Everything you need to know about applying for the Rector’s scholarship – academic year 2024/2025

[This entry will be updated – updates are located at the bottom of the page]

Starting from September 16, 2024, applications for the Rector’s Scholarship for the 2024/2025 academic year can be submitted, which is two weeks earlier than last year.

This year, the application period will last until October 15, 2024, which we hope will help in the preparation and submission of documents.

Similar to last year, after the application period ends, we will provide information on the number of applications received. This data, along with any significant information regarding the verification of applications, can be found at the end of the entry.

The percentage of those eligible to receive the scholarship and the amount of the scholarship itself are the two most important pieces of information for most applicants. They will likely be announced between November and December.

Rector’s Scholarship for students beginning their studies

You can receive the Rector’s Scholarship if you are admitted to the first year of first-cycle (Bachelor’s) or for the first year of a uniform Master’s studies in the year you passed your secondary school exams, and you meet one of the following criteria:

You are a laureate of an international Olympiad or a laureate or finalist of a national-level Olympiad, in accordance with the regulations on the education system;
You are a medalist in sports competitions for the title of Polish Champion in a given sport, in accordance with the sports regulations.

Every student who meets these conditions receives the Rector’s Scholarship, and the number of scholarships is not limited.

Rector’s Scholarship for students continuing their studies

If you are studying more than one degree program, you can receive the Rector’s Scholarship for only one of them, according to your choice.

If you already hold a Master’s degree, you are not eligible to apply for the Rector’s Scholarship, even if the degree was obtained abroad. Similarly, if you have a Bachelor’s degree and are applying for the scholarship for another first-cycle (Bachelor’s) program, you will not be eligible for the scholarship.

You are entitled to the scholarship during first-cycle (Bachelor’s), second-cycle (Master’s), and long-cycle Master’s studies. You can receive the scholarship for a total of 12 semesters, regardless of whether you take full advantage of it.

With the provision that during this period, the scholarship is granted for:

first-cycle studies – for a maximum of 9 semesters;
second-cycle studies – for a maximum of 7 semesters.

Foreign students are also eligible to apply for the Rector’s Scholarship.

Rector’s Scholarship and Dean’s Leave

You can receive the Rector’s Scholarship while on Dean’s leave.

Rector’s Scholarship and Erasmus+

You can receive the Rector’s Scholarship during your Erasmus+ exchange period.

Application Deadline

Q: Can I submit my application on October 16th?
A: If you submit your application after October 15th, you will not receive a decision and will not be able to appeal. After this deadline, it will no longer be possible to apply for the Rector’s Scholarship. Therefore, don’t leave it until the last minute.

How to submit an application

Grade Average. How are points for the average calculated?

If you are applying for the Rector’s Scholarship, you can calculate the number of points for your grade average using the following example:

You can also obtain your calculated average from the administrative office of your academic unit.

If you are a first-year student in a second-cycle (Master’s) program and completed your first-cycle (Bachelor’s) studies at another University, you must provide a certificate of your grade average for the last year of your first-cycle studies indicating:

The average grade for the last year of your first-cycle studies,
The type of average (arithmetic or weighted),
The grading scale used at your previous institution (e.g., 2-5, 1-6).

When calculating the grade average for the third year of Bachelor’s studies, the grades for the thesis and its defense are not taken into account.

How Points for Scientific, Sports, and Artistic Achievements are Calculated

Detailed information on points for additional achievements (Criteria II – IV) can be found in Appendix No. 3 of the Regulations on Benefits for Students of the University of Warsaw. The document is available at this link: NOTICE NO. 18 OF THE RECTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW (only in Polish).

In paragraphs § 6-10 of Appendix No. 3 of the Regulations, you will find all the information related to the scoring of additional achievements, including details and criteria.

