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Pre-higher Education
System
Duration of compulsory education
Age of entry: 6
Age of exit: 19
Structure of school
system
Type/level of education:
Primary
Type of school:
SZKOLA PODSTAWOWA - PRIMARY SCHOOL
Length of program (years): 9
Age level:
from 6 to 14
Certificate awarded:
SWIADECTWO UKONCZENIA SZKOLY PODSTAWOWEJ - PRIMARY SCHOOL LEAVING CERTIFICATE
Type/level of education:
Prevocational
Type of school:
SZKOLA PRZYSPOSOBIENIA DO ZAWODU - VOCATIONAL PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Length of program (years): 3
Age level:
from 12 to 14
Certificate awarded:
SWIAD.UKONCZENIA SZKOLY PODST., ZASW.O PRZYSPOSOB.DO ZAWODU - PRIMARY SCHOOL
LEAVING CERTIF.,VOC.PREP.SCHOOL CER
Type/level of education:
General Secondary
Type of school:
LICEUM OGOLNOKSZTALCACE - GENERAL SECONDARY SCHOOL
Length of program (years): 4
Age level:
from 15 to 18
Certificate awarded:
SWIADECTWO DOJRZALOSCI - MATRICULATION SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
Type/level of education:
Professional
Type of school:
LICEUM ZAWODOWE - VOCATIONAL LYCEUM
Length of program (years): 4
Age level:
from 15 to 18
Certificate awarded:
SWIAD.DOJRZALOSCI,SWIAD.UKONCZENIA LICEUM ZAWODOWEGO - MATRICUL.SCHOOL
CERTIF.,VOCATIONAL LYCEUM LEAVING CERTI
Type/level of education:
Apprenticeship
Type of school:
TECHNIKUM ZAWODOWE - VOCATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL
Length of program (years): 5
Age level:
from 15 to 19
Certificate awarded:
SWIADECTWO DOJRZALOSCI, DYPLOM TECHNIKA - MATRICULATION SCHOOL CERTIF.,
PROFESSIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL LEAVING DIPL
Type/level of education:
Vocational
Type of school:
ZASADNICZA SZKOLA ZAWODOWA - VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
Length of program (years): 3
Age level:
from 15 to 17
Certificate awarded:
SWIADECTWO WYUCZENIA ZAWODU - QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE
Type/level of education:
Academic Secondary
Type of school:
STUDIUM WYCH.PRZEDSZK.- PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER COLLEGE
Length of program (years): 6
Age level:
from 15 to 20
Certificate awarded:
SWIAD.DOJRZALOSCI,DYPLOM NAUCZ.WYCHOWANIA PRZEDSZKOLNEGO - MATRICUL.SCHOOL
CERTIF.,PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER DIPL
Type/level of education:
Academic Secondary
Type of school:
STUDIUM NAUCZYCIELSKIE - SCHOOL TEACHER COLLEGE
Length of program (years): 3
Age level:
from 19 to 22
Certificate awarded:
DYPLOM NAUCZYCIELA PRZEDMIOTU - SCHOOL TEACHER DIPLOMA
Type/level of education:
Secondary-determination
Type of school:
NAUCZYCIELSKIE KOLEGIA J.OBCYCH - FOREIGN LANGUAGE SCHOOL TEACHER COLLEGE
Length of program (years): 3
Age level:
from 19 to 22
Certificate awarded:
DYPLOM NAUCZYCIELA J.OBCEGO - FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHER DIPLOMA
Type/level of education:
Extended Polytechnical
Type of school:
PEDAGOGICZNE STUDIA TECHNICZNE - TECHNICAL SCHOOL EDUCATION COLLEGE
Length of program (years): 4
Age level:
from 18 to 22
Certificate awarded:
SWIAD.DOJRZALOSCI,DYPLOM NAUCZYCIELA PRAKTYCZNEJ NAUKI ZAWODU - MATRICUL.
