Civil Engineering at Cracow University of Technology (PK): The most difficult?

Building Mechanics

A course that continues the themes of theoretical mechanics and strength, focusing on statically non-determinable systems.

• Form of classes: Lectures, exercises and projects made manually or with the help of engineering software.
• Exam: Written, requiring the solution of complex frameworks using the method of forces or the method of displacement.
• Difficulty: 9/10.
• Material volume: Matrix methods of structural analysis, influence of temperature and settling of supports on the structure, lines of influence.
• Risks: Failure to pass the project on time makes it impossible to take the exam, which results in the need to apply for the Construction condition.

Concrete structures

A major subject in higher years, which requires excellent knowledge of standards (Eurocodes).

• Form of classes: Lectures, projects (dimensioning of reinforced concrete reinforcement).
• Exam: Written and defending the project in front of the lecturer.
• Difficulty: 8/10.
• Common mistakes: Errors in the selection of reinforcement, ignorance of the principles of anchoring bars, wrong assumptions about concrete grades.
• Reasons for pouring: Substantive unpreparedness to defend the project, which is treated as a lack of independence in engineering work.

Mathematics (Analysis and Algebra)

Although it is a general subject, mathematics is treated as a selective filter at PK.

• Form of classes: Lectures and exercises.
• Exam: Written (tasks) and theoretical.
• Difficulty: 8/10.
• Material volume: Multiple integrals, differential equations, series, complex numbers.
• Risks: The accumulation of a backlog in mathematics makes it impossible to understand mechanics, which leads to an avalanche of failing the semester.

Summary of the difficulty of subjects for PK Construction

When do the most students drop out?

An academic analysis of the course of studies at the Cracow University of Technology indicates several critical moments when the largest number of deletions from the list of students occurs. Statistically, about 40-50% of people in the group starting the first year complete engineering studies on time.

1. Winter session of the first year: The first moment of verification. Students collide with mathematics and descriptive geometry. It is often here that the first mass screening of students takes place in Civil Engineering. The lack of the habit of systematic study from high school makes it impossible to master the material in a short time session.
2. Summer session of the first year: The most difficult semester in the entire course of studies due to theoretical mechanics. This is where most decisions are made about giving up or having to repeat an object.
3. Third semester (Strength of Materials): Often referred to as “to be or not to be” in construction. People who make it through this stage have a statistically much better chance of graduating.
4. September Campaign: The revision session at the PK in September is the last chance for many to avoid the condition. The accumulation of corrections in mechanics, endurance and physics often ends in failure in at least one subject.

Deletion from the list of students most often takes place after the limit of ECTS credits of the debt, which is restrictive at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Technology, has been exhausted. A student who fails a blocking course (one that is required to take up a course in a higher semester) automatically loses a year.

Condition, commission and revision session for PK Construction

Administrative procedures at the Cracow University of Technology are automated through the USOS system, which eliminates discretion, but also makes the system merciless for latecomers.

Make-up session (September Campaign)

A student is entitled to one retake date for each exam. It usually takes place in a retake session. In the construction industry, the so-called “inquiries” are popular with instructors, but they are informal and depend on the good will of the examiner after obtaining a result at the end of the credit.

Condition (Conditional Entry)

The Civil Engineering condition appears when the student has not obtained credit in the course, but has enough ECTS credits to be enrolled in the next semester.

• Each year of study determines the permissible credit deficit (usually from 8 to 12 ECTS).
• Conditional entry is associated with a fee for each hour of classes of the repeated subject.
• The greatest threat is posed by subjects with the so-called “technological sequence” – e.g. failure to pass Theoretical Mechanics makes it impossible to enrol in Building Mechanics, even if the student has a small score deficit.

Commission (Board Exam)

The Construction Commission is the final procedure. A student has the right to apply for a board exam within 7 days of the announcement of the results of the correction if he/she believes that the examiner violated the rules of assessment or the form of the exam was inconsistent with the syllabus.

