Social scholarship

A social scholarship is a form of financial assistance dedicated to people in a difficult financial situation due to low income. It is paid out every month in a fixed amount (except for the compensation for months when the scholarship was not paid, but should, e.g. for the period from submitting the application until its examination). Its amount depends on the income per person in your family.

Regardless of how many fields of study you study, you can only get a scholarship for one of them!

Remember!

Receiving one of the benefits does not mean that you cannot receive other forms of material assistance.

Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw (only in polish version)

Funds for the social scholarship, such as the aid, the rector’s scholarship and the scholarship for the disabled come from the Scholarship Fund, i.e. funds granted by the Ministry of Education and Science in the form of subsidies. This means that the funds that will not be used (if more than 70% of the subsidy funds are spent) are transferred to the next calendar year.

The legislator imposed a number of restrictions on universities regarding the spending of funds from the Scholarship Fund. They affect the amount of benefits offered at the University, e.g. if few people receive a social scholarship, the university may not increase the amount of the rector’s scholarship.

60/40 – maximum proportions for the distribution of the Scholarship Fund. The funds allocated for the rector’s scholarship may not constitute more than 60% of the rector’s scholarship, social and allowances.

70% of the subsidy – this is the amount the University has to spend from the subsidy so that the remaining funds can be transferred to the next accounting year.

38% of the professor’s remuneration – the maximum amount of the social scholarship and the rector’s scholarship.

You can get a social scholarship if:

• you are a student at the University of Warsaw;

and

• you are in a difficult financial situation, the income per person in your family does not exceed PLN 1050

and

• you do not study for more than 12 semesters, with the proviso that within this period, benefits are available for:
  • first-cycle studies – not longer than nine semesters;
  • second-cycle studies – not longer than seven semesters.
• The limit also includes studies started at a university other than the University of Warsaw.

Where does the income threshold come from? It results from the Act – Law on Higher Education and Science, which strictly defines the minimum and maximum level of the income threshold. This amount is determined by the Rector in consultation with the Students’ Council of the University of Warsaw and the PhD Students’ Union.

An application for a social grant may be submitted throughout the year, however, it is obtained for a semester. What does it mean? If you want to receive a scholarship throughout the academic year, you must apply for both the summer semester and the winter semester.

Deadlines in individual months, the behavior of which ensures the right to receive a scholarship with compensation (if it is awarded):
The application must be submitted by the 18th day of a given month (in December 2022, in February, March, June 2023 by the 20th day of the month).
Keeping the deadline will allow for the calculation of the benefit from the month of submitting the application.

Example:

The Rector indicated the 10th day of each month as the date by which the application should be submitted in order to be entitled to compensation. John Smith submitted the application on October 9, the application was considered at the end of November. This means that John will receive a triple amount of scholarship in December.

The application is done electronically, which means that the application should not be printed, and all procedures are carried out via the USOSweb.

After logging in, select the tab Common section, then applications, from the list that appears, select an application for an Application for benefit for winter/summer semester of academic year 2022/2023 and an Income statement 2021.

Sometimes the person who submits the application does not have to enter the income of other people from his family (he can settle the matter himself). This option is possible if:

• you are 26 years old,

or

• you are married,

or

• you have dependent children,

or

• you have reached the age of majority while in foster care,

or

• you have a permanent source of income, and your average monthly income in the previous tax year and in the current year in the months preceding the month of submitting the income declaration is higher than or equal to PLN 930,35.

In the academic year 2022/2023:

• the social scholarship ranges from PLN 800 to PLN 1600,
• an increased social scholarship from PLN 1300 to PLN 2100,
• the base amount is PLN 1600,
• the income threshold is PLN 1050 (from January 2023: PLN 1294).

How is the amount of the social grant calculated?

Base amount – income per person in the family = amount of the scholarship

Social scholarships will be paid by the Financial Department of the University of Warsaw on the following dates:

• October 18, 2022
• November 18, 2022
• December 16, 2022
• January 18, 2023
• February 17, 2023
• March 17, 2023
• April 19, 2023
• May 19, 2023
• June 19, 2023
• July 18, 2023
• August 18, 2023
• September 18, 2023

Time limits for only processed applications. The social scholarship is awarded for a maximum of 5 months of the winter semester and/or for a maximum of 5 months of the summer semester.