SCHOOL CERTIF.,VOCAT.SCHOOL TEACHER DIPL.
Type/level of education:
Specialized Tech./Voc.
Type of school:
POLICEALNE STUDIA ZAWODOWE -POST-LYCEUM VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
Length of program (years): 2
Age level:
from 19 to 21
Certificate awarded:
DYPLOM TECHNIKA - TECHNICIAN DIPLOMA
Description of secondary
school system
Secondary schools include: four-year grammar schools preparing
for university education and professional careers, four and five-year technical
schools preparing for professional careers and university education, four-year
technical schools training qualified workers of secondary education, three-year
elementary vocational schools training qualified workers. Pupils are admitted
to secondary schools on the basis of entrance examinations. Schools implement
the syllabus approved by the Minister of National Education. The school
year (ten months) is divided into two semesters.
Higher Education System
Structure of system
The higher education system is administered by the Ministry
of National Education coordinating in this respect the activities of the
higher schools and supervising the higher schools subordinated to it. The
General Council of Higher Education, the elected representative body of
all higher schools, with wide constitutional and advisory rights, cooperates
with the Minister of National Education. The basic legal Acts under which
higher schools operate are: The Act on Higher Education and the Statutes
of self-governing higher schools. Higher studies are almost exclusively
covered by university-level institutions. Universities are founded, re-organized
and dissolved by Act of Parliament and the degree of autonomy they enjoy
depends on the level of their teaching and research. The larger universities
are completely independent with regard to their statutes (organizational
system), study regulations, admission requirements and fields of
study, if the proposed arrangements satisfy the staff curriculum requirements
set by the GCHE. In smaller universities, however, such decisions require
the approval of the competent Ministry: of Health and Social Welfare (for
Medical Academies), of Culture and Fine Art (for Music, Fine Arts, and
Theatre, Film and TV Academies), of Transport and Maritime Economy (for
Merchant Navy and Deep Sea Fishery Colleges), of the Chairman of the State
Sports and Tourism Administration (for Physical Culture Academies), and
of National Education (for other schools).
Main types of higher
education institutions in country
Type of institution:
UNIWERSYTETY
Translation:
UNIVERSITIES
Type of institution: POLITECHNIKI
I WYZSZE SZKOLY INZYNIERSKIE
Translation:
TECHNICAL UNIVERSITIES AND HIGHER SCHOOLS OF ENGINEERING
Type of institution: AKADEMIE
MEDYCZNE
Translation:
MEDICAL ACADEMIES
Type of institution: AKADEMIE
ROLNICZE
Translation:
AGRICULTURAL ACADEMIES
Type of institution: AKADEMIE
EKONOMICZNE
Translation:
ECONOMICAL ACADEMIES
Type of institution: WYZSZE
SZKOLY PEDAGOGICZNE
Translation:
HIGHER TEACHER EDUCATION SCHOOLS
Type of institution: AKADEMIE
MUZYCZNE,SZTUK PIEKNYCH,TEATRALNE I FILMOWE
Translation:
ACADEMIES OF MUSIC, FINE ARTS, THEATRE, AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
Type of institution: AKADEMIE
WYCHOWANIA FIZYCZNEGO
Translation:
ACADEMIES OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Type of institution:
AKADEMIE TEOLOGICZNE
Translation:
THEOLOGICAL ACADEMIES
Type of institution: SZKOLY
MORSKIE
Translation:
MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMIES
Type of institution:
SZKOLY NIEPANSTWOWE
Translation:
NON-PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Main laws/decrees governing
higher education
Name of law/decree:
Act on Higher Education
Date:
1 May, 1909
Institution type:
civilian, state higher schools; non-public schools
Administrative structure
of higher education
Name of body:
Ministry of National Education
Address:
Street: Al. Szucha 25
City: Warszawa
Postal code: 00-918
Telephone: 48-22-29-72-41
Telex: 813523 men pl
Fax: 48-2-628-93-29
E-Mail: MEN AT PLEARN
Name of body:
Main Council for Higher Education
Role:
cooperates with the Minister of National Education and the other national
bodies in realization of tasks concerning higher
education
Address:
Street: Al. Szucha 25
City: Warszawa
Postal code: 00-918
Telephone: 48-22-29-72-41
Telex: 813523 men pl
Fax: 48-2-628-93-29
E-Mail: MEN AT PLEARN
Academic year
