Studies structure in the Poland
One of the most surprising things for the foreigners, who come to Poland for the first time is the rapid development of the Polish higher education. On the one hand there are more paid places at the state universities, on the other hand there are more and more private higher education institutions.
The financial diversity of students of the public universities is a characteristic quality of Polish higher education system. Apart from the day-time studies, fully financed by the state, there are part-time studies, as well as extramural studies, financed by the students.
Undoubtedly the development of the higher education in Poland is a result of an exceptionally liberal Act on Higher Education of 1990, introducing autonomy in the state universities and enabling establishment of private higher education institutions. None of the authors of the Act predicted such a rapid and atypical for Europe development of the private sector in the higher education.
After 1990 not only private universities were established. After 1998 the state authorities founded 33 State Vocational Schools, providing education at the 1st level, i.e. the BA level, in the cities, which lost the status of voivodship capital cities after the administrative reform.
| List | No. |
|---|---|
| Universities | 17 |
| Higher technical schools | 22 |
| Higher economic schools | 93 |
| Higher pedagogical schools | 17 |
| Higher agricultural schools | 9 |
| Medical schools | 9 |
| Higher artistic schools | 22 |
| Higher vocational schools | 181 |
| Other | 57 |
| Total | 427 |
After 1990 the forms of studies, which allow for joining work and the studies became very popular; i.e. part-time studies, where the classes are held on Saturdays and Sundays, usually every other weekend, or on working days in the evenings.
The post-graduate studies, available to the graduates of higher education institutions, also became extremely popular, especially among people employed in the economy sector, but also among teachers and public administration employees.
Doctoral studies develop even faster. They usually last 3 to 4 years and are realised in form of stationary studies at the university departments, which are authorised to grant the doctoral title or in the best research institutes.
The natural occurrence in the face of globalisation is the opening of the best Polish universities for candidates from outside Poland. There are also more and more students going abroad and coming to Poland within the Socrates-Erasmus programme.
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