Resolution no. 4/26 of the Senate of the University of Gdańsk of January 30, 2026
on the rules for admission into University of Gdańsk doctoral schools
in the academic year 2026/2027

On the basis of Article 200 section 2 of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1571), it is hereby resolved:

Chapter 1. General provisions

§ 1. Subject of the resolution

The resolution shall determine the rules for admission in the academic year 2025/2026 to:

1. Intercollegiate Biotechnology Doctoral School of the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk;

2. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Biology;

3. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Chemistry;

4. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Economics;

5. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Languages;

6. Doctoral School at the Faculty of History;

7. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics;

8. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Social Sciences;

9. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography;

10. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Law and Administration;

11. Doctoral School at the Faculty of Management

– each hereinafter referred to individually as a ‘doctoral school’.

§ 2. Terminology

Wherever this resolution refers to:

1. an administrative unit of a doctoral school, it shall be understood as an administrative unit of a given faculty responsible for the management of the doctoral school;

2. a candidate, it shall be understood as a doctoral school candidate;  

3. a head, it shall mean the Head of the Doctoral School or, in the case of the doctoral school referred to in § 1 section 1, the Director of the Doctoral School;

4. a committee, it shall be understood as an admissions committee;

5. an admission quota, it shall be understood as a limit on the number of persons admitted to a doctoral school in a given scientific discipline; 

6. admissions, it shall be understood as admissions to doctoral schools;

7. additional admissions, it shall be understood as the admissions to doctoral schools referred to in § 22;

8. standard admissions, it shall be understood as admissions to doctoral schools conducted within the deadlines specified in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 5 section 3. 

9. supplementary admissions, it shall be understood as the admissions to doctoral schools referred to in § 21;

10. projekt-based recruitment this shall be understood as recruitment to doctoral schools as referred to in § 23

11. the Rector, it shall be understood as the Rector of the University of Gdańsk;  

12. the IRK system, it shall be understood as the Internet Admission of Candidates to doctoral schools;

13. the University, it shall be understood as the University of Gdańsk; 

14. the Act, it shall be understood as the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (with amendments).  

§ 3. Doctoral school entry requirements

1. The following persons may be admitted to a doctoral school:

    1. a person holding a master’s degree, a master’s degree in engineering or equivalent; 

    2. a person referred to in Article 186 section 2 of the Act.

2. A person may be a doctoral student at only one doctoral school at a time.

3. A person admitted to a doctoral school shall commence their education and attain doctoral student rights upon taking the oath.

4. Foreign nationals may undertake education in a doctoral school under the terms specified in Article 323 of the Act.

Chapter 2. Standard admissions

§ 4. Detailed rules, stages, and conditions for admissions

1. Admissions shall be conducted by way of a competition and is carried out by the admissions committees via the IRK system.

2. Detailed rules for admissions, hereinafter referred to as the “Detailed rules”, are specified in Annex no. 1 to this resolution.

3. Detailed stages and conditions for admissions are specified in Annex no. 2 to this resolution.

§ 5. Detailed deadlines for admissions

1. Subject to section 2 and § 20, recruitment—including supplementary recruitment, additional recruitment, and project-based recruitment—may be conducted as follows:

    1. from 15 June to 15 October 2026 — for the winter semester;

    2. from 7 January to 27 February 2027 — for the summer semester.

2. Project-based recruitment may be conducted on dates other than those specified in section 1, in particular where justified by the assumptions of an external project or programme in which the candidate participates.

3. The Rector shall determine the detailed recruitment schedule by ordinance no later than 31 March 2026.

§ 6. Admission quotas

1. Subject to § 20 section 2, candidates shall be admitted within the prescribed admission limits.

2. The admission limits shall be determined by the Rector by ordinance no later than 31 March 2026.

3. Upon an application submitted by the Head during the recruitment process, the Rector may amend the admission limit.

§ 7. Documents required for admission

1. Subject to § 20 section 2, within the time limits specified in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 5 section 3, the candidate shall be obliged to:

    1. upload to the IRK system scans of all required documents as set out in Annex No. 3 to this Resolution;

    2. submit to the administrative unit of the doctoral school the recruitment documents required, as set out in Annex No. 3 to this Resolution.

2. Where a candidate applies for admission to a doctoral school in more than one scientific discipline, the candidate shall perform the actions referred to in section 1 for each procedure.

3. Templates of the recruitment documents required shall be made available in the IRK system in the candidate’s panel.

4. Where the candidate fails to comply with the obligation referred to in section 1, the committee shall, in the manner set out in § 13 section 1, disqualify the candidate from further recruitment proceedings.

5. Documents confirming education obtained abroad shall be subject to formal verification by the Recruitment Office, in particular as regards their completeness and compliance with the requirements of this Resolution, i.e. the submission of the required sworn translations and certifications (legalisation or apostille). The verification shall be carried out via the IRK system at the registration stage.

