The documents listed below are needed from all international candidates.
Only after presenting the originals of the documents mentioned below, a candidate will officially become a University of Lodz student. Sending the Confirmation Letter does not yet mean a candidate is officially admitted to the studies.
Please bear in mind that your certificates, diplomas, and transcripts, will have to bear the the stamp of legalization from the Polish Embassy of the country where the certificate, diploma or transcript was issued (except if the documents were issued in the country which is a part of the Hague Convention – then Apostille is needed). You may also be asked to provide an eligibility statement for your credentials, issued by appropriate educational authorities or consular office.
The candidate MUST legalize the required documents before or while applying for a student visa.
Please bear in mind that diplomas, transcripts, statements will still have to be translated by a sworn translator into Polish after your coming to Poland, due to the Polish law’s requirement.
Application form (generated and printed from the IRK Admission platform) in which candidate clearly states his/her personal data and chooses one of the offered fields of studies. There are 3 options in the application in case the first choice does not open for some reason.
A certificate confirming their graduation from the high school is required for candidates applying for Bachelor’s Degree Studies. For those applying for Master’s Degree Studies – a certificate proving graduation from Bachelor’s Degree Studies. All school certificates/diplomas must be legalized in the country of their origin (e.g. if you received a diploma in Vietnam, legalization needs to be done in the Polish Embassy in Hanoi; if you are a citizen of Ghana learning in Russia and you have a high school certificate from Ghana – it needs to be legalized in the Polish Embassy in Nigeria). If the country of origin is a part of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, the documents must have an Apostille.
The candidate is required to present a transcript of records – a grade sheet – showing the academic achievements at school (subjects, grades, credits). A secondary school transcript may be called “testimonial” in some countries. It is advisable to include an explanation of how the grading system works in the country the certificate(s) come from (ie. which grades are the best, and which are the poorest) e.g. 6 – excellent, 5- very good, etc. The transcript of academic records needs to be legalized (or bear an Apostille). The secondary school transcript (if on a separate sheet) should also be legalized or have the Apostille.
Eligibility statement proves that the certificate/diploma allows the candidate to study at the university level in their country. For the process of qualification recognition (a validation of foreign studies and degrees), the candidate is also required to provide an eligibility statement that their certificates and diplomas allow them to study at the university level in the country they were issued. If such statement is not already written on the certificate and/or diploma, the candidate is obliged to visit the Ministry of Education in the country where the documents were given, a consulate or a diplomatic post of that country in Poland. The statement can (but usually is not mandatory to) be legalized in the Polish Embassy of the documents’ origin or have the Apostille. Eligibility statement does not have to be provided by citizens of EU, EEA, OECD, Ukraine, Belarus and China.
Sample of an eligibility statement.
A certificate confirming the candidate’s level of English is required. A candidate whose documents confirm schooling in English, may not be required to present any additional language certificate. University of Lodz accepts the following English Language certificates:
- First Certificate in English (FCE)
- Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)
- Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
- Business English Certificate (BEC) Vantage
- Business English Certificate (BEC) Higher
- Certificate in English for International Business and Trade (CEIBT),
- English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
- European Consortium for the Certificate of Attainment in Modern Languages (ECL);
- International English Language Testing System (IELTS) at least 6 points
- Test of an English as Foreign Language (TOEFL): at least 87 points in Internet-Based Test (iBT); or at least 180 points in Computer-Based Test (CBT) supplemented with 50 points in Test of Spoken English (TSE); or at least 510 points in Paper-Based Test (PBT) supplemented with at least 3,5 points in Test of Written English (TWE) and with at least 50 points in Test of Spoken English (TSE); or at least 700 points in International Communication (TOEIC).
Candidates for studies have to pay the administrative fee of 85 PLN. It is a non-reimbursable administrative fee. Please note that the 85 PLN has to be paid before submitting the application.
The tuition fee for the academic year differs with each faculty and the field of studies. The average yearly fee is 2.500 EUR – to find out the exact amount, please go here: https://www.uni.lodz.pl/en/programme-offer-and-fees and choose BA, MA or PhD studies.
A candidate will download it from the IRK Admission platform, or from here [link], stating that in case the candidate is admitted for studies he/she shall recognize his/her documents by the end of the first semester. In addition it states an obligation to have valid insurance, sworn translation of documents and valid contact data. Please read it very carefully before you sign it.
Students wishing to obtain a room in the university dormitory need to fill in the Accommodation request (a place in the university dormitory in a double room costs between 370-590 PLN a month). The University has a limited number of rooms, so the accommodation will be provided to the students according to the date of submitting the Accommodation Request and finishing the admission process successfully. The information about the dormitory place will be sent out via email in the second half of August. If a student is not provided with a place in the dorm, IRO will send a list of places where a candidate can search for an accommodation.
Faculties require that the candidate writes a cover letter. Writing a convincing and well-structured cover letter helps the candidate to clarify his/her own ideas on what they expect from the studies and give the reason why they want to start a particular field of studies. Moreover, it provides the university with some knowledge about the candidate’s interests, background and future plans. It must be written by the candidate, and should not be a reference letter written by someone else.
