How to Get the Rector’s Scholarship: A Guide for PWr, UWr, UEW, and UPWr Students

The University of Wrocław uses some of the most selective criteria in the capital of Lower Silesia.

• Percentage threshold: The University of Wrocław limits the number of scholarship recipients for outstanding academic results to only 7.5% of the best students in a specific field of study.
• Minimum Grade Point Average: In order for your application to be discussed by the scholarship committee at all, you must obtain a grade point average of at least 4.30 for the previous academic year. The average is calculated as the classic arithmetic average of all grades from exams and credits (including those that are unsatisfactory if you have a revision).
• Deadlines and formalities: Registration of applications takes place exclusively electronically via USOSweb. The application should be registered and then submitted on paper to the appropriate dean’s office (or sent by e-mail according to the guidelines of a given faculty) by 5 October. For courses starting from the summer semester, the deadline is March 5.
• Where to look for help? Scholarships are handled by the Student Affairs Sections or dedicated dean’s offices, e.g. at the Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics (22/26 Uniwersytecka Street, building A), the Faculty of Social Sciences (3 Koszarowa Street) or the Faculty of Biological Sciences (63/77 Przybyszewskiego Street).
• Financial rates: The amount of the Rector’s scholarship at the University of Wrocław ranges on average from PLN 1250 to PLN 1450 per month.

Rector’s scholarship at the Wrocław University of Technology (WUT) – how to get into the top 10%?

At the Wrocław University of Technology, the fight for the Rector’s scholarship takes place on the basis of points awarded for grade point average and scientific, artistic or high sports results in national or international competitions.

• Percentage threshold and average: A maximum of 10% of students in each year of a given field of study are entitled to the benefit. The minimum grade point average entitling to submit an application is 4.00. Although the regulations allow you to apply for funds at this average, the real thresholds in popular fields of study (e.g. Computer Science at the Faculty of Computer Science and Telecommunications in the legendary “Serowiec” C-13) often exceed 4.60 – 4.80.
• Submission deadlines: Applications are submitted twice a year, due to the semester division of settlements. For the winter semester, registration in the USOS system (formerly the PRS system) usually lasts from 1 to 7 October. For the summer semester, the application must be registered within the first seven days of the start of the semester – usually between 1 and 8 March.
• Additional achievements: Points can be earned, m.in, for active participation in national or international conferences, publications in scientific journals from the Ministry’s list or worthy representation of the WUT colours in the Academic Championships of Polish (AMP).
• Financial rates: The amounts are approved by the Rector in consultation with the Student Government at the turn of October and November. The average amount of the Rector’s scholarship at WUT ranges from PLN 1200 to PLN 1500 per month.

Rector’s Scholarship at the Wrocław University of Life Sciences (UPWr) – procedures and e-Delivery

The Wrocław University of Life Sciences rigorously approaches the form and timeliness of the delivery of documents.

• Minimum threshold: Similarly to the University of Wrocław, in order to apply for the benefit, a grade point average of not lower than 4.30 for the previous year of study is required.
• Strict deadlines: Students of first-cycle and long-cycle master’s studies must submit a signed application with documentation by 10 October. Students of second-cycle (master’s) studies apply by October 10 in the winter semester and by March 10 in the summer semester.
• Modern shipping (e-Delivery): UPWr puts emphasis on digitization. After the mandatory registration of the form in the USOSweb system, you must deliver the signed application with attachments to the Student Affairs Center (25 Norwida Street, building A2). You can do this in person, by traditional mail or electronically via the official e-Delivery service (the request must be sent as one merged PDF file). Shipping via the regular ePUAP platform is not accepted!
• Scholarship amount: The benefit is usually between $1000 and $1500 per month.

Rector’s Scholarship at the Wrocław University of Economics (WEEB) – point system and realistic thresholds

The University of Economics at Komandorska Street bases the awarding of scholarships on a precise point system, in which the average grade is converted into points and summed up with points for additional achievements.

