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.

Currently, a reform of the system of education is under way and new types of schools are being introduced which offer 6 years of primary education (primary school), 3 years of secondary general education (gymnasium), 3 years of secondary specialised education (lyceum), 2 years of vocational education (vocational school) and 2 years of complementary secondary general education (complementary lyceum). 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 dojrzalosci (matura), i.e. standardised national secondary school achievement examination, and receive the maturity certificate - swiadectwo dojrzalosci.

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PRIMARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

HIGHER EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL TITLES AWARDED

ACADEMIC DEGREES

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 - swiadectwo dojrzalosci. 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 inzynier is awarded following the completion of 3.5 or 4-year higher professional education courses in technical areas, agriculture, and economics and related areas;

- the title of magister is awarded following the completion of uniform 5 or 6-year magister-level courses in a given field of study; equivalent titles include magister edukacji (in the field of Education), magister sztuki (in the field of Fine Arts), magister inzynier (in the field of Engineering), magister inzynier architekt (in the field of Architecture), lekarz medycyny (in the field of Medicine), lekarz stomatolog (in the field of Dentistry) and lekarz weterynarii (in the field of Veterinary Medicine).

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 inzynier 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 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;

Qualifications awarded in arts and artistic disciplines are kwalifikacje I stopnia and kwalifikacje II stopnia (first and second degree qualifications) which correspond to the academic degree of doktor and doktor habilitowany respectively.

Academic degrees doktor and doktor habilitowany are awarded by organizational units of higher education institutions and by other scientific and research institutes. - the title of profesor is conferred by the President of the Republic of Poland

 

A SCHEMA OF THE POLISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION

* The above description of the Polish system of education has been prepared for the needs of the implementation of the Diploma Supplement in Poland

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