University of Silesia in Katowice

The minister’s scholarship for students’ significant achievements

From 1st July 2019, the Constitution for Science [Konstytucja dla Nauki] substitutes the previous minister’s scholarship for outstanding achievements with a new award – the minister’s scholarship for significant scientific, artistic or sporting achievements, intended exclusively for students.

Conditions for scholarship award

The minister’s scholarship may be awarded to a student who has:

• significant scientific or artistic achievements related to the studies, or
• significant sporting achievements.

Students enrolled in several programmes may receive the scholarship in only one of the programmes chosen by the student.

The minister’s scholarship is available for the 1st cycle, 2nd cycle and long-cycle programmes.

A student is not entitled to a scholarship:

• if 6 years or more have elapsed since the commencement of his/her studies;
• if he/she is a holder of a following professional title:
  • Master’s degree, Master’s degree in Engineering or an equivalent degree,
  • Bachelor’s, Engineer or equivalent degree, if he/she starts the 1st cycle studies again.

Time period of the achievements that can be provided in the application

The application should include only the achievements from the time of university studies:

• from the date of commencement of studies – in the case of students enrolled in the 1st cycle or long-cycle studies,
• from the date of commencement of the 1st cycle programmes preceding 2nd cycle programmes – in the case of students attending the 2nd cycle studies;
• from 1st October of the academic year in which the student was awarded the last minister’s scholarship for outstanding achievements, pursuant to Article 181, section 2 of the Act of 27th July 2005. – Law on Higher Education (Journal of Laws 2017, item 2183, as amended) – until 30th September 2019.

The application should not indicate achievements from the period of leave or other breaks in studies granted in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of studies at the University of Silesia.

Evaluation of applications

Applications for scholarships meeting formal requirements are subject to substantive assessment using the point-based method. Applications ranking lists for the award of scholarships are prepared according to the number of points awarded.

Award criteria

A scholarship for an academic year (2019/2020) may be awarded to a student who:

• in the previous academic year (2018/2019) successfully completed the year of studies and
• has been admitted to the next year of studies in a given academic year (2019/2020).

These requirements do not apply to students who in the year of submitting an application for a scholarship (2019) were accepted for the 2nd cycle studies (the regulation according to which maximum 2 years may elapse between the end of the 1st cycle studies and the beginning of the 2nd cycle studies does not apply anymore).

This exception applies only to the students of the 2nd cycle  studies. In the case of long-cycle studies, first-year students cannot apply for this scholarship.

Wyjątek ten dotyczy wyłącznie studentów studiów II stopnia. W przypadku jednolitych studiów magisterskich student pierwszego roku nie może ubiegać się o stypendium.

Deadline for examination of applications and decisions on scholarship award

Applications for scholarships for the academic year 2019/2020 will be examined by 31st March 2020. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of a ranking list of applications, which are ranked according to the number of points scored. The Minister may grant up to 840 scholarships. The scholarship is awarded to the students with the highest scores in the ranking list. After the applications have been examined by the minister, administrative decisions on granting or refusing the scholarship will be sent to the applicants and students.

Scholarship amount and payment method

The scholarship is awarded for one academic year. The maximum amount of the scholarship is PLN 17,000. The amount of the scholarship will be specified in the decision on scholarship award. The scholarship is paid out to the student by the University from the funds provided for this purpose by the minister.

The scholarship is paid out once – within 14 days from the date of crediting the funds to the bank account of a higher education institution – to the bank account indicated by the student, or to the account in the savings and credit cooperative, or in cash.

Informations 

A detailed description of the achievements entitling the student to apply for the minister’s scholarship, way of their documentation and application forms can be found on the website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education [Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego].

A precise procedure for applying for the minister’s scholarship at the University of Silesia and the deadline for submitting applications will be determined by the Rector in the nearest future.

The Regulation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of 1 April 2019 on the scholarships awarded by the minister in charge of higher education and science for students and outstanding young scientists [Rozporządzenie Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego z dnia 1 kwietnia 2019 r. w sprawie stypendiów ministra właściwego do spraw szkolnictwa wyższego i nauki dla studentów i wybitnych młodych naukowców].