• The application must be substantiated.
• The exam takes place in front of a committee (Chairman, Examiner, second specialist).
• Failure at the commission usually closes the way to continue studies in a given academic year.

Why do students drop out despite good results from the matura exam?

Construction at PK verifies not only knowledge, but also resistance to workload. Screening of Construction students also applies to people who had high results in the matura exam in mathematics and physics.

1. Difference in difficulty: High school mathematics, even at the advanced level, does not prepare for the abstraction required for mathematical analysis or numerical methods.
2. Design work: Construction is thousands of pages of calculations done manually. A student who cannot manage time does not submit projects on time, which results in not passing the project exercises and not being allowed to take the exam.
3. No content selection: Students try to learn task schemes by heart, while PK exams test their understanding of physical phenomena. Changing one parameter in a task (e.g. the way the beam is supported) makes the learned scheme unusable.
4. Accumulation of fails: One condition Construction in the first year can be made up, but three or four failed subjects form a spiral of ECTS debt, which cannot be repaid while completing the current material.

Internships in Construction

Internships are an indispensable element of the course of study at the Cracow University of Technology and have a real impact on obtaining the title of engineer.

• ECTS: For a student internship after the 3rd year of studies, the student receives ECTS credits (usually about 4-6).
• Documentation: The student must submit an internship log confirmed by a construction manager or designer with construction licenses.
• Passing the year: The lack of timely delivery of documentation to the faculty internship supervisor blocks the possibility of settling the semester in the USOS system, which in extreme cases may lead to deletion from the list of students at the last stage of studies.

Blocking subjects and didactic sequence at PK

A key element of the survival strategy in the field of civil engineering at the Cracow University of Technology is to understand the so-called technological sequences of subjects. In the study program (syllabus) of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Technology, there are subjects with a blocking status. This means that failing to pass one module automatically prevents enrollment in the next semester, even if the student has not exceeded the limit of ECTS credits allowing for the Construction condition.

1. Mechanical Chain: Theoretical Mechanics -> Strength of Materials I -> Strength of Materials II -> Mechanics of Buildings I -> Mechanics of Buildings II -> Dynamics of Buildings. Breaking this chain at any stage results in the phenomenon of the so-called “empty semesters”, where the student can only pursue humanities or auxiliary subjects, which de facto extends the studies by a year.
2. Construction chain: Building Mechanics – > Concrete Structures / Metal Structures. Failure to pass the theory of mechanics blocks the possibility of dimensioning specific engineering objects, which is the most common reason for being removed from the list of students in the 3rd and 4th year of engineering studies.

The next most difficult subjects for PK Construction (WIL)

In addition to the foundations mentioned earlier, the study program includes specialized modules that generate a high number of fails in the retake session.

Soil Mechanics and Foundations

A course that combines knowledge in the field of engineering geology with advanced strength of materials.

• Form of classes: Lectures, laboratory exercises (testing soil parameters) and a building foundation design.
• Exam: Written, requiring calculation of the bearing capacity of the ground and settlement of foundations.
• Difficulty: 8/10.
• Common errors: Incorrect determination of primary and additional stresses in the ground, errors in the interpretation of laboratory test results (e.g. oedometer).
• Risks: The foundation design is extremely laborious. A calculation error at the beginning of the project disqualifies the entire study, which closes the way to the exam.

Metal structures (steel)

For many students, it is more difficult than concrete structures due to the specificity of the joints (welds, screws) and the issue of structural stability.

• Form of classes: Lectures and design of a steel hall.
• Exam: Written, based on Eurocode 3.
• Difficulty: 9/10.
• Material volume: Hundreds of standard tables, buckling and buckling formulas.
• Reasons for pouring: Lack of precision in the calculation of welded joints, errors in technical (workshop) drawings, which must be made with millimeter accuracy.

Hydraulics and Hydrology

A theoretical subject that often surprises students of general civil engineering with the degree of complexity of the mathematical apparatus.