Data from previous years allow us to find out how many points guarantee success in individual fields. The following list shows the point thresholds below which the scholarship was not awarded:

• Economy: 170 points
• Economic Analytics: 180 points
• Finance and accounting: 150 – 160 points
• Logistics: 160 – 170 points
• Management: 130 – 140 points
• Production Management and Engineering: 100 – 110 points

Applications are registered in the USOSweb system in the first half of October. Any documents confirming scientific or sports achievements are submitted directly to the Scholarship Benefits Department at Komandorska Street. The scholarship amounts are usually PLN 1000 – 1400 per month, depending on the size of the scholarship fund in a given year.

Comparison of Rector’s Scholarships in Wrocław

The table below collects the most important scholarship parameters of the four main public universities in Wrocław.

Step-by-step instruction: How to apply without errors?

Making a formal error may cost you the opportunity to win several thousand zlotys per academic year. Stick to the procedure below to go through the process safely:

Step 1: Verify ratings in USOSweb

Before the end of September, log in to the USOSweb system and make sure that all instructors have entered their grades from the summer and retake sessions. If any grade is missing, contact the lecturer or the dean’s office immediately. The lack of complete entries will prevent the system from automatically calculating the average.

Step 2: Prepare evidence of additional achievements

If you are applying for points for scientific, artistic or sporting activities, collect official certificates. These may be certificates of participation in conferences (with confirmation of presentation), photocopies of published scientific articles or confirmation of sports achievements issued by the Academic Sports Club of WUT or AZS of a given university.

Step 3: Register the application in the electronic system

Log in to USOSweb at your university and go to the student tab and then to the scholarship applications section. Fill out the Rector’s Scholarship form, carefully entering your grade point average and adding any points for your achievements. Just clicking “Register” in the system is only a technical activity and does not mean submitting an application!

Step 4: Provide the document in the required form

Check what procedures your department requires. At WUT, the entire process is often enclosed in an electronic system. At UPWr, you need to generate a PDF, sign it (traditionally or with a trusted/qualified signature) and deliver it in person to room 045/046 in the A2 building at Norwida Street or send it via official e-Deliveries. At the University of Wrocław, you submit a printed application to the dean’s office or send it by post.

Step 5: Track Application Status and Ranking Lists

After the recruitment closes, scholarship committees create temporary ranking lists. This usually happens at the turn of October and November. Check your e-mail box (the one in the student domain) and messages in USOSweb regularly. If you notice an error in the calculation of your points, you only have a few days to file a complaint or appeal to the Scholarship Appeals Committee.

The most common mistakes students make

• Failure to complete the year on time: Taking the retake exam after the official end of the retake session (without the Dean’s consent to extend the session) results in the inability to apply for the Rector’s scholarship in a given year, even with excellent grades.
• Exceeding the period of study: According to Polish law, scholarship benefits are granted for a total period not exceeding 12 semesters (6 years) of study, regardless of whether they are received by the student. After this time, the USOS system will automatically block the possibility of awarding a scholarship.
• Incorrect bank account number: Make sure that you have a current and correct account number entered in the personal data section of USOSweb. A mistake here will delay the payment of the first tranche of the scholarship for up to several weeks.
• Delivery of the application via ePUAP instead of e-Delivery: This is a trap, especially at the University of Wrocław. The traditional ePUAP platform is not the same as the e-Delivery system and the document sent there will be rejected for formal reasons.

How to optimize your chances?

If you see that your grade point average oscillates within the minimum threshold (e.g. 4.30 – 4.40) and in your field of study it may not be enough to enter the elite group of scholarship recipients, start acting earlier.

Enroll in a science club at your faculty. Being active in clubs often allows you to co-authorise scientific articles or speak at student conferences (even those with a regional scope), which is additionally rewarded in the WUT or WUE point systems.

Also, do not delay with the formalities until the last day. The queues to the dean’s offices on Uniwersytecka, Szewska or the Student Affairs Centre at Norwida Street at the beginning of October can be gigantic. If you have doubts about the scoring of your sports or artistic achievements, go to the dean’s office in September – then the clerks have much more time to calmly explain the nuances of the regulations.

