For international candidates

The same admission conditions apply to Polish and international candidates at the Doctoral School. International candidates must undergo the admission process on the basis of a recruitment resolution issued by the UPWr Senate. Admission to the Doctoral School takes place by way of competition. This means that the best candidates with the highest score are selected within the quota.

In addition to the steps described at each stage of the admission process, as an international candidate, you must take into account the following issues:

Education at the Doctoral School is free of charge for all doctoral students.

The amount of the doctoral scholarship at the UPWr Doctoral School is:

  • to the month in which the mid-term evaluation was carried out (years I and II)
    PLN 4 680,00 gross, (about 1080 Euro decision of the Rector of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences of of April 19, 2024)
  • after mid-term evaluation (3rd and 4th year) in the amount of PLN 5 849.61 gross (about 1350 Euro decision of the Rector of Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences of of April 19, 2024).

In addition, a foreign doctoral student may apply for funding for research and scientific activity as part of internal UPWr funding and external funding. All information can be found in the scholarships and funding tab.

Foreign diploma presented in order to be admitted to third-cycle studies and to continue education

If you are applying for admission to third-cycle studies (education at the Doctoral School), and your completed second-cycle studies allow you to enroll in third-cycle studies in the country where your diploma was issued, then you automatically have the same right in Poland. The condition is that the study program you have followed is accredited in accordance with the law in force in the country where the diploma was issued and that the university that issued the diploma must also be accredited to provide education in that country.

Attention! Your diploma is not automatically recognized for professional purposes in Poland. This means that you will not necessarily be able to practice your profession on the basis of a foreign diploma without an additional process called recognition (Polish: nostryfikacja). As a result of this process, the diploma of graduation abroad may be recognized as equivalent to the corresponding Polish diploma.

Legalization certifies the formal compliance of the document (diplomas, certificates) with the law in force at the place of its issuance and the authenticity of the seals and signatures on the document.

Legalization through Apostille

If the diploma/certificate was issued by an institution operating in the educational system of a country that is a party to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, the legalization of documents called Apostille is a simplified procedure. Instead of a two-step legalization process, your documents will only need an apostille, usually obtained from the education authorities or other designated office in your country, without having to submit the document to a Polish consul. Check the list of The Hague Convention member states.

Legalization at the Polish consulate

If your country is not a party to the Apostille Convention, your documents will have to be legalized. The first step of the procedure is to legalize the document by the appropriate institution in your country (usually by the educational authorities or branches of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and sometimes by your country's consul in Poland), and then by the Polish consul, who completes the legalization process.

Education documents should be presented in Polish or English.

If the documents were issued in a language other than Polish or English, you will be asked to provide a certified translation into one of these languages.

Translation into Polish must be performed and certified by a translator entered on the list of sworn translators kept by the Minister of Justice (ministry translators' base), a sworn translator from the EU (if there is an institution of a sworn translator in a given country) or a Polish consul (consulate).

Education at the Doctoral School is conducted in Polish or English.

Polish language
for candidates wanting to study in Polish

You should submit a document confirming the knowledge of the Polish language at a minimum B2 level by:

  • Completing a one-year course of the Polish language in units designated by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education or
  • presenting of a certificate issued by the State Commission for the Certification of Proficiency in Polish as a Foreign Language or
  • presenting other certificates of knowledge of the Polish language recognised by the university.

Such a certificate is not required if you have a diploma of graduation from studies conducted in Polish.
Having a Pole's Card does not exempt from having a language certificate.


English language

You should submit a document confirming your knowledge of English at a minimum B2 level by:

  • IELTS, at least level B2;
  • TOEFL, at least level B2;
  • Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency (former FCE, CAE, CPE);
  • a document from your university certifying the language of instruction was English;
  • a document from your university certifying that you have passed the English language exam on B2 level during your studies.