§ 8. Admission fee

1. The University shall charge an admission fee, hereinafter referred to as the “fee”, for conducting the admissions procedure.

2. The amount of the fee shall be determined by the Rector by means of a decree.

3. The candidate participating in more than one doctoral school admissions procedure shall pay the fee for each procedure.

4. The candidate shall pay the fee:

    1. to the individual bank account number generated in the IRK system;

    2. no later than on the last day of registration, as specified in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 5 section 3.

5. The candidate who fails to pay the fee under the terms specified in § 8 may not participate in the admission process.

§ 9. Admissions committee

1. The procedure of admission to a doctoral school shall be conducted by a committee appointed by the Rector separately for each doctoral school.

2. Subject to section 3, the committee shall comprise:

    1. the Head of the Doctoral School, acting as the Chair of the committee, and at least one committee member who is an academic teacher employed at the University;

    2. the committee’s secretary who shall not participate in the assessment of candidates and who is an academic teacher or an administrative employee employed at the University.

3. In the case of recruitment to the doctoral school referred to in § 1 section 1, the Chair of the committee and a committee member may be an academic teacher employed at the Medical University of Gdańsk.

4. Following a request from the University of Gdańsk Doctoral Council, the Rector may appoint a representative of the doctoral student council to participate in the work of the committee as an observer who shall not take part in the assessment of candidates.

§ 10. Exclusion from Participation in Recruitment Proceedings

1. At the request of the candidate or a committee member, or on the Chair’s own initiative, where a lack of impartiality on the part of a committee member is plausibly demonstrated, the Chair of the committee shall exclude that committee member from participation in the recruitment proceedings concerning the given candidate.

2. The exclusion referred to in section 1 shall be recorded in the minutes of the recruitment proceedings concerning the given candidate.

3. Sections 1 and 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the exclusion of the Chair of the committee from participation in the recruitment proceedings concerning the given candidate. Where the Chair is excluded, the Rector shall designate, from among the committee members, a person to perform the duties of the Chair in those proceedings.

§ 11. Responsibilities of the committee

1. The committee shall be responsible for, in particular:

    1. verifies the scans uploaded by the candidate to the IRK system;

    2. assesses the candidate in accordance with the recruitment criteria referred to in the Detailed Rules and completes the candidate’s achievements form;

    3. conducts the admission interview and prepares minutes thereof;

    4. enters the candidate’s results into the IRK system;

    5. serves on the candidate a decision refusing admission to the doctoral school and, in the case of a foreign national, also a decision admitting the candidate to the doctoral school;

    6. publishes the lists of candidates and the lists of admitted candidates;

    7. receives the documents submitted by candidates.

2. The detailed allocation of the committee’s tasks by function shall be specified in separate provisions.

3. The Chair of the committee shall be obliged to apply the provisions governing recruitment in a manner that takes into account the specific needs of candidates who are persons with disabilities.

§ 12. Committee expert

1. The head shall appoint at least one committee expert separately for each scientific discipline in which admissions are conducted.

2. The committee expert shall be appointed from among the academic teachers employed at the University, holding at least the academic degree of doctor with habilitation and representing the scientific discipline in which admissions are conducted. In the case of admissions to the doctoral school referred to in § 1 point 2, the committee expert may also be appointed from among the academic teachers employed at the Medical University of Gdańsk.

3. The committee expert shall participate in the admission interview referred to in the Detailed Rules.

§ 13. Results of admissions

1. The results of the admissions to the doctoral school shall be calculated on a point-based scale and announced through the IRK system.

2. The results of the admissions to the doctoral school shall be public.

§ 14. Admission to the doctoral school

1. Admission to the doctoral school shall proceed by way of entry into the register of doctoral students, on the basis of the admission results and taking account of the admission quota specified in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 6 section 2 or determined on the basis of § 6 section 3.

2. The entry referred to in section 1 shall be made by the head.

3. Admission of a foreign national to the doctoral school shall proceed by way of an administrative decision issued by the head, authorised by the Rector, unless the foreign national is admitted on other specific grounds specified in the current provisions.

4. A candidate holding documents issued outside the territory of Poland who, after the publication of the list of candidates, fails to submit a complete set of documents within the time limits indicated in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 5 section 3, shall be issued a conditional decision on admission.

5. The decision referred to in section 4 shall be served on the candidate by making it available in the IRK system no later than 14 days from the date of publication of the list of admitted candidates.

6. Where the candidate referred to in section 4 fails to fulfil the condition of submitting the documents, subject to which the admission decision was issued, the Rector shall declare the decision to have lapsed.

§ 15. Non-admission to the doctoral school

1. A candidate who has received fewer than 50 points in the admissions procedure shall not be admitted to the doctoral school.

2. A candidate holding documents issued in Poland who, after the publication of the list of candidates, fails to submit a complete set of documents within the time limits indicated in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 5 section 3, shall be issued a decision refusing admission to the doctoral school.

