Stefan Banach Scholarship Programme

The Stefan Banach Scholarship Programme aims to support the socio-economic growth of developing countries by raising the level of education and professional qualifications of citizens of countries eligible to participate in the Programme by offering a scholarship to undertake second-cycle studies in Poland.

The Programme offers a scholarship for full-time second-cycle studies in Polish or English at universities supervised by the Minister of Education and Science in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences, as well as exact and natural sciences, determined on the basis of the Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 20th September 2018 on fields of science, scientific disciplines and artistic disciplines.

The Programme also offers the possibility of completing second-cycle studies in the field of humanities and social sciences to citizens of the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, with the exception of philological fields of study related to the native language spoken in the beneficiary’s country of origin.

It is not possible to participate in the Programme within other fields of science.

Persons who may apply for a scholarship in the Programme are foreigners who at the time of recruitment meet the following criteria:

1. are citizens of one of the following countries: Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Montenegro, Ethiopia, Philippines, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Colombia, Kosovo, Lebanon, North Macedonia, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria, Palestine, Peru, South Africa, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam;
2. do not have Polish citizenship and have not applied for Polish citizenship;
3. plan to start their second-cycle studies or the preparatory course ;
4. at the time of submitting the application to the Programme, are final year students of first-cycle studies in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences, or exact sciences and natural sciences, or hold a diploma of first-cycle studies obtained in the country of the Programme in the above-mentioned fields not earlier than in 2019. In the case of candidates from Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus, first-cycle diplomas in social sciences and humanities shall be accepted;
5. have not previously obtained a diploma of completion of second-cycle studies or uniform master’s studies; if there is no two-cycle system of studies in the candidate’s country of origin, candidates holding a master’s degree or equivalent are allowed to participate;
6. have a documented knowledge of Polish at the level of at least B1 or English at the level of at least B2.

The scholarship amount is:

1. 1700 PLN per month during the preparatory course (the scholarship holder does not have the student status, which prevents them from benefiting from student discounts, e.g. in public transport);
2. 1500 PLN per month during the second-cycle studies.

In the case of a documented fortuitous event, the Director of NAWA may, at the scholarship holder’s written request, increase one payment of the scholarship by 500 PLN.

Amount of the scholarship awarded to foreigners who are Polish scholarship holders

The scholarship is paid during the statutory period of study for a maximum of 12 months per academic year. The payment may therefore take place in all holiday months, provided that the student stays in Poland, which they declare in a statement, and their one-time stay outside the Republic of Poland will be no longer than 30 days. The student may also declare they will stay in Poland for only one or two months, and in that case the scholarship will be paid only during the indicated months.

In addition, during their studies, scholarship holders receive:

• installation allowance, paid together with the first scholarship in the course of studies, in the amount of 500 PLN. The installation allowance shall not be granted to persons who begin their second-cycle studies having completed their first-cycle studies in Poland;
• one-time benefit in connection with the preparation of the diploma dissertation, paid together with the last scholarship in the course of studies, in the amount of 500 PLN.

If you have any questions about the Scholarship Programme for the Polish diaspora, please contact Office of Academic and Student Affairs (tel. 22 55 20 424). We are located on the Main Campus of the University of Warsaw in the Old Library, first floor, room 111.

You can also contact the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange directly (tel. 22 390 35 00). NAWA is located in Warsaw on Polna 40.

No. The Director of NAWA grants scholarships only in the framework of full-time studies.

A student who has completed its studies before the date specified in the study plan loses the right to receive a scholarship.