Contact details for coordinators:

Can I submit a personal income tax declaration instead of a certificate from the Tax Office on income for the base year?

NOT. The basic document confirming the amount of income per person in the family is a certificate from the Tax Office. You cannot replace it with any other document, it is one of the obligatory documents.

When applying to the Tax Office, ask for a certificate of the income subject to personal income tax on the principles set out in Art. 27, 30b, 30c, 30e and 30f of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1387), containing information about the tax year to which the certificate relates, taxpayer’s data, to which the certificate relates, including: name, surname, PESEL number. Remember to tell the official for what you need the certificate for.

Legal basis: sec. 2 point 1) of Annex 2 to the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

Is the 500+ benefit included in the monthly income per person in the family?

NOT. The child-raising allowance, like family allowance, permanent allowance, periodic allowance, and targeted allowance, are not included in the monthly income per person in the family.

Legal basis: § 10 sec. 3 of Annex 1 to the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

Am I entitled to a social scholarship for the entire academic year?

NOT. The social scholarship is awarded for the winter semester and the summer semester, therefore it is necessary to submit the application twice: in the winter semester and in the summer semester. The deadlines by which the application must be submitted in order to receive compensation for the entire semester are specified in the announcement of the Rector of the University of Warsaw.

Legal basis: § 15 sec. 5 of the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

I graduated from first-cycle studies and obtained a bachelor’s/engineering degree. Can I apply for a social scholarship?

YES, BUT… After obtaining a bachelor’s degree, you are entitled to a social scholarship only when you start higher education.

Legal basis: § 5 sec. 4 of the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

Do I have to pay tax on the awarded social scholarship?

NO, the social grant is tax free.

Am I entitled to a social grant in an increased amount when I am constantly receiving family allowance?

NO, a social grant in an increased amount is granted only if the applicant is dependent on parents, legal guardians or actual guardians who regularly and currently benefit from the support of a social welfare center in the form of permanent benefits referred to in art. 37 of the Act of 12 March 2004 on social assistance or regularly and currently uses them.

Legal basis: § 17 of the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

One of my parents is dead. For this reason, can I apply for a social grant in an increased amount?

NOT. A social grant in an increased amount due to being an orphan can only be obtained by people who are under 25 years of age and do not have both parents.

Legal basis: § 17 of the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

Do documents drawn up in a foreign language have to be translated into Polish?

YES, BUT… In the case of documents in a foreign language, a certified sworn translation into Polish must be submitted. In particularly justified cases, the competent scholarship authority may refrain from requesting a translation of a document in English.

Legal basis: § 12 sec. 3 of the Regulations of benefits for students of the University of Warsaw

I received a decision to grant a scholarship. When will I get the scholarship?

The dates of payment of scholarships in individual months are given on the website of the Office.

Who in my Faculty is responsible for examining applications for a social scholarship?

The decision on the social scholarship is issued by the scholarship committees for the social scholarship or by the Rector of the University of Warsaw. There is also a scholarship coordinator at each Faculty who can be contacted regarding the stage of the procedure at which the application is placed.

To download:

• Oświadczenie o dochodach niepodlegających opodatkowaniu
• Oświadczenie A
• Oświadczenie B

The appeal

An appeal is an appeal against an administrative decision of first instance bodies. If the body issuing the administrative decision is the Rector, the party has the right to request reconsideration of the case. The provisions on appeals against decisions shall apply accordingly to the application for reconsideration of the case.

The body competent to consider the appeal

The authority competent to consider the appeal is the Rector of the University of Warsaw.

Time limit for appeal

Pursuant to Art. 129 §2 of the Code of Civil Procedure the appeal shall be lodged within fourteen days from the date of notification of the decision to the party. When calculating this deadline, pursuant to Art. 57 §1 of the CCP, the date on which the decision was delivered is not taken into account. This means that if the decision was delivered, for example, on October 1, the deadline for submitting an appeal is October 15.

Mandatory elements of appeal

The appeal should contain at least the following elements:

• indication of the person from whom it comes
• this person’s address
• indication of the decision against which the appeal is being lodged
• signature

Pursuant to Art. 128 of the Code of Civil Procedure the appeal does not require a detailed justification. It is enough if the appeal shows that the party is not satisfied with the decision issued.

