THE SYSTEM OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Until September 1999 the 8-year primary school was the first stage of education in Poland. After primary school students could apply for admission to secondary, general or vocational, schools.

Since 1999, a reform of the system of education has been implemented and new types of schools are being introduced, i.e. 6-year primary school, 3-year gymnasium, and the following types of post-gymnasium schools: 3-year specialized lyceum, 3-year general lyceum, 4-years technical secondary school, 2 or 3-year vocational school, 2-year complementary lyceum, and 3-year complementary technical secondary school. During the transitional period, both the old and the new systems will continue to coexist. In the year 2004, maturity certificates will be awarded for the last time on the basis of the system functioning prior to the reform.

The total number of years of primary and secondary education is 12 or 13. At the end of the secondary education cycle students can take the maturity examination - egzamin dojrzałości (matura), i.e. standardised national secondary school achievement examination, and receive the maturity certificate - świadectwo dojrzałości.

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SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Both state and private institutions of higher education exist in Poland. The latter began to appear after 1990. A private school of higher education must receive permission to operate from the Ministry of National Education. It acquires a legal status when registered by the Minister of National Education.

In 1998 the first state and private higher professional (vocational) education schools began to appear. These schools train students in professional specializations and prepare them for specific professions by including 15-week internships and school practice in the mandatory curriculum.

Study programs can take the form of daily, evening or extramural studies and distant learning courses. Daily studies is the prevalent form.

To qualify for admission to an institution of higher education, the applicant must hold the maturity certificate - świadectwo dojrzałości. The rules of admission to the first year of study are determined autonomously by each institution. Some organize competitive entrance examinations, others use ranking procedures based on the final grades listed in the maturity certificate, still others admit all who apply.

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PROFESSIONAL TITLES
AWARDED TO GRADUATES
OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

- the professional title of licencjat is awarded following the completion of 3 or 3.5-year higher professional education courses;

- the professional title of licencjat pielęgniarstwa and licencjat położnictwa is awarded following the completion of higher professional studies in nursery and midwifery;

- the professional title of inżynier is awarded following the completion of 3.5 or 4-year higher professional education courses in technical areas (with exception of architecture and town-planning), agriculture, and forestry and in other fields of study in which technical subjects or subjects related to agriculture and forestry constitute at least 50% of the curriculum in the study program;

- the professional title of inżynier architekt is awarded following the completion of higher professional studies in architecture and town-planning;

- the title of magister, magister sztuki (in the field of fine arts), magister inżynier (in the field of engineering), magister inżynier architekt (in the field of architecture and town-planning), lekarz medycyny (in the field of Medicine), lekarz dentysta (until 30.04.2004 lekarz stomatolog)(in the field of Dentistry) and lekarz weterynarii (in the field of Veterinary Medicine) is awarded following the completion of uniform 4.5 or 6-year magister-level courses .

The title of magister may also be obtained following the completion of 2 or 2.5-year complementary magister-level courses, for which holders of the professional title of licencjat or inżynier are eligible.

To be awarded any of the above titles the student must complete all subjects and internships or a practical placement included in the curriculum, submit and defend a diploma project or thesis and pass a diploma examination.

Upon graduation, each student receives a diploma in a specific field of study, three copies of the diploma and, upon request, a diploma in a foreign language.

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ACADEMIC DEGREES AND TITLES

 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 degrees within the scope of art are the degrees of doktor sztuki and doktor habilitowany sztuki of a specified field of art (until 30.04.2003 academic degrees awarded in the field of art were kwalifikacje II stopnia and kwalifikacje II stopnia, which correspond to the academic degree of doktor and doktor habilitowany respectively).

The degree of doktor is awarded to a person who has passed his/her doctoral examinations and submitted and defended a doctoral dissertation (rozprawa doktorska). 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 (rozprawa habilitacyjna) 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.

The academic title is the title of profesor of a specified field of science, the title within the scope of art is the title of profesor of a specified field of art. The title of profesor is conferred by the President of the Republic of Poland

 

A SCHEMA OF THE POLISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

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