Classes start:
October
Classes end:
June
Long vacation: from 1
July, to 30 September
Languages of instruction
French
Stages and Organization
of Higher Education Studies
Higher
vocational/technical studies
These studies are conducted in: 1) Postlyceum vocational
colleges - two-years' study after matriculation, which awards the
professional secondary school-leaving diploma; 2) Pedagogical technical
colleges - two-years' study after matriculation and a professional secondary
school-leaving certificate; or four-years' study for vocational school
graduates; which awards the matriculation school certificate and a practical/vocational
teacher certificate; 3) Pedagogical colleges of foreign languages - three-years'
study after matriculation; which awards the diploma of foreign language
teacher for primary and secondary schools; 4) Pedagogical colleges - two-years'
study after matriculation; which awards the diploma of teacher of preprimary
and primary education.
University
level studies
Stage 1:
Licencjat
Description: The professional diploma of Licencjat (BA,BEd.,BMed.Lab.Sc.,etc)
is granted after 3.5 or 3 years of successful study.
Stage 2:
Main stage: Magister
Description: Higher education, depending on type and
discipline, lasts, on the average, from four to six years. Graduation demands
not only required credits and examinations, but also the preparation and
successful defence of a short thesis. Magister diplomas, apart from the
professional title, indicate various specializations. Some studies differ;
in the case of medical studies for example, courses last six years and
lead to a cycle of final examinations (a thesis is then not required).
Stage 3:
Doctoral degree
Description: This qualification is obtained after submitting
and defending publicly a thesis and passing the required examinations.
Thedoctoral thesis can be prepared while carrying on with various forms
of post-graduate studies, i.e. medical studies, post-graduate scientific
practice in higher schools and institutes, practice at higher schools of
Fine Arts and other arts institutions, specialized training for physicians,
dentists and pharmacists in hospitals, clinics of medical academies and
research institutes.
Stage 4:
Doctor Habilitatus degree
Description: The degree of Doctor Habilitatus is awarded
to candidates already holding a Doctor's degree, on the successful presentation
of the habilitation dissertation and colloquium. The habilitation dissertation
should represent the candidate's major contribution to development in a
given field or branch of learning and should be published in full or in
its major parts.
Teacher
education
Training of primary/basic
school teachers
Training is conducted in higher teacher-training colleges
and at universities. Graduates have to follow an additional 300-hour pedagogicalcourse
before or after obtaining a Magister. Vocational education teachers and
teachers of foreign languages are trained in 3-year higher colleges of
education or technical education colleges (2 years' study for vocational
secondary school graduates or 4-years' study for vocational school graduates)
or in foreign language education colleges.
Training of secondary school
teachers
Training is conducted in higher schools. Graduates, except
those of higher colleges of education, have to follow an additional
300 hours of pedagogical courses before or after obtaining a Magister.
Teachers of practical/vocational courses are trained in technical education
colleges (2 years' study for vocational secondary school graduates or 4
year study for vocational school graduates).
Training of higher education
teachers
Academic teachers are recruited among higher school graduates
having a Magister degree who have followed special pedagogical courses
through various types of assistantships.
Non-formal
studies
Distance higher education
A highly developed network of correspondence and evening
courses are intended for those who are already engaged in production. Candidates
for such courses must not only take an entrance examination but must offer
proof of a period spent in their place of work.
Lifelong higher education
Some universities have departments of continuing education
called open universities which are to provide learning based on the principle
of general higher education. Earning a diploma depends on the award of
credits for a set of required subjects, as well as on the presentation
of a memoire.