The cover letter should:
- help you to clarify your own ideas on what you want to do and why over your period of studies;
- provide us with some knowledge on your interests, background and future plans;
- outline why you decided to choose this particular study programme.
We highly recommend including the following information:
- general information about an education history and any additional qualifications of the candidate;
- information on language skills / competences;
- employment history in brief;
- additional information regarding the candidate’s experience;
- the name and address of at least one referee.
Please, keep in mind all the points mentioned above while composing your letter.
Important! School certificate/diploma and eligibility statement must be translated to Polish by a sworn translator after arrival to Poland.The procedure must be finished by the end of the 1st semester.
If the candidate is admitted, he/she is obliged to deliver all original documents to the office upon arriving in Poland, before academic year starts. Only then a candidate can officially become a student of the University of Lodz.
Health insurance policy: upon arrival, the candidate needs to have a health insurance policy valid in Poland for the period of the studies. It is obligatory. Most candidate buy health insirance in their home country to cover the travel and first few months of stay in Poland. Later the candidate can buy another health insurance policy in Poland – a student should be insured at all times while studying in Poland.
LEGALIZATION
Legalization / Apostille is the official confirmation that a signature, seal or stamp on a public document is genuine.
Legalization or Apostille is required for the application process. Without it, the candidate’s educational documents are not valid in Poland. The legalization is done by the Polish Consul, therefore a candidate needs to contact the Polish Embassy in his/her country (or the one that is appropriate for his/her country). Non-legalized documents will not be accepted and nostrified in Poland.
If the country, where the document was issued, has signed the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, legalization is replaced by Apostille attached to the document. The list of countries – members of the Convention along with addresses of authorities issuing Apostille is available on the following website: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41
In short, the candidate needs:
Apostille – in the case of documents intended for circulation in states that are parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Journal of Laws of 2005, no. 112, item 938); The list of countries which signed the Hague Convention is in the link above.
OR:
Legalization – in the case of documents intended for circulation in states that are not parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.
The certificate/diploma should also include information about it giving a candidate the right to study at higher education institutions in the country where it was issued. Such confirmation may be obtained from the Polish Consulate or it can be issued by the Ministry of Education of the given country.
QUALIFICATION RECOGNITION
As a candidate, you will be asked to sign a statement that you have been informed of the obligation to finish the process of recognition of your certificate (or other education document) or of confirmation of qualification, or the right to continue education, acquired with foreign diploma(s), not later than the end of the first study semester, under the following regulations:
- Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 12 October 2006 regarding undertaking and undergoing studies and courses by foreigners and their participation in research studies and development (consolidated text: Polish Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1501);
- Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 9 September 2009 amending the previous Regulation regarding undertaking and undergoing studies and courses by foreigners and their participation in research studies and development (Polish Journal of Laws of 2009, no 175, item 1365).
- Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 25 March 2015 on procedures for recognition of certificates or other documents, or confirmations of qualifications or rights to continue education, acquired in a foreign educational system (Polish Journal of Laws, year 2015, item 447).
The recognition of the high school certificate takes place in Kuratorium Oswiaty in Lodz. For the purpose of recognition, the student needs to have his/her documents translated into Polish by a certified/sworn translator.
Kuratorium Oświaty w Łodzi (Board of Education in Lodz)
Address: Więckowskiego 33
Required documents:
- Legalised original (or duplicate) of relevant education certificate(s). Note: The original or a duplicate of a foreign certificate should be legalised by a consul of the Republic of Poland based in the country where the certificate has been issued.
In the case of certificate issued by an institution operating in the education system of a country which is party to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Journal of Laws of 2005 No. 112, item. 938 and 939), there is no need for legalisation. Instead, one can submit an additional Apostille issued by the competent authority of the state or country from which the certificate originates. The Apostille can also be placed on the certificate. - Statement stating that the submitted certificate entitles to apply for admission to higher educational institution of each type in the educational system of the country where the certificate has been issued (unless the certificate itself contains such information).
When applying for recognition of certificates as equivalent to the Polish Matura certificate.
Note: the subjects who are entitled to issue the statement include:
– The educational authorities of the country where the certificate has been issued.
– An accredited diplomatic representative in Poland or a consular office of the country where the certificate has been issued.
– A consul of the Republic of Poland based in the country where the certificate has been issued. - Documentary evidence of learning containing a list of classes, number of hours, and grades received when applying for recognition of foreign certificates as equivalent to the certificates of completion of the Polish schools of the following types:
vocational school,
high school,
upper secondary school,
vocational high school,
post-secondary school. - Polish translation of the certificate (diploma), and other such documents made by a sworn translator included in the list of sworn translators held by the Minister of Justice or by the Polish consul to the country where the document was issued.
- Passport.
The nostrification of the BA diploma is held at the faculty at the university, related to the field of studies from which the student graduated. There might be additional costs.
More information you can find on the Ministry of Science and Higher Education website: http://www.nauka.gov.pl/en/recognition-of-academic-qualifications/