Poland

Poland (officially the Republic of Poland) is a country located in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and Russia (in the form of the Kaliningrad Oblast exclave) to the north. Poland shares a maritime border with Denmark in the Baltic Sea. The country has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004.

Higher Education in Poland

Poland's higher education system is comprised of is made up of State (public) and non-State (non-public) institutions. Non-State higher education institutions are established on the basis of a permit issued by the Minister of Science and Higher Education, and acquire legal personality upon their entry into the register of non-State higher education institutions kept by the Minister.

In addition to existing university-type intitutions, State and non-State higher vocational education schools have been established since 1998. A major component of training in these schools is a compulsory 15-week practical placement.

Higher education programs may be offered as full-time, part-time or extramural studies. Full time studies are the basic mode of study, unless the statutes of a higher education institution state otherwise.

The minimum requirement for access to a higher education institution is a secondary school leaving certificate. Procedures for admission to study programs are laid down independently by the higher education institutions.

An academic year lasts from 1 October till the end of June and is divided into two semesters with one or two-week winter break in February. Degrees awarded to graduates of higher education institutions are:

• licencjat
  The degree obtained upon completion of first-cycle programs which last 3 or 3.5 years

• licencjat pielegniarstwa or licencjat poloznictwa
  The degrees obtained upon completion of first-cycle programs in the field of Nursing or Midwifery respectively

• inzynie
  Awarded to graduates of first-cycle programs in engineering and technology, except in the field of Architecture and Urban Planning, in agriculture and forestry, as well as in other fields of study where course units covering engeneering and technology, architecture or forestry account for no less than 50% of the total course load

• inzynier architekt
  A warded to graduates of first-cycle programs in the field of Architecture and Urban Planning

• Magister and equivalent degrees of magister sztuki, magister inzynier, magister inzynier architekt, lekarz, lekarz dentysta, lekarz weterynarii, magister pielegniarstwa, magister poloznictwa
  awarded upon completion of 4- to 6-year Master's degree programs offered in one cycle

• The degree of magister may be also awarded upon completion of 1.5- to 2-year second-cycle Master’s degree programs, undertaken by those who have completed a first-cycle program and obtained the degree of licencjat or inzynier.

In order to obtain the above-mentioned degrees, a student is required to complete all course units and practical placements included in a syllabus, to submit and defend a thesis and to pass successfully the final examination. In the fields of Medicine, Medicine and Dentistry, and Veterinary Surgery, the degree is awarded on the basis of the final qualifying examination required.

Internationalization

Further Information on Studying in Poland:
www.howtostudyinpoland.pl
www.buwiwm.edu.pl

Polish institutions of higher education are developing a three-stage system of Bachelor, Master and Doctoral studies. According to the new Law on Higher Education of 2005, programs in all fields, except law, pharmacy, psychology, veterinary medicine, medicine and medicine and dentistry are provided on a two-cycle basis. The third cycle – doctoral studies are accessible to those, who hold a degree of magister or an equivalent degree. Those are 4-years studies but in some circumstances may be shortened or extended. The academic degrees are the degrees of doktor and doktor habilitowany of a specified field of science within the scope of a given discipline of science. The degree of doktor is awarded to a person who has passed his/her doctoral examinations and submitted and defended a doctoral dissertation.

Holding the professional title of magister or its equivalent is a necessary condition for the doktor's degree. The degree of doktor habilitowany is awarded to a person who holds the doktor's degree, has significant scholarly or artistic achievements, has submitted a dissertation and has undergone the successive stages of review, debate and defense. Academic degrees doktor and doktor habilitowany are awarded by organizational units of higher education institutions and by other scientific and research institutes.

Accreditation

The State Accreditation Committee, functioning in Poland since January 2002, monitors and controls the level of education at Polish institutions of higher education, serves to improve and guarantee its quality as well. 81% of state higher education institutions received outstanding and positive ratings. The State Accreditation Committee has developed close co-operation with accreditation committees from other countries. There is also an accreditation system controlled by academic community; accreditation procedures are carried out by commissions established by rectors of the different types of HEI. This voluntary accreditation is considered to be the hallmark of high quality teaching.

ECTS

According to the new Law on Higher Education of 2005, institutions of higher education in Poland should implement a credit transfer system based on the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). The large majority of Polish HEIs have adopted ECTS in all fields of study, some of them not only as a tool for credit transfer, but also for credit accumulation. Since 1 January 2005, according to the new legal regulations, all graduates of Polish HEIs have been receiving a Diploma Supplement. The Supplement is available free of charge and issued in Polish and on request in other languages (English, German, French, Spanish and Russian). The recognition of degrees has also become easier after the Lisbon Convention on recognition of degrees was ratified by Poland in 2004.