Higher education in industry
A certain number of higher education institutions organize
evening classes in industry which are of the same level as full-time studies.
Other forms of non-formal
education
The Polish radio and television are broadcasting educational
programmes at different levels for students and teachers from primary to
high school. These programmes are devised so as to help introduce teachers
to new teaching methods.
Grading system
Usual grading system in (upper)
secondary school
6 - 1 (excellent,very good,
good, satisfactory, unsatisfactory, mediocre,fail: often, the marks
'+' and '-' are added to the principal grades)
Highest on scale: 6 (excellent)
Pass/fail level:
2 (satisfactory)
Lowest on scale:
1 (fail)
Main grading system generally
used by higher education institutions
5 - 2 (very good, good, satisfactory,
unsatisfactory)
Highest on scale: 5
(very good)
Pass/fail level:
3 (satisfactory)
Lowest on scale:
2 (unsatisfactory)
Other main grading system
used
For non-final exams, the marks
'+' and '-' are often added to the principal grades. In some schools the
grade 6 (excellent) exists.
Admissions to Higher
Education and Recognition of Foreign Credentials
Admission
to Vocational/Technical Studies
Admission to higher vocational/technical
or other professionally oriented non-university level studies
Secondary school credential/certificate/diploma(s)
required for entry
Name of sec. school credential:
MATURA
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all higher technical/vocational
and profes.oriented non-university level studies
Total number of years of primary and
secondary school study: 12
Name of sec. school credential:
SWIADECTWO UKONCZENIA LICEUM ZAWODOWEGO
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all higher technical/vocational
and profes.oriented non-university level studies
Total number of years of primary
and secondary school study: 12
Name of sec. school credential:
DYPLOM TECHNIKA
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all higher technical/vocational
and profes.oriented non-university level studies
Total number of years of primary
and secondary school study: 13
Alternative(s) to these credentials:
none
National admission entrance
examination requirements
Name of test/exam: ENTRANCE
EXAMINATION
Minimum score
: determined by each school
For: some of the courses (decided
by each school)
Name of test/exam: QUALIFYING
TEST
Minimum score
: determined by each school
For: some studies (decided by
each school)
Name of test/exam: QUALIFYING
INTERVIEW
Minimum score
: determined by each school
For: some studies (decided by
each school)
Other admission requirements
established at national level
physical and mental predisposition
of candidate to work in given profession must first to be ascertained
Numerus clausus established
in the country for students entering higher vocational/technical
education
At level of institutions: Y
At country/state level: N
Specified restrictions of
the country/state level:
These studies are intended for
graduates of general secondary schools having the matriculation school
certificate. However,
graduates with other secondary
school certificates may be accepted.
Admissions
to university level
Secondary school credential/certificate/diploma(s)
required for entry
Name of sec. school credential:
MATURA
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all institutions of higher
education
Total number of years of primary
and secondary school study: 12
Name of sec. school credential:
SWIADECTWO UKONCZENIA LICEUM ZAWODOWEGO
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all institutions of higher
education
Total number of years of primary
and secondary school study: 12
Name of sec. school credential:
DYPLOM TECHNIKA
Minimum score/requirement: satisfactory
For: all institution of higher
education
Total number of years of primary
and secondary school study: 13
Alternative(s) to these credentials:
none
National admission entrance
examination requirements
Name of test/exam: ENTRANCE EXAMINATION
Minimum score: determined by
each school or department
For: some university level studies
(decided by each school)
Name of test/exam: QUALIFICATION
TEST
Minimum score: determined by
each school or department
For: some university level studies
(decided by each school)
Name of test/exam: QUALIFYING
INTERVIEW
Minimum score: determined by
each school or department
For: some university level studies
(decided by each school)
Other admission requirements established
at national level:
Prize-winners of national competitions
(olimpiada) in various secondary-school subjects are exempt from entrance
examinations.
