Poland | Nuts about Arts

Poland is a country located in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, covering an area of 312,696 square kilometres, and has a largely temperate seasonal climate.

Poland’s climate is temperate with warm (sometimes very hot) summers, crisp, sunny autumns and cold winters. The best time is during Springtime which is in March – May and fall is from September to November. The average high reaches just to freezing, at about 0°C (around 32°F). The lows drop to a bone-chilling -5°C (about 23°F). January is the coldest month in the year with snow covering the mountainous area in the south of Poland.

Click here for more details regarding Poland’s climate.

Poland is an attractive destination for international students to further their Arts education because of the high-quality, yet inexpensive education one can get at a Polish university. Besides the availability of scholarships, well-developed infrastructure, and conducive learning environments, many international students choose to study in Poland because it opens doors to employment in Europe and countries around the world. Poland is also home to many significant musicians, artists and writers. Just to name a few: Frédéric Chopin, Arthur Rubinstein, Stanisław Szukalski and Henryk Sienkiewicz.

How Much Does It Cost for International Students to Study in Poland?

While education in Poland is free for Polish and some programs are free for EU/EEA students, non-EU/EEA international students need to pay tuition fees. The rates are very affordable compared to many other universities in other parts of the world. Tuition fees for The Juilliard School in New York City is about 38,000 Euros/$45,000 per year and tuition fees for Royal College of Music in the UK is about 17,000 Euros/$20,000 per year. The average university tuition fees for international students in Poland is about 2500 Euros/$3,000 a year (for undergraduate Arts programs) and 5000 Euros/$6,000 a year (for Master programs in Arts).
Living expenses in Poland are relatively cheap compared to many other countries. On average, international students require about 500 Euros/$600 a month to cover their accommodation, meals, transportation and etc.

Check out this site to do your sums and comparisons: www.numbeo.com.

Medical care in Poland is not free of charge. Health insurance is mandatory for all students for the entire duration of their stay in Poland. The students from non-EU/EEA countries are recommended to buy medical insurance in their home country or immediately after their arrival in Poland. Otherwise students are required to pay for any health service they get. Foreign students are also advised to purchase third party liability insurance and accident insurance. EU citizens staying in Poland are legible for free health service, providing they present their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
EU citizens not having insurance in their country of residence and non-EU citizens may sign insurance agreement with the Polish Health National Fund (NFZ – Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia) and purchase insurance for the monthly fee of 40 PLN. Under bilateral agreements, the citizens of the U.K., Sweden and Slovakia are entitled to free medical care. Under an agreement with the Czech Republic Czech students are entitled to necessary medical care in cases of sudden illness or accident.

More information can be found on The National Health Fund website: http://www.nfz.gov.pl

In general, universities in Poland deliver their undergraduate and graduate programs in Polish and/or English. If Polish or English is not your native language, you are required to provide proof of proficiency in the language that is the medium of instruction of the program of your choice.

Applicants without any prior knowledge in these languages or any official certificates acknowledged by the university can attend a one-year language preparatory program and achieve the minimum grade required. For programs delivered in English, most universities in Poland require at least a 72 in TOEFL iBT, 5.5 in IELTS, or B2 level in other docusments that certify the English proficiency of an applicant. For programs that use Polish as the language of instruction, international students need to achieve a minimum level of B2 in the Polish proficiency test.

International students from the EU can enter Poland with a passport or ID card, but students who are not citizens of the EU state members should apply for a National Visa (type D) to study in Poland after receiving the acceptance letter from the university. Students can do so by filling in an visa application form online and secure an appointment with the Polish embassy or consulate in his/her country for submission of documents. This applies to guardians of students who are below 18 years old.

The documents you would need for your student visa application are:

Completed application form
Passport or any other valid travel document
Photograph
Health insurance with coverage of no less than EUR 30,000
Letter of admission from the university
Proof of financial means, such as bank statements, to show that you have adequate resources to cover the costs of your education and living expenses in Poland

The processing time for visa application can take up to 15 days and there is no express service available, so you should plan and start your application early.

The application fee for a National Visa is about $90. Please visit the website of the embassy or consulate in your country for more information.
Once you arrive in Poland, you should apply for a Temporary Residence Card at the Voivodship Office as international students whose stay in Poland exceeds three months are required to apply for a temporary residence permit.

Application Requirements for Undergraduate & Graduate Programs

The documents that are needed for both programs are about the same.

Application form with photograph
Certificate of high school graduation/Bachelor’s degree
High school transcripts
Proof of language proficiency in Polish and/or English
Passport or ID card
Proof of medical insurance

Polish universities offer annual preparatory courses for international students who intend to enter bachelor’s / master’s / doctoral programs but do not have the necessary language competencies (English/Polish), or want to brush up the subjects in the chosen specialty. Training is conducted in Polish or English, depending on the educational program. Example: Fine Arts Academy Wroclaw offers programmes in English and applicants do not need to take Polish as a foreign language test. (Proof of English proficiency at B2 level is needed.) Admission for universities is usually held in August and September.

The national language is Polish and international students who are joining programs which are conducted in Polish can take ‘Polish as foreign language test’ on a B1 (basic) level. Examination fees is EUR 60 and successful candidates will be asked to pay an additional EUR 20 for the certificate.

The following aspects of language competence are tested and assessed during the Polish examinations:

Reading Comprehension
Listening Comprehension
Accuracy/Grammar in Use
Writing
Speaking

How to Apply

Registration forms should be sent on-line, by fax or mail. Applications filled in writing should be legible.
More information on the exam is available on this website www.certyfikatpolski.pl