How Wrocław Scientific Clubs Legally Generate Scholarship Points

Most students believe that the rector’s scholarship is earned only by studying books and spinning an average of 4.9. At the Wrocław University of Technology or the University of Economics, this is a tactical mistake. The point systems of these universities drastically favor the so-called scientific activity.

Wrocław scientific circles (especially at WUT and WUE) have developed legal mechanisms that allow their members to earn dozens of scholarship points with minimal work. The key is student hybrid or poster miniconferences:

• Publication in student notebooks: Members of scientific circles organize nationwide conferences with a very narrow specialization, in which the scientific committee consists of friendly doctoral students and young researchers from Wrocław faculties. Publishing an article in a free post-conference monograph gives the same number of points as a publication in a reputable industry journal.
• Poster sessions: Instead of writing a 15-page article, students prepare a one-page scientific poster (often presented in the lobby of the C-13 WUT building or in the UPWr building connector at Norwida). Active participation in the conference (poster presentation) is scored almost identically to the presentation of a 20-minute paper.
• Sign up for the circle in March, drink cream in October: The regulations for scoring scientific achievements require the presentation of the opinion of the supervisor of the scientific club. Experienced students sign up for the clubs for the summer semester, perform one small organizational task (e.g. preparing graphics for the club’s social media), and in October they receive an official certificate of “active, year-round research activity” from the tutor.

Date trap in USOS – what to do if a lecturer is late with a grade entry?

This is the most common drama of Wrocław students during the September retake session. You take a retake exam on 15 September, you receive a positive grade, but the professor goes on sabbatical leave and enters the degree in USOS only on 1 October. The system automatically marks your status as “uncounted by the deadline”, which blocks the possibility of generating an application for the Rector’s Scholarship.

How to save the situation? Dean’s offices in Wrocław rarely inform about the procedure for complaining about an entry in the protocol:

• Obtain a paper or email statement from the examiner: The lecturer must write a short statement: “The retake exam of student X took place on 15.09.2026. A positive assessment was issued within the duration of the revision session, and the delay in completing the electronic protocol in the USOS system resulted from technical reasons attributable to the facilitator.”
• Apply for rectification of the protocol: With this statement, you do not go to the scholarship committee, but directly to the vice-dean for student affairs of your faculty (e.g. at the University of Wrocław at Koszarowa or Szewska). You submit an official application for rectification of the date of closing the protocol in USOS.
• Legal key: The date of the actual examination and obtaining the grade (it must be within the retake session specified by the Rector) is superior to the technical date of approval of the protocol in the IT system. After changing the date in USOS, the system will unlock the possibility of submitting an application.

The strategy of dividing into fields of study vs. specializations (WEEB and UWr) – where is it easier to get a scholarship?

The statutory 10% (or 7.5% at the University of Wrocław) of the limit of scholarship holders is calculated on the basis of the number of students enrolled in a given field of study in a particular year. This is where a huge disproportion appears, about which universities are silent:

• The trap of small specialties: If you are studying at the University of Economics in the field of Management (where there are 300 people per year), the limit of scholarship recipients is 30 people. If this field of study is divided into 5 niche specializations, the ranking is still common for the entire major. This means that if the level in the “A” specialty is very low and the highest average is 4.2, and in the “B” specialization there are only outstanding students with averages above 4.7 – students in the “A” specialization will not receive a scholarship at all. All 30 places will be consumed by the “B” specialty.
• Internal Moving Trick: If your primary goal is a rector’s scholarship, analyze the ranking lists from previous years before the start of the academic year. Sometimes a change of direction with a similar profile (e.g. switching from the besieged Applied Computer Science to the less popular Systems Engineering at WUT) drastically lowers the average threshold needed to be in the top 10%.

Transferring to another university in Wrocław – how not to lose a scholarship for grades from another city?

Students who have completed their bachelor’s studies in another city (e.g. in Opole, Zielona Góra or Poznań) and are recruited for master’s studies in Wrocław often give up the fight for the rector’s scholarship, thinking that the new university will not take them into account. This is a serious mistake.

