Universities in Poland

In Poland, universities belong to a large and mostly public higher-education system. According to Study in Poland, the official portal of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), higher education institutions are either state (public) or private (non-public), and either academic or vocational. Academic institutions hold research rights in at least one discipline, run bachelor's, master's and long-cycle programmes and may train doctoral students. Vocational institutions only teach on a practical basis.

According to Statistics Poland, 345 higher education institutions operated in the 2025/26 academic year, and 1,322.8 thousand students were enrolled as of 31 December 2025. Besides classical universities, there are universities of technology, medicine, economics, life sciences, the arts and physical education, and private universities. All of them are overseen by the Polish Accreditation Committee, an independent quality body.

How university studies work

Poland follows the Bologna Process and uses ECTS credits. Studies are offered full-time or extramural (part-time) and are organised in cycles:

• First-cycle studies: 3 to 4 years, leading to the professional title of licencjat or inżynier, the Polish bachelor's degree, with at least 180 ECTS credits
• Second-cycle studies: 1.5 to 2 years, leading to the title of magister (master's degree), with at least 90 ECTS credits
• Long-cycle master's programmes: 4.5 to 6 years and 300-360 ECTS credits; medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physiotherapy, veterinary medicine and law are taught only in this form
• Doctoral schools: normally 3 to 4 years, open to master's graduates

Each programme has either a practical profile, where more than half of the ECTS credits go to classes that develop practical skills, or an academic profile linked to the university's research. The academic year starts at the beginning of October and has two semesters of 15 weeks: the winter semester runs until mid-February and the summer semester from mid-February to June, each followed by an exam session.

Admission for international students

There is no central application system. Foreigners may apply to any university and study in Polish or in English, and each university sets its own documents and deadlines. For a bachelor's programme, applicants usually send an application form, a photo, their secondary school certificate (with a translation if it is not in Polish or English) and a certificate of language proficiency. Admission campaigns usually start in April or May and can last up to six months.

Students who want to study in Polish but do not speak it yet can take a nine-month preparatory course, known as Zerówka, with Polish language classes and a few other subjects; a nine-month preparatory year in English also exists. For a master's programme or a doctoral school, a foreign degree that gives access to the next level in the country where it was awarded gives access to the corresponding level in Poland. Where no international agreement applies, a foreign degree can be recognised as equivalent through nostrification, and the official KWALIFIKATOR tool shows how a particular diploma is treated.

Students from outside the EU usually need a national D-type visa, issued by a Polish consulate for up to one year, and then a temporary residence permit from the local Voivodship Office. EU citizens only register their stay.

Tuition fees and scholarships

Full-time studies in Polish at state universities are free for Polish citizens and for foreigners admitted on the same terms, including EU/EEA citizens and holders of the Polish Charter (Karta Polaka). Other foreign students pay fees set by each institution. According to Study in Poland, the average is EUR 2,000 a year for bachelor's, master's and long-cycle studies, and fees range from EUR 2,000 to 6,000 a year depending on the institution and programme; MBA programmes cost about EUR 8,000-12,000 a year. Full-time doctoral schools charge no tuition and pay a scholarship to every doctoral candidate.

Funding options include Erasmus+ for exchange students, NAWA programmes such as the scholarships for citizens of developing countries, the Lane Kirkland and Visegrad programmes, scholarships under bilateral agreements between governments, and the universities' own scholarships for talented students.

How to choose a university in Poland

• Type of institution: a classical university, a specialised one (technology, medicine, economics, arts) or a private university
• Language of instruction: Polish, which is free at state universities for EU students, or English, which is fee-paying for most
• Profile of the programme: practical or academic
• A full degree or an exchange semester or year with ECTS credits recognised by your home university
• The city and its cost of living

Our directory lists three universities in Poland that show some of these options. The University of Warsaw, founded in 1816, has 36,300 students and 3,662 international students and doctoral candidates, according to the university, and offers 42 English-language programmes. The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), founded in 1918, is the oldest higher education institution in Lublin. In Kraków, the Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, runs a Study Abroad Programme at the Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities of its Faculty of Polish Studies: students from other universities spend a semester or a full year there, take courses in English worth at least 30 ECTS credits per semester and need no prior knowledge of Polish.

Frequently asked questions

Is university free in Poland for international students?

Only for some. Full-time studies in Polish at state universities are free for EU/EEA citizens and holders of the Polish Charter; other foreign students pay on average EUR 2,000 a year, according to Study in Poland.

Can I study at a Polish university in English?

Yes. Foreigners can choose to study in Polish or in English, and many universities offer English-taught programmes; the University of Warsaw, for example, offers 42.

How long is a bachelor's degree in Poland?

First-cycle studies take 3 to 4 years and at least 180 ECTS credits. Medicine, law, pharmacy and some other fields are taught only as long-cycle master's programmes of 4.5 to 6 years.

How do I apply to a Polish university?

You apply directly to the university's admissions office. Campaigns usually open in April or May, and each university sets its own documents and deadlines.