The system of student financial aid in Poland is one of the fundamental pillars of the state’s policy aimed at ensuring equal access to higher education. In recent years, the relevant legal regulations have undergone partial amendments and have been the subject of extensive sector-wide debate, intending to adapt them to evolving socio-economic conditions, particularly those affecting students’ living circumstances. The 2025/2026 academic year marks the beginning of a new stage in the functioning of student financial aid, including the introduction of systemic indexation mechanisms and the commencement of work on a comprehensive reform of the entire system.
Student financial aid is granted based on:
- the Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce (Law on Higher Education and Science),
- the ustawa o świadczeniach rodzinnych (Family Benefits Act),
- the Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego (Code of Administrative Procedure),
- the regulations on student benefits adopted by the rector in consultation with the students’ union.
Financial aid is available to full-time and part-time students, regardless of age, enrolled in first-cycle, second-cycle, and long-cycle Master’s degree programmes. Eligibility extends to students at public and non-public higher education institutions, as well as those studying at ecclesiastical institutions and higher seminaries operated by churches and other religious organisations. The detailed operational framework of the aid system at each institution is defined in the benefit regulations adopted by rectors in agreement with the students’ unions.
Students may receive benefits for a maximum of 12 semesters, regardless of whether the benefits were utilised throughout that period. An exception applies to students enrolled in long-cycle Master’s programmes lasting 11 or 12 semesters (e.g., medical programmes), for whom the benefit period may be extended by an additional two semesters, up to a maximum of 14 semesters. A student enrolled in multiple degree programmes at the same time may receive assistance only for one of them. In accordance with applicable regulations, students may apply for a rector’s scholarship, a social scholarship, a scholarship for persons with disabilities and an emergency grant.
The rector’s scholarship is a merit-based benefit awarded for outstanding academic performance, scientific or artistic achievements, or sports accomplishments at the national level or higher. This scholarship may be granted to a maximum of 10% of the highest-performing students within a given programme; if the programme has fewer than 10 students, the scholarship may be awarded to one student. The law also provides for the award of the rector’s scholarship to laureates and finalists of central-level academic olympiads, as well as medalists of Polish championships commencing their first year of study, who are not counted towards the 10% limit. In practice, institutions apply diverse criteria for calculating achievement scores, which results in significant variation across academic institutions.
The social scholarship is the principal benefit supporting students in financial hardship. It is awarded to students whose monthly per-capita household income does not exceed 45% of the statutory minimum wage applicable as of 1 January of the year preceding the academic year for which the scholarship is granted. As a result of the efforts of the Parliament of Students of the Republic of Poland, the eligibility threshold increased by over 80% between 2021 and 2025. Income is calculated in accordance with the Family Benefits Act, excluding student benefits and scholarships. The income assessment takes into account the income of the student, their spouse, parents or legal guardians, and dependent children. A student may be exempt from declaring parental income if they do not share a household with their parents and meet one of the statutory criteria, such as being over 26 years of age, being married, having children, originating from foster care, or having stable source of income (at least PLN 1,696.80). In justified cases, the amount of the scholarship may be increased, in particular due to high living costs, illness, disability, or difficult life circumstances.
The scholarship for students with disabilities provides dedicated support for students who hold a valid certificate of disability. The benefit is entirely independent of the student’s financial situation. Its purpose is to facilitate access to higher education and to ensure equal opportunities by covering additional costs arising from studying with a disability in the academic environment.
Emergency grant is a one-time financial benefit awarded to students who find themselves in a temporary, difficult life situation. It covers sudden events that impede the student’s ability to meet basic needs, such as illness or death of a family member, damage resulting from unforeseen events (e.g. fire or natural disaster), or sudden loss of stable income. The authority responsible for granting the aid evaluates its justification based on the documentation submitted in the case file. A grant cannot be awarded twice for the same factual circumstance, emphasizing its emergency nature. A student may receive an emergency grant no more than twice per academic year, although in particularly justified cases this limit may be waived.
Challenges arising from the student financial aid system in recent years, combined with rapidly evolving socio-economic conditions, have prompted ongoing discussion on potential directions for comprehensive reform. In order to amend regulations governing the student aid system, the Ordinance of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 29 July 2025 established the Working Group for Developing Directions of Change in the Student Financial Aid System. Its composition includes experts from various academic centres as well as representatives of institutions and organisations, including:
- the Ministry of Science and Higher Education,
- the Academic Administration Forum,
- the Parliament of Students of the Republic of Poland,
- the Independent Students’ Association (NZS),
- the Youth Circle of the Workers’ Initiative.
The group is tasked with formulating recommendations that will enable improvements to the system, ensuring that the rules governing student financial aid are aligned with contemporary socio-economic realities. According to the regulation, the group is expected to complete its work by 31 March 2026.