3. Refusal of admission to the doctoral school shall be made by way of an administrative decision issued, under the Rector’s authority, by the Head. The decision shall be served on the candidate by making it available in the IRK system no later than 14 days from the date of publication of the list of admitted candidates.

§ 16. Issuance of a Decision Where the Chair of the Committee Is Excluded

Where the Chair of the committee is excluded from participation in the recruitment proceedings concerning a given candidate, the decision referred to in § 14 section 3 and 4 and § 15 secion 2 shall be issued by the Rector.

§ 17. Documenting the admissions process

1. The committee shall document the recruitment process by:

    1. completing the candidate’s achievements form;

    2. preparing minutes of the admission interview;

    3. generating from the IRK system a record of the recruitment proceedings for each candidate, containing at least the result obtained by that candidate, including a detailed breakdown of the points awarded;

    4. generating from the IRK system minutes of the committee meeting;

    5. generating from the IRK system an alphabetical list and a ranking list of candidates, a list of admitted persons, and a list of non-admitted persons.

2. Subject to section 3, the documents referred to in section 1 shall:

   1. be signed by the Chair of the committee;

   2. be submitted by the Secretary of the committee to the Recruitment Office within 7 days from the date of announcement of the recruitment results.

Where the Chair of the committee is excluded from participation in the recruitment proceedings concerning a given candidate, the record referred to in section 1 point 3 and 4 shall be signed by the committee member designated by the Rector in accordance with § 10 section 3.

§ 18. Candidate’s right to access admissions procedure records 

Upon an application submitted to the admissions committee of the relevant doctoral school, the candidate shall have the right to access their own admissions procedure records in the presence of a member of the committee referred to in § 9 section 2 points 1 and 2. Detailed timeframe within which the candidate may be granted access to their own admissions procedure records, specified in terms of days and hours, as well as the location in which such access may be granted shall be determined by the committee’s chair and communicated in the manner specified in § 13 section 1 immediately after the announcement of the admission results.

§ 19. Reconsideration of the admission to the doctoral school

1. The candidate shall have the right to submit an application for the decision regarding non-admission to the doctoral school or, in the case of a foreign national, also the decision regarding admission to the doctoral school, to be reconsidered. The application should be submitted to the Rector within 14 days from the date on which the decision is delivered.

2. The decision of the Rector, issued as a result of reconsidering the matter of admission to the doctoral school, shall be delivered to the candidate in accordance with the rules specified in Chapter 8 of the Act of 14 June 1960, Code of Administrative Procedure (with amendments).

Chapter 3. Supplementary admissions, additional admissions and project-based admissions

§ 20.

1. Following the completion of the standard admissions process and at the request of the head, the Rector may grant consent for supplementary or additional admissions to be conducted.

2. Supplementary and additional admissions shall be conducted in accordance with the rules applicable to the standard admissions process, unless otherwise specified in § 21 or § 22 or § 23 and § 5 section 2.

§ 21. Supplementary admissions

1. Supplementary admissions may be conducted when a person admitted to the doctoral school in the standard admissions process and within the admission quota for a given scientific discipline, withdraws from the programme.

2. Supplementary admissions may be conducted only for the candidates who, in the standard admissions process for a given scientific discipline:

    1. have obtained the minimum number of points required for admission to the doctoral school in the given scientific discipline;

    2. have not been admitted to the doctoral school due to the admission quota, specified in the Rector’s Ordinance referred to in § 6 section 2, having been met.

3. The information regarding supplementary admissions, including the detailed timeframes and the admission quota applicable to this admissions process, shall be communicated to the candidates by the committee in the manner specified in § 13 section 1.

§ 22. Additional admissions

1. Persons who have participated in the standard admissions process for a given scientific discipline and have not been admitted to the doctoral school, as well as persons who have not participated in the admissions process, may take part in the additional admissions process.

2. Should the admission quota in the standard admissions process be met, the Rector, at the request of the head, may increase the admission quota for the purposes of additional admissions.

3. The information regarding additional admissions, including the detailed timeframes and the admission quota applicable to this admissions process, shall be published on the University website for doctoral school candidates. 

§ 23. Project-Based Recruitment

1. Project-based recruitment may be entered by a person who, under an external project or programme, has been awarded a scholarship:

    1. in an amount at least equal to the doctoral scholarship referred to in Article 209 of the Act; and

    2. for a period of not less than 3 years from the date of commencement of education at the doctoral school—if that person is admitted to the relevant doctoral school.

2. The provisions of this Resolution on admission limits shall not apply to project-based recruitment.

Chapter 4. Entry into force

§ 24.

The resolution shall enter into force on the date on which it is adopted.

                                                                                                    Chair of the Senate

                                                                       Rector of the University of Gdańsk

                                                                       Prof. Piotr Stepnowski

                                                                           corresponding member of the Polish Academy of Sciences

                                                                       /-signed with a qualified electronic signature/