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The following is partly based on a special report published by the English-language magazine The Warsaw Voice, printed in Poland


More and more foreigners are interested in studying in Poland. The opportunities Polish universities provide are also becoming more varied. The Warsaw Voice now devotes a special supplement to this subject addressed to all those thinking of studying in Poland.

Polish higher educational institutions have a history of educating foreigners. For political reasons Polish colleges and universities mostly ran exchange programs with their counterparts in the former communist bloc or admitted students from developing countries. Since 1989 however there has been growing interest in North America and Western Europe. Like all spheres of life in Poland, university education is undergoing extensive transformation. Curricula are being adapted to meet job market demands in Poland as well as abroad. New faculties are being set up which were either unknown or unnecessary under the previous system. Classes and lectures have become more interesting; more and more courses are taught in English. Polish schools are increasingly addressing the needs and expectations of foreign students. New private colleges are being established, where the standards are not very different from those in the West.


Dr. Boguslaw Szymanski, foreign education director at the Poland's Ministry of National Education.

HOW CAN A FOREIGNER FIND OUT ABOUT STUDYING IN POLAND?

The simplest way is to contact a Polish consulate, where they can find the basic information on regulations and admission procedure.

Basically, there are three ways to study in Poland. One is studying with a full scholarship, which covers the costs of tuition, lodging in a dormitory and pocket money. The second is a partial scholarship-tuition is free, but the students have to cover their own living expenses. The third way is paying in hard currency for tuition and covering their own living expenses.

WHO CAN APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP?

This is taken care of by the education ministries, or their equivalent insitutions, in the student's home countries. We have the ministries send us their selected candidate's papers, in order to hedge against an overflow of applications. Because of the modest means at our disposal, opportunities for receiving a scholarship without the help of a ministry are small.

WHAT CONDITIONS DO THE CANDIDATES HAVE TO FULFILL?

The basic condition is that they have the document which is an equivalent of the Polish matura [high-school certificate], which gives them the right to undertake higher education in their home countries.

There is also always a group of persons who have undergraduate degrees and want to further their education in Poland with more courses, or do post-graduate studies. In these cases we are more flexible, and have allocated for them a reserve quota of scholarships which remain at the minister's disposal. If this is a very good college or university graduate who wants to study for his or her doctorate and has found contacts and a mentor, they can apply to the minister.

There is also a special quota set aside for the many people of Polish descent. Most of them are from the former Soviet Union countries. Applications from candidates of Polish descent are also accepted by our consulates. The consulates are informed in advance how many scholarships have been allocated for this area and for what forms of education. We always ask that we be presented with more candidates than we have free places so that we can choose the best. The candidate is then examined by a commission from Poland. Through this process, well over 100 students come here every year.

Some of these foreigners study in teacher colleges, while the best go to universities and academies. We assume that they go back to their home countries and in turn teach others. Often this means teaching Polish as a supplementary language, like in Lithuania, Ukraine and Belarus.

WHAT LIVING CONDITIONS CAN THE FOREIGNERS COUNT ON?

They have assured lodging in dormitories - the standard varies, though generally it is improving. They also enjoy the same health care coverage as Polish students. Since right now the whole health care system is in flux, we try to precisely regulate the scope of health coverage in bilateral agreements. For example, we don't guarantee prosthetic dentistry services, but we do not exclude general dental care. In case of accidents and emergencies the students are hospitalized this is covered by health insurance.

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS HAVE MOST PROBLEMS WITH?

At first it's almost always the language, of course, but also the fact that their secondary schooling is often of a much lower academic standard. When I look at their progress, I often notice that they repeat a year or fail several classes during the first two years. Then they can manage.

You see a little slacking off at the very end as well. But that, in my opinion, has a different cause: after five years they feel at at home here and are sometimes looking for opportunities to get a job and settle down. Sometimes they try to extend their studies for that reason.

HOW ARE THEIR GRADUATE DEGREES RECEIVED IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES?

Polish university degrees are accepted in all developing countries, as well as in former Eastern bloc countries. In the West, some of our schools have a better reputation and degrees from them are accepted, others not. There is no set rule. Some schools with a good reputation are Jagiellonian University of Cracow, Warsaw University, the Catholic University of Lublin, the Academy of Catholic Theology and the Warsaw School of Economics. However, graduates usually have to have their qualifications reviewed individually in the West.

The Ministry of National Education is currently striving to regulate the status of degrees of Polish schools abroad by working on international agreements which concern the mutual acceptance of grades, degrees, diplomas and certificates.

DO FOREIGN GRADUATES KEEP IN TOUCH WITH POLAND AND THEIR SCHOOLS?

Yes, in very different ways. It often happens that they take away a piece of Poland not only in their hearts, but occasionally in the form of a husband or wife. Then their children also come to study in Poland, as people of Polish descent. Many of our graduates hold high posts in their countries. They are true ambassadors of Poland, its culture and its position in the world.

SOME FIGURES

According to official statistics, Polish institutes of higher learning have educated 13,000 foreign students over the last 40 years. I consider this figure to be too low, as it does not include, for example, students of training colleges for the armed forces. It would be realistic to talk about 50,000 total students, from 117 countries, 15,000 of whom gained Polish degrees.

Every year, about 1,000 young people from abroad start their studies here in Poland. Universities, medical academies and universities of techonology are the most popular: 80 percent of foreign students study there. Another 7 percent study economics, and between 2 and 4 percent are being trained as teachers or are studying art, agriculture or physical education.

In 1994/95 academic year, most foreign students studying in Poland had come from Asia (2,312), but many came from Africa (1,285) and Europe (1,004). It is worth noting the increase in foreign students of Polish ethnic origin (1,138) or those from the former Soviet Union (1,846). As a member of the United Nations, Poland has promised to earmark 0.1 percent of its annual budget as aid for developing countries, in the form of education and training. Today, the number of students paying tuition with hard currency has increased, while in former years most students were supported by state scholarships. In the 1992-3 academic year, as many as 66 percent of students received scholarships from the Polish state. These included 74 percent of all African students and 70 percent of students from Asian countries.

In that same academic year, state spending on aid for foreign students amounted to more than $12.5 million, out of which a quarter was allocated for scholarships and for students' board and lodging, while the remaining three quarters was spent on teaching costs. Depending upon the course of study, the state spends on average foreign scholarship from $3,000-5,000 - quite a significant sum, considering Poland's economic situation. Michal Chilczuk - Chairman, Inter-University Scientific Council Liaison Center for Foreign Graduates of Polish Universities.



Last Updated February, 1997