How to Study in Poland Without IELTS

Can you study in Poland without IELTS? The straight answer

Often yes. There is no national English law: the visa rules set no language condition, and each of the 352 recognised institutions decides what proof it will read. The IELTS 5.5 bachelor’s and 6 master’s figures we track are common university minimums, not a statutory floor.

Two doors are open. The first is an English-taught programme at a university that accepts something other than IELTS — TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, TOEIC, or a Cambridge, Trinity or TELC certificate, or a medium-of-instruction letter. The University of Warsaw goes furthest and treats WASSCE, KCSE and South African NSC English as sufficient on their own. The second door is a Polish-taught degree, where the certificate you sit is in Polish and IELTS never enters the file.

One rule cuts across both. Since August 2025 a Ministry of Science and Higher Education list names the certificates a university may accept, and several apply it word for word: at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Lazarski University, Nicolaus Copernicus University and AGH University of Kraków, a medium-of-instruction letter and a WAEC English grade are not on that list. Whether you can skip IELTS in Poland is decided by the university you pick, not by your nationality or your school. Our study in Poland guide sets out the wider picture.

“No IELTS” is not “no English” — the distinction

Agents sell “no IELTS” as “no English needed”. It is not that. Every English-taught degree in Poland is examined in English, and the level universities name is B2 on the Common European Framework — Adam Mickiewicz University, AGH, Lazarski, Nicolaus Copernicus and the University of Silesia all state B2 rather than a test. IELTS 5.5 is what B2 looks like on one test’s scale.

What changes without IELTS is the evidence you file, not the standard you meet. A medium-of-instruction letter records the language your school taught in, not your own level, which is why the University of Silesia, the University of Wrocław and Warsaw University of Technology read one case by case. Pick the proof your target university names on its own language page, then check that it covers your programme. Our guide to IELTS alternatives compares what each option costs in time and money.

Typical English requirements at universities in Poland

Most of the universities we track sit on one number: IELTS 5.5 at bachelor’s and 5.5 at master’s, with TOEFL iBT 72 as the direct alternative. That band covers the University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, Adam Mickiewicz University, AGH University of Kraków, Gdańsk University of Technology, Nicolaus Copernicus University, SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Silesia, the University of Wrocław and Lazarski University. Most of them also take PTE Academic, TOEIC and Cambridge B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency; Gdańsk University of Technology adds TELC and Trinity.

Three sit higher. The University of Łódź asks IELTS 6 at both levels and publishes no TOEFL figure, working from its own approved list instead. Warsaw University of Technology asks IELTS 6 with TOEFL iBT 87. Kozminski University asks IELTS 6.5 and TOEFL iBT 87, the same at both degree levels.

Two details cost applicants places. The Duolingo English Test is not accepted at any university on our list: Warsaw University of Technology states that directly, and the University of Wrocław lists it for EU candidates only, with no minimum score published. And TOEFL moved to a new scale for certificates issued after January 2026, so Gdańsk University of Technology, the University of Wrocław and Warsaw University of Technology now publish separate thresholds either side of that change. Read the language page for the exact programme, not the university’s general admissions page — the same institution can waive the test for one degree and refuse the waiver for the next.

Universities that accept students without IELTS

The University of Warsaw is the strongest case for an African applicant. It accepts a medium-of-instruction letter, and it treats certificates from countries where English is an official language — WASSCE, KCSE, the South African NSC — as exempt from further proof of English-medium instruction. Its baseline stays IELTS 5.5 for everyone else, across 14 English-taught bachelor’s and 30 master’s programmes.

Jagiellonian University accepts a medium-of-instruction letter against one shared B2 minimum for all levels. So does Adam Mickiewicz University, at IELTS 5.5 or TOEFL iBT 72, and Gdańsk University of Technology, across its 7 English-taught bachelor’s and 15 master’s degrees. The University of Łódź accepts one at the higher IELTS 6 bar.

Three read it case by case: the University of Silesia, the University of Wrocław, and Warsaw University of Technology, which accepts a letter only where a whole previous bachelor’s was English-taught.

Four do not accept it at all — AGH University of Kraków, Lazarski University, Nicolaus Copernicus University and SGH Warsaw School of Economics — because all four apply the ministry certificate list, which carries no medium-of-instruction option and no WAEC English grade. AGH does waive the test for a Polish maturity certificate, an IB or EB diploma, or a school certificate from a listed European, OECD, Ukrainian or Chinese system — none of them open to an applicant schooled in Africa. Only the University of Warsaw accepts a WAEC or WASSCE English grade as proof — everywhere else it is refused or not mentioned. Shortlist by course and fee on our Polish universities page.

Local-language programmes: Poland’s other door

Most Polish degrees are taught in Polish, and the English-taught catalogue is narrower than the size of the system suggests. The University of Warsaw runs 14 English-taught bachelor’s and 30 master’s; Warsaw University of Technology 12 and 24; the University of Wrocław 13 and 15; AGH 7 and 21; the University of Silesia 1 and 9.

A Polish-taught degree opens the rest of the system, and the fees are the same bands: €2,000–6,500 per year for a public bachelor’s, €2,500–7,500 per year at master’s level. The level of Polish required is set by each university rather than by national rule, and universities run one-year Polish preparatory courses for applicants who arrive without the language — our Poland foundation year guide covers how that year is fee-charged and how it feeds into first-year entry.

Be honest about the cost of that door. Polish is new ground for every country we work with: it does not come easier to a Nigerian or Ghanaian applicant because they were schooled in English, and French does not shorten it for a Moroccan. The numbers show the effect — 4,157 African students in Poland out of 108,609 international students, and 3,846 of those Africans Zimbabwean. A preparatory year is the slowest route on this page and the one that opens the most places.

When you still need a recognised English test

Some doors need a certificate whatever your schooling says. Medicine is the clearest: Jagiellonian University Medical College sets IELTS 6.5 or TOEFL iBT 87 for both its MD and DDS programmes, at €16,000 per year. Kozminski University applies the same IELTS 6.5 bar to its business degrees.

Scholarships are the second case: the Banach NAWA programme and Erasmus Mundus consortia set their own language evidence, and a school letter rarely clears it — see our Banach NAWA scholarship guide. Third, any university applying the ministry list will ask for a named certificate and nothing else. The visa is the exception: the National (Type D) visa sets no language condition, so the whole language check happens at the university.

The honest bit: what “without IELTS” does and doesn’t buy you

It buys you a shorter shortlist, not an easier application. Skipping IELTS removes a test fee and a booking date; it does not remove the B2 standard, the apostille on every certificate, the NAWA recognition step for your school-leaving qualification, or the PLN 17,650 you must show the consulate. A waiver based on your prior schooling still has to be documented and believed by an admissions committee, and a committee’s judgement cannot be resat the way a test can. It also does nothing for your visa odds, which turn on money and study intent — read our Poland student visa guide before building a plan around avoiding a test. If your shortlist runs to more than two or three universities, sitting TOEFL iBT is usually faster than reshaping the list around a waiver.