Assessment Criteria

Assessment:		Category:	Achievements:	Which document?
Scientific achievements
Maximum 25 points for the entire category	10	Scientific publications	Authorship or co-authorship of a peer-reviewed scientific book	Certificate issued by the publisher and/or editorial board of the journal regarding the acceptance of the manuscript for publication (including title, date of acceptance, planned publication date, and information about the review process)	Proof of publication, such as a scan of the scientific article or a scan of the scientific journal (including title, publication date, ISBN or ISSN number, and information about the review process)
	3		Authorship or co-authorship of a chapter in the peer-reviewed scientific book or postconference scientific publication
	5		Authorship or co-authorship of a scientific article in the scientific journal from the list of scientific journals of the Minister of Science and Higher Education
	3		Authorship or co-authorship of a scientific article in the recognised scientific journal not included in the list of scientific journals of the Minister of Science and Higher Education
Maximum 25 points for the entire category	7	Scientific translations	Authorship or co-authorship of translation of a scientific book
	3		Authorship or co-authorship of translation of a chapter in the peer-reviewed scientific book or scientific journal
	3		Authorship or co-authorship of translation of a scientific article published in the peer-reviewed scientific book or scientific journal
Maximum 25 points for the entire category	5	Scientific conferences	Active participation (i.e. presentation of a paper or poster) at the international scientific conference	Conference program with participants’ affiliations and a certificate from the organizer confirming the presentation of a talk or poster, including the date and title of the presentation	If the conference program does not include affiliations, a certificate from the organizer confirming the participants’ affiliations must be provided.
	3		Active participation (i.e. presentation of a paper or poster) in a national scientific conference
	1		Active participation (i.e. presentation of a paper or poster) in a university scientific conference
Maximum 25 points for the entire category	10	Scientific competitions	Winning the first, second or third place in the international scientific competition	Confirmation of securing a scored position in an international or national competition or festival, such as a diploma and participants’ affiliations or a certificate from the organizer
	5		Winning the first, second or third place in the national scientific competition
Artistic achievements
Maximum 40 points for the entire category	5	Artistic publications	Artistic book, e.g. album with reproductions or translation of a literary work	Proof of publication (title and date of publication)
	2		Artistic works included in a joint publication
Maximum 40 points for the entire category	I: 10 II: 8 III: 6	Art competitions	Winning the first, second, third place in international artistic contests or festivals	Proof of securing a scored position in a competition or festival, such as a diploma, and information about the event’s scope (link to websites with participant lists and represented institutions) or a certificate from the organizer.
	I: 6 II: 4 III: 2		Winning the first, second, third place in national artistic contests or festivals
Maximum 20 points for the entire category	10	Exhibitions	Presentation of the work at an international exhibition	Certificate from the organizer of the exhibition, including its title, titles of the exhibited works, and the time and place where it took place.
	5		Presentation of the work at a national exhibition
Osiągnięcia sportowe
	100		Participation in Olympic or Paralympic Games	Proof of securing a scored position in a sports competition, such as a diploma or certificate from the Academic Sports Association (AZS)
	90		Participation in World Championships, Continent Championships, Universiade, Academic World Championships
	I: 75 II: 74 III: 73 IV: 72 V: 71 VI: 70 VII: 69 VIII: 68		European Universities Championships
	I-V: 70 VI-X: 68 XI-XV: 66		Result in the first league national championships
	I-V: 64 VI-X: 62 XI-XV: 60		Result in the second league national championships
	I: 70 II: 69 III: 68 IV: 67 V: 66 VI: 65 VII: 64 VIII: 63		Individual or team result in Polish Championships (Academic, ASA, Youth, Senior) – only general classification
	I: 65 II: 64 III: 63 IV: 62 V: 61 VI: 60 VII: 59 VIII: 58		Team result being a sum of individual results in Polish Championships (Academic, ASA, Youth, Senior) – only general classification – 5th place
	I: 57 II: 55 III: 53		Polish Universities Championships

If you have questions about the points of each achievement, do not doubt to contact us by email, phone or in person (see Contact tab for details). We are always happy to help clear up any doubts about the Regulations.

Change of field of study

If, after submitting your application for the rector’s scholarship, you have changed your field of study, for example:

you completed your second year in Administration and submitted your application for the rector’s scholarship while still in that program,
and now you are starting your third year in Territorial Self-Government (and are no longer studying Administration),

you must inform us about this change. This is important so that we can enable you to submit the application under your new field of study.

However, if the change involves transitioning between undergraduate (Bachelor’s) and graduate (Master’s) levels, e.g., you completed your Bachelor’s in Cognitive Science and are starting your Master’s in Administration, you do not need to report this change.

To notify us of a change in the field of study within the same degree level, simply send an email to bpm@uw.edu.pl no later than 3:00 pm on October 15, 2024. After this deadline, it will no longer be possible to change the field of study for which you are applying for the scholarship.

We encourage you to meet this deadline to avoid any issues with the processing of your application.

What to Expect in the Near Future: A Few Tips

We understand that starting a new academic year can be stressful and raise many questions. That’s why we strive to simplify the entire Rector’s Scholarship application process and continuously update our website with valuable tips.

First, we recommend checking our “Rector’s Scholarship” section. There, you’ll find a wealth of useful information and answers to frequently asked questions.

If you still have doubts, feel free to email us at bpm@uw.edu.pl.

Remember to:

Use an email address with the UW domain,
Clearly indicate the subject of your inquiry in the email title,
Provide your student ID number.

We’re here to help!

We assure you that we are doing everything in our power to provide the assistance you need as quickly as possible. Therefore, we ask for your understanding as we strive to respond as promptly as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Stay calm and remember that during the application verification process, we will contact you with information on how to address any concerns regarding your average grade or achievement scores. To help us, please patiently wait until we reach out to you. Contacting us earlier will not speed up the verification process.

Don’t worry if you don’t see your average grade yet. Units are still working on processing academic stages and creating rankings, so your average may not be visible until the second half of November at the latest.

Approach rankings with a sense of perspective. Every year, we notice that some students like to analyze rankings on USOSweb. Remember, they are only supplementary and do not account for additional achievements beyond the grade average, so they may not accurately reflect your real situation.

Q: Does this mean that the ranking on USOSweb doesn’t show my real chance of receiving the scholarship?
A: Rankings on USOSweb only reflect the grade average. They do not consider all relevant aspects, such as additional scientific, sports, or artistic achievements. Therefore, while they are useful, they do not provide a complete picture of a student’s situation.

Application statuses, what do they mean?

Filled in – the application is in the process of completion, you can freely make changes to the document. Please note that applications and statements with this status will not be verified
Delivered – at this stage you can no longer make changes to the application/statement. From this point on, the documents are subject to verification. To avoid problems related to the submission of the application/statement, make sure that USOSweb shows your email in the UW domain. Don’t put off submitting your application until the last moment!
Declared incomplete/Declared incorrect – during the verification of the application, the coordinator found errors or missing documents. Most often, you will find detailed information on how to improve your application in a comment visible in USOSweb or in your email inbox.
Ready for consideration – document verification has been completed. The application is ready for processing.
Verified – the status of the application indicates that a decision will be made available soon.
Considered (decision to be delivered) – the decision will be made/has been made available in USOSweb. Please be patient as the decision will be made available after it is signed, so it may take a few days for it to appear in USOSweb. The decision can be found in the “list of administrative letters” tab (log in to USOSWeb -> Common Section, and then on the left in the column find the “list of administrative letters” tab).