Access to first-cycle studies

Upper secondary education and eligibility for admission to a higher education institution in the Republic of Poland can be confirmed with the following documents:

1. certificates and other documents issued by a school or educational institution operating within the education system of a Member State of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – a party to the European Economic Area agreement, which entitle a candidate to apply for admission to a higher education institution in those countries. This applies to secondary school-leaving certificates obtained in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, USA.
2. IB Diplomas (International Baccalaureate) issued by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva;
3. EB Diplomas (European Baccalaureate) issued by European Schools pursuant to the Convention Defining the Statute of the European Schools, drawn up in Luxembourg, on June 21, 1994 (Journal of Laws [Dz.U.] of 2005, no. 3, item 10).
4. Certificates and other documents issued abroad by schools or educational institutions recognized by the state in whose territory or within whose educational system they operate, are recognized in accordance with the provisions of relevant international agreements (Ukraine, China).

If you hold a different certificate (not listed above) issued abroad by a school or educational institution recognized by the state in whose territory or within whose educational system it operates, you must apply to NAWA (the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange) for the NAWA's Director individual recognition statement on a secondary education certificate. More information is available on the NAWA website.

Please note that:

• The recognition process is conducted online via the NAWA SYRENA system.

• The procedure is free of charge.

• NAWA may require approximately 60 days or more to issue the recognition statement. Therefore, applicants are strongly advised to apply for recognition as early as possible, preferably before starting the admission process.

• After submitting the application for recognition, you must confirm submission via email by clicking the individual activation link generated in the SYRENA System and sent to the email address you provided in the application form. Without completing this step, your application will not be processed by NAWA.

Note: Decisions issued by the Education Superintendent (Kuratorium Oświaty) in proceedings initiated before 30 June 2025, will remain valid and may be used during the admission process for first-cycle studies. If you hold such a decision, you don’t need to apply for NAWA recognition.

ENTRANCE EXAM

Foreign candidates applying for first-cycle studies on the basis of a foreign certificate NOT listed in points 1–4 are required to take an entrance examination. The purpose of the entrance exam is to assess whether the candidate possesses the necessary knowledge to pursue studies in the chosen field. The exam will cover general knowledge about the contemporary world. A list of topics to help you prepare is provided in the file below. The exam dates are specified in the admission schedule. The exam will be conducted online via Google Meet in the form of an interview. If you are required to take the exam, you will receive an official invitation through the IRK (recruitment) system, including the interview time and the Google Meet link.

Open the files below to read the rules for the organization of the entrance examination, as well as the topics to prepare:

Access to second-cycle studies

If your degree gives access to the next level of higher education or qualifies you to apply for a doctoral program in the country where it was issued, it will also entitle you to access education at the corresponding level of education in Poland (e.g., second-cycle studies or doctoral school), or to begin the process of obtaining a Polish academic degree.

If you obtained your secondary education in the European Union, an OECD / EFTA member state, China or Ukraine, you need to submit an entitlement document confirming that your diploma entitles you to undertake second-cycle studies in the country of issue. If your diploma does not contain information about your entitlement to further education at the second-cycle level, you need to obtain an additional document confirming that it entitles you to study in the country where it was issued. Such a document should be:

• downloaded from the KWALIFIKATOR system if your diploma is listed there or:
• issued by the university you graduated from if your diploma is not included in the Kwalifikator system. You can use our template (but it is not obligatory), which can be found in the IRK (recruitment) system in the "Documents and further steps" section of the Enrollment applications tab (My account -> Enrollment applications -> Documents and further steps -> Eligibility statement).

NOTE: An additional certificate is required only if your diploma or transcript does not already indicate your entitlement to pursue second-cycle studies.

If you obtained your secondary education in a state which is NOT a member of the European Union / OECD / EFTA, China or Ukraine, your education cannot be recognized in Poland automatically. You are obliged to obtain an individual recognition statement from NAWA (Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange).

Please note that:

• The recognition process is conducted online via the NAWA SYRENA system.

• The procedure is free of charge.

• NAWA may require approximately 60 days or more to issue the recognition statement. Therefore, applicants are strongly advised to apply for recognition as early as possible, preferably before starting the admission process.

• After submitting the application for recognition, you must confirm submission via email by clicking the individual activation link generated in the SYRENA System and sent to the email address you provided in the application form. Without completing this step, your application will not be processed by NAWA.