Government of Poland Banach Scholarship Program, 2023-2024

Applications are open for the 2023-2024 Government of Poland Banach Scholarship Program. Supporting the socio-economic growth of developing countries by raising the educational status and professional qualifications of their citizens constitutes the main aim of the Banach Scholarship Program. This scholarship is jointly funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange implemented as part of the Polish development cooperation program.

Successful candidates will be able to study with the scholarship as full-time second-cycle students, in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences as well as natural sciences. Citizens of Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, can also study in the field of humanities and social sciences, with the exception of philological studies in the field of the mother tongue of the beneficiary’s country of origin. Studies will be conducted at universities in Polish or English.

Candidates who chose to study in polish can attend a preparatory course to expand their knowledge of the Polish language and knowledge within major courses related to the future field of study. Summer Polish language and culture course is offered only to scholarship holders within the English-language path enrolled in 2023 and shall be conducted after completion by them of their first year of studies (or the first semester of studies, in accordance with the educational program applied at the university). The course shall last three weeks during the holiday season. Both programs are fully funded by the Director of NAWA. Furthermore, this scholarship program provides its participants with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with Polish culture and language, as well as to get acquainted with the students and academic researchers at Polish HEIs.

Program Details

• Host Institutions: public and non-public universities in Poland, that provide the program’s fields of study.
• Eligible Fields: Engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences.
• Number of Awards: Not specified.
• Duration: Candidate’s program normal duration.
• Eligible countries: Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Philippines, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Palestine, Peru, South Africa, Senegal, Serbia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam.

Government of Poland Banach Scholarship Benefits

Selected Candidates for this government scholarship will have the following benefits:

1. living allowance scholarship:
   • PLN 1,700 per month for the duration of the preparatory course;
   • PLN 1,500 per month for second-degree studies.
2. For the duration of their studies, Beneficiaries shall also receive:
   • the first monthly scholarship increased by PLN 1000 or PLN 3000 (according to countries of arrival
   • the last monthly scholarship plus PLN 500 to cover the costs related to drafting their dissertation.
3. In the case of a documented instance of a force majeure, the NAWA Director may upon the Beneficiary’s written request increase the amount of their monthly scholarship by PLN 500 on a one-off basis.

The Poland scholarship is granted for the duration of the preparatory course and for the regulatory period of studies, i.e. for the number of semesters indicated in the regulations applicable to given studies.

Government of Poland Banach Scholarship Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria at the time of application:

1. be citizens of a country listed above;
2. not be Polish citizens and must not have applied for Polish citizenship;
3. plan to commence second-cycle studies or a preparatory course in the academic year 2023/2024;
4. be students of the last year of first-cycle studies in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences as well as exact and natural sciences, or have a first-cycle studies diploma in the above-mentioned fields obtained in a country covered by the Programme not earlier than in 2021. For candidates from Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus, first-cycle studies diplomas obtained in the field of social sciences and humanities shall also be allowed;
5. have not obtained a diploma of completion of second-cycle studies or long-cycle master’s studies; If there is no system of two-cycle studies commonly applied in the candidate’s country of origin, candidates with a diploma of master’s studies or equivalent shall be admitted;
6. have a documented knowledge of the
   • Polish language:
     • minimum A2 level for applicants planning to start the one-year preparatory course before starting the major in the Polish language;
     • minimum B1 level if the applicant is planning to start the second-cycle studies in the Polish language without a one-year preparatory course; OR
   • English language minimum B2 level for applicants planning to start studies in the English language.

Similar Opportunities

1. MISTRAL Excellence Scholarship to Study in France;
2. Australia Awards Scholarships for Development;
3. Friedrich Naumann Foundation Scholarships for Master and PhD.

How to Apply for the Government of Poland Banach Scholarship

Eligible candidates who are interested in applying for this scholarship to study in Europe must click on the apply button below to create an account and follow instructions to submit their application through the online portal. The application shall be prepared in Polish or in English.

Required Documents

1. scan of a valid passport with the Applicant’s personal data, confirming the Applicant’s citizenship,
2. scan of the first-cycle studies diploma in the field eligible for the countries covered by the Program, i.e. in the field of engineering and technical sciences, agricultural sciences, or natural sciences; in the case of candidates from Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus – also in the field of social sciences or humanities, including information on the arithmetic average of grades throughout the course of the studies and information on grades obtained for completed courses (or a supplement to the diploma). If there is no average grade on the diploma, NAWA shall determine it based on the grades presented in the diploma or in the supplement. Applicants who, at the time of submitting the application, are students of the last year of first-cycle studies, shall submit a scan of the university’s certificate confirming the arithmetic average of grades obtained in the first-cycle studies as at the date of submission of the application. Applicants who, at the time of submitting the application, have not yet obtained a first-cycle graduation diploma, shall submit a scan of the university’s certificate confirming completion of the first-cycle studies and the arithmetic average of grades obtained during the first-cycle studies. A Model certificate can be downloaded here. The above certificates have to contain:
   • full name of the Applicant,
   • information on the average grade (arithmetic average rounded to two decimal places),
   • list of all completed courses with their final grades (on the basis of which the arithmetic average of grades was calculated),
   • name of the university issuing the certificate,
   • stamp/seal of the university issuing the certificate.
3. scan of a document confirming the knowledge of Polish/English language.
   • In the case of the Polish language: scan of a document confirming the knowledge of the Polish language minimum at B1 level, e.g. a language certificate, a certificate/diploma or other documents confirming completion of secondary school or first-cycle studies with Polish as the language of instruction or a certificate of completion of a Polish language course.
   • In the case of the English language: scan of a certificate confirming the knowledge of English language minimum at B2 level (certificate valid as of the day of submitting the application; the list of recognized certificates are available here) or other documents confirming the completion of the first-cycle studies with English as a language of instruction. Citizens of the Program countries in which English is an official language shall be exempt from submitting a document confirming their knowledge of English.
4. Recommendation letter drafted by a Polish diplomatic mission in accordance with the accreditation area of the institution or by a non-governmental organization or by a university (optional element, however, taken into account at the substantive assessment of the application).

In the case of countries where there is no sworn translator or no Polish diplomatic or consular mission, the translation of the documents made by a Polish language teacher or an ordinary translator, certified by the translator’s seal shall be allowed. The results of this scholarship call will be announced by the end of July 2023.

The application deadline for the Government of Poland Banach Scholarship Program 2023 is March 31, 2023 at 3:00:00 pm of the local time (Warsaw). For more details, please visit the official page. To be the first to see latest opportunities, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.