The Polish system of higher education is now following the principles of the Bologna process. This means that most higher education institutions offer three year bachelor, two year master and three year PhD courses. Writing a final thesis or diploma project is a condition for obtaining a degree. For greater transparency an ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) system was introduced. It requires students to gain 30 points every semester.

Academic year

The academic year in Poland lasts 9 months and is divided into two semesters (autumn and spring), each 15 weeks long, and concluded with an exam session. There are no mid semester breaks, only a semester break between the two exam sessions which lasts about a week.
The academic year starts in the beginning of October and lasts until June. During the months of July, August and September summer holidays take place.

Grading system

The Polish grading system recognises 4 grades – from 2 to 5 where 2 is the lowest grade and five the highest. The full description is as follows:

5 – very good
4 – good
3 – satisfactory
2 – unsatisfactory