The transfer procedure for students of the first semester of second-cycle studies in Wrocław requires the presentation of a certificate of position in the ranking from the previous university:

• Don’t take the course of study card alone: A transcript of grades from another university alone is not enough. The Dean’s Office in Wrocław cannot independently assess whether your average of 4.65 from the University of Opole placed you in the top 10% there.
• Require a document with a percentile: Before leaving your home university in July or August, apply to the dean’s office for a certificate specifying your exact percentile on the ranking list (e.g. “The student was in the 3rd position in the ranking of 120 students in the X field, which is the best 2.5% of the year”).
• Comparative procedure: Wrocław scholarship committees (e.g. at UPWr or UWr) are legally obliged to take this data into account and enter you on the Wrocław ranking list with the converted point equivalent.

How to combine the Rector’s Scholarship with the Scholarship of the President of Wrocław?

This is absolutely the best, and at the same time the least publicized financial hack for Wrocław students. Many people believe that receiving the rector’s scholarship excludes other forms of scientific support. In the case of the Scholarship of the Mayor of Wrocław (as part of the Wrocław Programme for Supporting the Gifted), this rule does not apply.

• Why does it work? The Law on Higher Education only limits the combination of social and rector’s scholarships financed from the state budget (subjective subsidy). The scholarship of the Mayor of Wrocław is financed directly from the budget of the Municipality of Wrocław (local government funds). From a legal perspective, these are two independent sources of financing.
• Who can apply? Students of Wrocław public universities who, m.in, go abroad to study abroad (e.g. as part of the Erasmus+ programme), have outstanding scientific achievements of an interdisciplinary nature or have obtained a grade point average above 4.75 and can demonstrate their activity for the benefit of the Wrocław academic community.
• Earnings of several thousand zlotys: By combining the rector’s scholarship (approx. 1300 PLN/month) with a city scholarship (which, depending on the category, ranges from several hundred to even 2000 PLN/month), you can generate a monthly income of over 3000 PLN per hand – tax-free and without having to work a single hour in a corporation.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Rector’s Scholarship in Wroclaw

Can I get a Rector’s Scholarship if I have conditional entry (condition)?

No. Each public university in Wrocław requires unconditional completion of the previous year of studies within the deadline specified by the academic year schedule. Having an ECTS credit debt at the time of submitting the application completely excludes the possibility of receiving the Rector’s scholarship.

Can the Rector’s scholarship be combined with a social scholarship?

Yes, these benefits can be collected at the same time. However, there is a statutory limit – the total monthly amount of the social and rector’s scholarship may not exceed 38% of the professor’s salary (this amount is regularly indexed). If the sum of both scholarships exceeds this threshold, the amount of the Rector’s scholarship will be reduced accordingly.

I am studying in two fields of study in Wrocław – can I receive two Rector’s scholarships?

No. According to the Law on Higher Education and Science, the Rector’s scholarship can only be received in one field of study indicated by you, even if you study at two different universities in Wrocław at the same time.

Can first-year undergraduate students apply for this scholarship?

Yes, but only on the basis of outstanding achievements from high school. The Rector’s scholarship in the 1st year of first-cycle studies can be applied for by Olympians at the central and international level and medalists of the Polish Championships in qualified sports. The classic grade point average from the matriculation certificate is not taken into account.

Do I have to pay income tax on the Rector’s scholarship?

No, all scholarships awarded under the Law on Higher Education and Science are completely exempt from personal income tax (PIT) and you do not need to show them on your annual tax return.

Effective Student Budget Planning in Wroclaw

Winning a rector’s scholarship is an excellent way to relieve the household budget and gain financial independence while studying in Wrocław. The amount of PLN 1200 – 1500 per month allows you to largely cover [koszty życia studenta we Wrocławiu](student-life-costs-wroclaw), giving you the comfort of focusing on learning and personal development without having to take up a full-time job. Thorough reading of the regulations of your university, meticulous collection of documents throughout the year and flawless and timely submission of the application to USOSweb is the only way to ensure this support.