ Recognition__31 > The cost of studying in Poland__31 3 RESEARCH & DISCOVER! POLAND Innovative projects in Poland a deeper emotional, social and spiritual level; ple begin their education at universities and other friendships may last a lifetime based on colleges. The Polish university level schools a shared journey in a foreign land. It is those offer over high quality 200 lines of study as Studying Abroad… friendships that often initiate the life lasting Tradition and modernity an integral part of the European Higher Edu- in Poland involvement in building bridges between very cation Area. Most schools offer their courses different cultures, languages, nationalities and Poland’s traditions of academic education go also in foreign languages. countries. back to 1364 when King Casimir the Great Perhaps you have been asking yourself, is established the Cracow Academy, known to- Poland plays an active part in the Bologna it worth your while to study abroad? There If you are already convinced that studying day as the Jagiellonian University. The Cra- Process. Owing to introduction of three-stage may be many different reasons but the an- abroad is indeed worth it, we would like to in- cow Academy, being one of the oldest in the education modeled after Bachelor/Master/ swer remains the same: YES! Even if your vite you to Poland. Poland is a country located world, took after academies in Bologna and Doctor as well as the European Credit Transfer country has the world’s top universities, in the very heart of Europe. Throughout the Padua, and was the second, after the school in System, both Polish students and foreigners study abroad (for several years or just a ages of its tumultuous and difficult history, Po- Prague, university in the Central Europe. About studying in Poland stay fully mobile and can couple of months) is a priceless asset. land had a big impact on the history of Europe, two centuries later, in 1579, King Stefan Batory continue education elsewhere in the European being the main player eg. in demolishing the transformed the existing Jesuit College in Vil- Union without any problems. Within just the iron curtain thanks to the efforts of the Solidar- nius into the Vilnius Academy and in 1661 John Erasmus Program that has been going on for ity movement under the lead of Lech Walesa, Casimir, King of Poland, transformed the Jesuit over 20 years now, almost 30 thousand foreign Study abroad can be a life-changing experi- resulting in the series of major changes in oth- College into the Lvov Academy. Thus, by the students came to study in Poland while almost ence, because it exposes people to completely er countries of Europe, abolishing communism end of the 17th century, Poland-and-Lithuania 100 thousand students from Poland took a new and different worlds, mindsets, values, at- and entering the road to democracy and mar- Kingdoms had three flourishing universities portion of their education in another country titudes and perceptions. Being immersed in a ket economy. Ever since its accession to the EU providing academic education to both nation- within the European Union. Foreign students different culture causes each individual to ex- in 2004, dynamically changing Poland plays a al and international students. coming to Poland can expect a most attrac- pand his or her capacity to be open-minded growingly important role in the modern unit- tive and diversified education offer meeting and adapt to both the uncertainty and excite- ed Europe. Today, the Polish higher education system is the high European standards. They can study ment of the unknown. Studying abroad allows developing most dynamically. Poland holds medicine, biotechnology or engineering, but young people to discover new friends, who are fourth place in Europe (after the United King- also art and business. The diploma awarded to an entrance to new worlds and worldviews. dom, Germany and France) in terms of the them upon graduation is recognized not only Some friendships may uncover interactions on number of people enrolled in higher educa- Europe-wide but also in most countries of the tion. The total student population at over 450 world. university level schools is almost 2 million. 6 Each year almost half a million young peo- 7 Come to Poland For students from outside the European Union who come to study in Poland, this – discover Europe may well be the beginning of the fascinat- ing adventure of discovering Europe. Being POLAND IN EUROPE invited to study in Poland means that you Jerzy Buzek (former Polish Prime Minister) was are invited to the European Union of which President of the European Parliament. He was Poland is an active member state. We in- elected with 555 votes of the 644 votes cast, Poland in Brief vite you to discover the European Union the largest majority ever. From July to Decem- which offers not only varied and interest- ber 2011, Poland held the Presidency of the ing cultures and the opportunities associ- Council of the European Union. Official name: Republic of Poland (short form: Poland), temperatures average -1°C (30°F) to -5°C (23°F). July and „Rzeczpospolita Polska” (short form in Polish: „Polska”) August average temperatures range from 16.5°C (62°F) to ated with strong, innovative economies, Official Language: Polish 19°C (65°F), though some days the temperature can reach but also provides the very best conditions Poland and Ukraine jointly host the final Political system: Parliamentary republic (multiparty de- even 35°C (95°F). for successful higher education studies in a matches of the 14th UEFA European Football mocracy with a two chamber parliament) Highest mountain: Rysy 2499 m (Poland’s highest moun- challenging and friendly atmosphere. With Championship from 8 June to 1 July 2012. The Location: Central Europe. Poland borders on Germany, the tain peak in the Polish Tatras). Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and National holiday: Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) top-quality, internationally recognized de- UEFA EURO 2012 matches will be played in Russia (the Kaliningrad enclave). Its northern border (440 Currency: 1 zloty (PLN) = 100 groszy (actual exchange grees, almost no other region in the word four Polish cities: Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw and km long) runs along the Baltic Sea coast. rates: www.nbp.pl) can set your career off to such a promising Wroclaw. Capital city: Warszawa (Warsaw: population 1.7 million / Calling code: + 48 start. This guide will provide you with the Warsaw agglomeration: 2.5 million) Internet domain: .pl Major cities: Kraków, Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Szc- Economy: Poland is the 21st largest economy in the world information you need to get started. Come zecin, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Katowice, Białystok and the ninth largest in Europe. Poland’s high-income to the European Union. Start from Poland! POLISH NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS Area: 312 685 sq km. Poland is the ninth largest country in economy is considered to be one of the healthiest of the Europe (omitting Russia), and the sixth largest in the Eu- post-Communist countries and is currently one of the fast- Poland boasts six Nobel Prize winners: ropean Union. est growing within the EU. Population: 38 million. Poland is the seventh largest