Numerus clausus established in the
country for students entering university level education
At level of institutions: Y
At country/state level: N
Specified restrictions of
the country/state level:
Specific ability requirements are demanded for artistic
studies, physical education and architectural preservation studies. A certain
age limit is also set.
Admission
for foreign students
Special admission requirements
for foreign students at national level:
Definition of a "foreign"
student: A person not having the Polish citizenship
Special entry regulations
for foreign students in country/state:
Students must be in possession of a valid passport and
a student visa. Polish diplomatic missions abroad make an initial evaluation
of the student's credentials; the decision to admit the student then lies
with the competent Polish authorities, after examination of the student's
qualifications. Finally, the proof of payment of an entrance fee and of
a 12-month advance payment in foreign currency to cover his/her tuition
fees must also be presented.
Health requirements:
Candidates seeking to be admitted to higher studies should
submit a health certificate, thus enabling them to study in the selected
discipline.
Language proficiency requirements
for foreign applicants whose first language is not the language of
instruction
Are there examinations at institution
level? N
Requirements at national level
Name of exam or requirement:
test of Polish as a foreign language
Minimum score (for exam):
satisfactory
Other special academic requirements
for foreign students set up at national level:
The candidate should not be over 25 (21-30 years for
art schools). He should have a secondary school-leaving certificate valid
in his country of residence. Medical students from the USA and Canada should
have attended college for two years.
Authority to whom foreign
student applications should be addressed:
Application to individual institutions:
N
Application to national/central
body: Y
For entry to: All institutions
of higher education and to all academic programmes.
Name of national/central body:
Ministry of National Education, Office of Foreign Education via Embassy/Consulate
Address of body:
Street: Smolna 40
City: Warszawa
Postal code: 00-920
Telephone: (48-22)26-28-23
Telex: 813523 men pl
Fax: (48-2)628-85-61
E-Mail: MEN AT PLEARN
Earliest application closing
date for foreign students admissions
For Tech./Voc. non-university
level studies: 15 August, 1997
For first university level studies:
15 August, 1997
For advanced/doctoral studies:
15 June, 1997
Reference to further
information materials on foreign students admissions
Title:
Guide for foreign students seeking to take up studies in Poland, Part 1-6
Publisher:
Ministry of National Education
Year of publication: 1987
Title:
Higher Education in Poland
Author:
H. Szarras and J. Zycki
Publisher:
Ministry of National Education
Year of publication: 1990
Title:
Directory of Polish Universities and Other Higher Education Institutions
Publisher:
Ministry of National Education
Year of publication: 1992
Title:
Directory of Polish Universities and Other Higher Education Institutions
Publisher:
Ministry of National Education
Year of publication: 1993
Recognition of studies
and qualifications
System of "recognition" or "accreditation"
of studies completed and credentials awarded within the country:
Description:
Institutions award degrees on
the basis of authority given them by the Ministry of National Education
(MEN)
Policy for transfer and recognition
of studies and degrees between institutions of the country:
all degrees awarded in the country
are recognized by all institutions
Recognition of studies completed
and credentials awarded in foreign countries
Bodies primarily addressing questions
relating to the recognition of foreign credentials and studies in
higher education
Name of body: MEN, Office for International
Programs in Higher Education and Research
Address:
Street: Al. Szucha 25
City: Warszawa
Postal code: 00-918
Telephone: (48-22)29-24-83
Telex: 813523 men pl
Fax: (48-22)29-24-83
E-Mail: MEN@PLEARN
Recognition of foreign credentials
to enter an institution: Y
Recognition of foreign credentials
to enter a profession: Y
Description of services provided
and types of students dealt with:
Information and guidance.
Other authorities responsible
for accreditation and recognition of foreign credentials and studies:
Source:
MINISTERSTWO EDUKACJI NARODOWEJ. Departament Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyzszego, 21.02.1992/ew; 01.1994/ew; 07.1995/ew; 02.1997/ew
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