The manner of lodging an appeal

The appeal is submitted to the competent appeal body through the body that issued the decision. The appeal may be made in writing or to the address for electronic delivery (the address for electronic delivery is not the e-mail address of the authority).

BPM – Biuro ds. Pomocy Materialnej / Student Welfare and Support Office;

Income – the definition of income can be found in §2 of Annex 1 to the Benefits Regulations;

Earned income – information on earned income can be found in §5 of Annex 1 to the Benefits Regulations;

Agricultural holding – area of land classified in the land and building register as agricultural land, with the exception of land used for business activity other than agricultural activity, with a total area exceeding 1 ha or 1 conversion ha, owned or owned by a natural person, legal person or an organizational unit, including a company without legal personality;

KJD – Head of the Teaching Unit;

Scholarship Committee for Social Scholarship – a body appointed by the Rector from among students delegated by the competent body of the student government and employees of the University. The task of the commission is to award a social scholarship to students of all fields of study in which the teaching unit organizes education. The committee is also responsible for verifying whether students meet the conditions taken into account when awarding a place in the student dormitory (income and distance) and the criteria influencing the receipt of a place in the student dormitory (e.g. residence in the dormitory in the previous academic year, orphanhood of the applicant);

Scholarship Coordinator – an employee appointed by KJD to conduct matters related to granting a social scholarship to students of a given field of study or fields of study;

De facto guardian – a de facto guardian of the applicant is in particular a person who is dependent – partially or completely – on him, and who is not his parent or legal guardian. In particular, actual care may be provided by the spouse of the applicant’s parent or the person with whom the applicant or his parent stays
in an informal relationship. (§1 section 10 of Annex No. 1 to the Regulations of benefits);

Legal guardian – the applicant’s legal guardian is a person who can submit a family court judgment to prove this fact (§1 (9) of Annex 1 to the Benefits Regulations);

Statements – statements about income not subject to taxation with personal income tax achieved in the base year and statements about the current income situation, in particular containing information on obtaining or loss of income;

Loss of income – information on loss of income can be found in §4 of Annex 1 to the Benefits Regulations;

Applicant – a student or a doctoral student;

Flat-rate tax certificates – certificates of the head of the tax office on flat-rate income tax on certain revenues earned by natural persons in the base year, containing data of the taxpayer to whom the certificate relates, including: name, surname, PESEL number, and the form of the tax paid, and in the case of tax payment in the form of a tax card – information about the amount of tax due, and in the case of paying tax in the form of a registered lump sum – information about the amount of income and tax rate;

Certificate from the Tax Office – certificates from the tax office about the achieved
in the calendar year preceding the academic year for which the social scholarship is to be awarded, hereinafter referred to as the “base year”, income subject to personal income tax on the principles set out in Art. 27, 30b, 30c, 30e and 30f of the Act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 1387), containing information about the tax year to which the certificate relates, taxpayer’s data, to which the certificate relates, including: name, surname, PESEL number;

Certificate from the Social Insurance Institution – a certificate of the amount of health insurance premiums paid in each of the months of the base year along with the codes of insurance titles or of no title to insurance in the base year, subject to paragraph 6 point 4 of Annex 2 to the Benefits Regulations.

Filled in – the application is being filled in, you can freely make changes to the document. Attention! Applications and declarations of this status will not be verified.

Delivered – at this stage you can no longer make changes to the application/declaration. From that moment, the documents are subject to verification. To avoid problems with submitting an application/declaration, make sure that your e-mail address in the UW domain is listed in USOSweb. Don’t put off applying until the last minute!

Declared incorrect/Declared incomplete – during the verification of the application, the coordinator found errors or omissions in the documents. Most often, detailed information on how to improve the application can be found in the comment visible in USOSweb or in your e-mail box.

Awaiting consideration – document verification has been completed. This means that a decision is being prepared.

Considered (decision to be delivered) – the status of the application indicates that the decision will be made available soon.

Considered – the decision has been made available in USOSweb. The decision can be found in the “list of administrative letters” tab (log in to USOSWeb -> For everyone, and then in the left column, find the “list of administrative letters” tab).