• Form of classes: Lectures and laboratories in specialized plumbing halls.
• Exam: Written (tasks on the movement of liquids in pipes and open ducts).
• Difficulty: 7/10.
• Reasons for failing: Difficulties in mastering the Bernoulli equation in engineering applications and pressure losses.

Mechanisms of non-passing: Pitfalls of the USOS system at the Cracow University of Technology

At the PK , the USOS system acts as a rigorous progress controller. Non-passing mechanisms are closely linked to the deadlines for entering grades.

• No “regret” entry from the exercises: This is the most common reason for not being allowed to take the exam. If the instructor does not enter the credit into the system before the first exam date, the student automatically loses this date. Often it is impossible to recover it, and the student immediately lands in the retake session of Construction.
• Points deficit after the summer session: A student may have an ECTS debt, but it must be settled as part of the so-called stage. If, after the September campaign, the deficit exceeds the permissible norm (e.g. 12 ECTS), the system blocks the possibility of registering for the next semester.
• “Condition for condition” error: At the PK, it is not possible to apply for a condition in a subject that is already being implemented in the conditional mode. This means that if a student fails a course taken “on probation”, they are automatically removed from the list of students or the need to repeat the entire year (if the dean agrees).

Critical moments: Transition between the first and second cycle of studies

Analysis of the screening of students Civil Engineering must take into account the moment of completion of engineering studies (first cycle).

1. Engineering Diploma Exam: It is not only a thesis defense, but a comprehensive exam of all the knowledge from the studies. Failure to pass this exam blocks the possibility of taking part in the recruitment for master’s studies (second cycle), which for many people ends their adventure with the university with the title of engineer.
2. Choice of specialization: At WIL PK, the choice of specializations (e.g. Building and Engineering Structures, Bridge Engineering, Railway Roads) is associated with different difficulty thresholds. The largest sifting of students is recorded in construction specializations, where the level of mathematics of subjects is the highest.

Reasons for being removed from the list of students

Apart from the evident lack of knowledge in exams, there are other factors leading to expulsion from the university:

• Failure to submit a diploma thesis in the APD system: The Cracow University of Technology rigorously adheres to the deadlines for uploading works to the Diploma Thesis Archive. Exceeding the deadline by even a few hours, without prior application for an extension, results in deletion.
• Uniform Plagiarism Prevention System (JSA): Diploma theses in construction often contain repetitive calculations and schemes. If a student thoughtlessly copies fragments of calculations from other papers, the JSA system may indicate that the similarity factor is too high, leading to disciplinary proceedings and deletion.
• Inactivity (not taking up studies): If a student does not sign up for classes in the USOS system after obtaining the Civil Engineering condition or does not appear at the mandatory laboratories, the university considers this as a resignation.

Why is systematic learning more difficult than the high school diploma?

Many people ask whether it is difficult to make a living at the PK Construction School, since the matriculation exam in mathematics did not cause them any problems. The answer lies in the distribution of the material.

• The “3xZ” rule does not work: While in humanities subjects you can “stab, pass, forget”, in civil engineering the knowledge from the first semester (e.g. statics) is necessary to understand the sixth semester (e.g. dynamics).
• Colloquium as a filter: At the Cracow University of Technology, colloquia are not simple tests. They often last 3-4 hours and consist in solving one gigantic construction task. An accounting error at the beginning (the so-called “Czech error”) can cancel out all the effort, leading to the need for correction.
• Burnout and lack of time: PK students often spend at the university from 8:00 to 18:00, and after returning they have to devote more hours to drawing projects. Lack of rest leads to errors in preparation for colloquia, which is the shortest way to a retake session.

The role of the Supervisor of the Year and the Dean’s Office

In situations near the goal, when a student is at risk of being removed from the list of students, the key figure is the Guardian of the Year.

• Mediator: The tutor of the year can help in negotiations with the “adamant” department about an additional deadline for passing the exercises.
• Procedural support: The Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Civil Engineering is known for its restrictive approach to deadlines, so any request for a Construction commission must be supported by solid documentation (e.g. medical or evidence of errors in the examination procedure).
• Questions from the instructors: In some departments (e.g. the Department of Concrete Construction) there is a culture of queries. A student who has obtained a grade of 2.5 in the exam has a chance to take an oral question. Not being able to defend your calculations during a query is a common reason for finally failing a course in September.

