International students – general information

The Jagiellonian University has only one intake per year with few application rounds. It takes place before the winter semester and starts approximately in March or April. The exact dates are published here.

Foreign candidates are placed on common ranking lists other than Polish citizens. A separate admission schedule, the number of places, and admission criteria are provided.

The application process goes through the Online Application System – IRK. There, you will provide your personal data and information about your education, sign up for studies, receive all the necessary information regarding your application, etc.

The final result calculation is based on the interview (for all programmes conducted in Polish), exam, or documents’ analysis. The interview is the most common in the case of international students. It aims to examine your language skills, motivation, and predisposition to undertake studies. The language of the interview depends on the language of your studies – English or Polish. You should also expect profile questions related to your chosen field of study. For example, you may be asked to do sums if you choose mathematical studies, or you will have to answer the questions in biology or chemistry in the case of natural sciences.

Remember to check the detailed qualification rules. Information on the final result calculation for the program of your interest can be found on the IRK System website in the respective study card in the ‘Calculating the final result’ part.

Bachelor’s degree (first-cycle) and long-cycle studies

Undergraduate studies lead to a licencjat (equivalent of Bachelor’s degree) or magister (equivalent of Master’s) degree in long-cycle studies. The first-cycle program’s duration is three years (6 semesters), and the long-cycle programs takes 5-6 years. All applicants for first- and long-cycle (undergraduate) programs must be holders of either document entitling to undertake undergraduate programs in its country of issuance or a Polish Matura certificate.

Master’s degree (second-cycle)

Graduate studies leading to a magister (equivalent of Master) degree. This program lasts two years (4 semesters). To apply for the second-cycle (graduate) programs, candidates must hold a graduation diploma from at least the first-cycle program or another document, either deemed equal with an appropriate Polish diploma or giving its holder the right to undertake second-cycle studies in the country of issuance.

Additional formal requirements for each study program (such as a specific number of points to obtain during the interview verifying the level of competency in the English language) can be found on the IRK website in respective study cards in the “Calculating the final result” section. 

In the case interview is a basis for your final result calculation, all the documents are required to be delivered at the final stage of the admission process – enrolment. Suppose it was unnecessary to upload some documents into the IRK system previously. In that case, you may first sign up for studies and participate in the interview, and when you pass it successfully, you must deliver the documents.

The detailed qualification rules and information on the final result calculation for the program of your interest can be found on the IRK System website in the respective study card in the ‘Calculating the final result’ part.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Welcome Centre at welcome@uj.edu.pl.

Before applying

Begin with finding your program in the IRK Application System or clicking one of the “Apply here” buttons on this website.

Once there, read carefully all information provided, especially the qualification criteria and required documents tabs. Take note of the admission schedule—if you can’t apply in this application round, there may be another application round in a few weeks if there are places available.

Make sure well in advance that you will have all the required documents on time. Some records may take a while to obtain or prepare, so we strongly advise that you begin working on completing your set as early as you can. Please note that some documents are required as you register online, while others are only necessary if you’re admitted to the program.

If you are unsure about your application, contact either the students’ office responsible for the program you want to apply to or the Admissions Office at welcome@uj.edu.pl.

Application step by step

1. Create an account in the IRK System
and provide necessary information

2. Sign up for Studies.
Choose the studies you would like to undertake in the IRK System and click "sign in" button

3. Check the required documents
Check the information about required documents and make sure you will have them until the enrolment deadline. Some documents, such diploma legalization or sworn translation need few weeks or months to be done.

4. Pay the application fee
Pay in Polish currency PLN you may also do this through "Przelewy24" payment system.

5. Take part in the interview (online)/exam
all the details you may find on the IRK System in respective study card in ‘Calculating the final result’ part.

6. Check for the results - you can make it by yourself in the IRK system

7. Enrol = deliver documents

Create an account in the IRK system

In the IRK System, you have to create your applicant’s account and provide the data required (pay special attention to providing a correct e-mail address and a phone number so that we can reach you about your application). You can use this account to make as many applications as you wish in a given year.

Sign up for studies

Then you have to sign up for the program you want to apply for. Find the study program in the catalog and click the “sign up” button. Make sure you complete the online application.

Pay the application fee

The admission board will only consider confirmed applications. To confirm your will to apply to the University, you have to pay the application fee.

• Please note that you have to pay in Polish Zloty, you cannot change it. Application fee needs to be paid by bank transfer (we cannot process credit cards, TransferWise, Western Union, or PayPal).
• You can also pay via the Przelewy24 payment system by credit card or your account in other currency.
• The application fee is not refundable once used for applying.

Once your application is marked as ‘confirmed’ in your IRK account, you’re all set to proceed! More about the application fee here.

Take part in the interview or exam

Most programs require you to take part in the interview or entrance exam. For some of them, the documents analysis is required. In this case, you have to upload the necessary documents to the IRK system. If you have to participate in the interview/exam, please note that you may be notified of the exact date, time and communication platform before it is scheduled. To avoid problems with taking part in the interview/exam, you may take the following precautions:

• check the date of the exam in the admission schedule—this day will not change, and you can plan accordingly;
• check the information regarding your interview/exam in the IRK system, as you may receive a message from the Admission Committee;

Exam dates for the School of Medicine in English are arranged directly with the School’s Office.

Check the results

You should check the final results of your application by yourself. They will be available in your IRK account on the day marked in the admission schedule. The possible outcomes are as follows:

• ‘admitted’: your application was successful and you may enroll;
• ‘waiting list’: applicants who earned more points than you were admitted, but if they choose not to enroll, you may still be admitted—await further instructions;
• ‘not admitted’: your application was rejected; the notification in your account has more information about the reasons for the rejection.

Enrol = deliver the documents

Now that you are admitted, you need to confirm your decision to undertake a program by officially enrolling. Enrolment means delivering all the “required documents” to your Institute’s/Secretary’s Office. Without completing it before the deadline specified in the “Schedule,” you will not be accepted for studies.

Note: Before the enrolment, you have also uploaded your photo to the system, and later it must be accepted by the administrator. The photo must meet the requirements described in the IRK System. Without it, you will not generate and print the personal questionnaire, which is necessary during enrolment.

Enrolment may be arranged in two ways:

Physically

You or your proxy have to deliver hard copies to your Institute’s Office before the deadline specified in the “Schedule”

Online

• firstly, you have to send a good quality scans of your documents to the e-mail address of your Institute’s Office
• secondly, you are obliged to deliver hardcopies physically before the deadline specified in the “Schedule”.

You may find the address and other details of your Institute’s Office in the IRK system following those steps: My Account > Applications > Further steps