How to Apply to a Polish University: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreigners

We are a Polish language school, not an admissions agency, so you will find no "guaranteed admission" here: only the university’s admissions committee decides. What you will find is what the outcome depends on — rules, deadlines and language.

1. How higher education works in Poland

• Studia I stopnia (first cycle): licencjat, at least 6 semesters (about 3 years), or inżynier, at least 7 semesters (about 3.5 years).
• Studia II stopnia (second cycle, master’s): 3 to 5 semesters.
• Jednolite studia magisterskie (long-cycle master’s): 9–12 semesters (4.5–6 years) in certain fields, such as law and medicine.
• Szkoła doktorska (doctoral school): 3–4 years.

The academic year starts in early October. Programmes run full-time (stacjonarne) or part-time (niestacjonarne); part-time study can take longer.

2. Public or private university

Public universities (uczelnie publiczne) offer free Polish-taught study to foreigners entitled to it by law (see section 8) and are usually more competitive. Private universities (niepubliczne) charge fees, are often more flexible and offer more English-taught programmes. The B2 language requirement applies at both.

For quality, a common benchmark is the annual Perspektywy ranking: in 2026 the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University shared first place. Still, choose the programme first and the ranking second.

3. Choosing a university and a programme

• The RAD-on government database lists every programme at every university, filterable by city, field and level.
• StudyFinder on study.gov.pl is the official portal for international students.
• The university’s own website: look for "rekrutacja" or "dla kandydatów" — admission rules, documents and dates for the year.

Apply to several universities: it is normal practice in Poland, and each application has its own recruitment fee.

4. Language: you need B2

To study in Polish, candidates from outside the EU must prove Polish at B2 or higher — a requirement in force since the 2025/26 academic year. Commonly accepted documents:

• the state certificate of Polish as a foreign language (Certyfikat Polski) at B2 or higher;
• a certificate from a ministry-designated Polish preparatory course (the "zerówka") at B2 or higher;
• other recognised certificates (for example TELC or ECL) — each university publishes its own list;
• a school certificate or diploma from a school that taught in Polish.

Since 9 June 2026, graduates of some Polish-language schools abroad and holders of a European Baccalaureate diploma can get a B2 certificate without an exam, through the NAWA system (certyfikatpolski.pl).

How the state exam works and how to prepare is covered in our article “The Polish B1 exam” — the B2 format is the same, but the pass mark is 60% instead of 50%.

5. Your school certificate: NAWA statement and apostille

A new procedure has applied since 1 July 2025 (gov.pl):

• Certificates from EU, EFTA and OECD countries, from countries with a recognition agreement with Poland (the University of Warsaw currently names China and Ukraine), and IB and EB diplomas are recognised by law — no statement needed (UW).
• All others — certificates from Belarus, for example — need an individual statement from the NAWA director. You apply in the SYRENA system; it is free and takes up to 60 days from a complete application. Kuratorium decisions issued before 1 July 2025 remain valid.
• Candidates whose certificates need the statement also take entrance exams for first-cycle and long-cycle programmes (University of Silesia).

Foreign education documents need an apostille (or legalisation if the country is not party to the Hague Convention) and a translation into Polish by a sworn translator, made after the apostille (example requirements).

6. Registering in IRK

Applications go through the university’s online recruitment system, usually called IRK (Internetowa Rejestracja Kandydatów), as at the University of Warsaw.

1. Create an account and fill in the form.
2. Choose your programmes (you can apply to several at one university).
3. Upload your documents: school certificate, language certificate, photo, and the NAWA statement if you need one.
4. Pay the recruitment fee for each programme. It is usually 85 zł — for example at AKF Kraków for 2025/26 (rector’s order); some programmes charge more.

7. Deadlines

Every university publishes its own schedule. Admission campaigns usually start in April–May and can run for up to six months (study.gov.pl); the main registration at public universities is in June–July. For example, the University of Warsaw’s IRK registration for 2026/27 ran from 9 June to 9 July 2026, with the fee due by 10 July.

8. Tuition — and who studies for free

Under art. 324 of the Act on Higher Education and Science, the following, among others, do not pay for Polish-taught study at public universities (text of the article):

• citizens of the EU, EFTA/EEA and Switzerland, and their family members living in Poland;
• holders of the Karta Polaka or of a decision confirming Polish origin;
• holders of a Polish language certificate at C1 or higher;
• holders of permanent residence (pobyt stały) or EU long-term resident status;
• refugees and people under temporary or subsidiary protection in Poland;
• spouses, parents and children of Polish citizens living in Poland;
• holders of certain types of temporary residence permit — the grounds are listed in the act.

Everyone else pays. According to the official study.gov.pl portal, Polish-taught programmes cost on average about €2,000–2,500 a year and English-taught ones about €3,000; some fields cost more. Each university publishes its exact fees.

9. Scholarships

• The General Anders Programme (NAWA) is for young people of Polish origin, including Karta Polaka holders: Polish-taught study without fees at public universities and a scholarship of 2,000 zł a month (from 1 January 2026, up to 10 months a year) (UW). You can start with a preparatory year. The 2026 call closed on 9 July 2026 (gov.pl); the scholarship does not guarantee admission, so apply to the university in parallel.
• Poland My First Choice (NAWA) is for master’s studies, but only for citizens of countries with a high level of socio-economic development: 2,000 zł a month and a fee waiver, with B2 in the language of instruction. The 2026 call closed on 29 May (NAWA). Check whether your country is eligible.
• University scholarships — social and rector’s scholarships. Each university sets the income threshold for the social scholarship: at the University of Warsaw for 2025/26 it was up to 1,908 zł net per family member (UW). They are not always open to foreigners — ask your university.

10. After admission: visa and residence permit

With your acceptance letter, the consulate issues a student visa. To stay for the whole programme, you apply for temporary residence (pobyt czasowy) at the voivodeship office. Since 27 April 2026, these applications can only be filed electronically through the MOS system; paper applications are not processed (prawo.pl).

How our former students did it

Varvara got into the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Danila into the University of Warsaw, Anna into the University of Gdańsk. Read their stories, tips and honest impressions in Admission stories.