Organization of studies in Krakow

The organization of studies at the Cracow University of Technology is related to the specificity of the campus, which directly affects the time spent on studying.

1. Inter-campus commuting: Construction at PK is mainly divided between the campus at Warszawska Street (center) and the campus in Czyżyny. It takes 30 to 60 minutes to move between these locations during the day, which with a murderous schedule limits the time to work on projects.
2. Access to Labs: PK has unique laboratories (e.g. the Laboratory of Materials and Structures Testing), but access to them in order to perform research for diploma theses is limited in time, which forces students to organize their work perfectly.
3. Material costs: Construction requires the purchase of specialized software (often student versions), engineering calculators and materials for manual design. For many students, combining gainful employment with full-time studies ends in a didactic failure, as this field of study requires full time commitment.

Frequently asked questions about Construction at PK

How much does the condition for PK Construction cost?

The cost of repeating a course as part of the so-called condition at the Cracow University of Technology depends on the number of hours of classes and the rate per hour specified in the Rector’s annual ordinance. For key subjects such as Strength of Materials or Structural Mechanics, which include both lectures and design exercises, the total number of hours can be high. For example, if the course has 45 hours and the rate is about PLN 15-20 per hour, the cost of one condition may fluctuate between PLN 700-1200. These amounts are generated automatically in the USOS system, and the student is obliged to pay the fee within a certain period. It should be remembered that failure to pay may result in not being allowed to take the retake exam in the following year or problems with settling the semester.

Is it possible to have two conditions at the same time for PK Construction?

Possession of two conditional entries at the same time is admissible, provided that the sum of ECTS credits in these subjects does not exceed the limit of the credit deficit set for a given year of study. At the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the PK, this limit is usually between 10 and 12 ECTS. If a student fails two courses of 5 ECTS each, he/she can continue his/her education in the higher year in a conditional mode. However, the problem arises in the case of subjects with a high ECTS weight or when these subjects are sequentially related. If one of the conditions applies to a blocking subject (e.g. Theoretical Mechanics), the student may not be able to enrol in courses from the next semester, which de facto means a year of loss despite having the status of a student.

What happens after failing the third exam date?

In the education system at the Cracow University of Technology, a student has two approaches to the exam as standard: the main term and the retake term (often called the second term). The third term does not exist as a standard procedure – such is sometimes considered to be a board exam, for which the student must submit a special application. If a student fails the exam in the retake session and does not receive approval for the commission, he or she receives an unsatisfactory grade in the USOS protocol. The consequence is the need to apply for conditional enrolment (if the ECTS limit allows it) or to be removed from the list of students. If the condition is obtained, the student takes the exam again only in the next academic year, which is associated with a fee and re-participation in classes.

What does a consignment on the PK Construction look like?

The board exam at the Cracow University of Technology is an exceptional procedure and should not be treated as an “additional date” for everyone. It takes place at the student’s written request addressed to the Dean, provided that there is a substantive justification of the objections to the examiner’s objectivity or the course of the exam. The committee consists of the Chairperson (usually the Dean or Vice-Dean), the examiner conducting the course and another specialist in the same field. The exam can be oral, written or mixed. The committee evaluates the student’s knowledge in a very thorough manner, and the grade given by the commission is final. Statistics show that only people who have actually mastered the material, and their failure in the session resulted from random factors or procedural errors, pass the construction commission.

Does the dean’s office help with problems with passing subjects?

The Dean’s Office at the Cracow University of Technology performs an administrative function and enforces the provisions of the Study Regulations. The employees of the Dean’s Office do not have the authority to change grades or decide on the substantive credit of courses – this is solely the responsibility of the teachers and the Dean for Student Affairs. The student can obtain information from the Dean’s Office about the deadlines for submitting applications for condition, reactivation or dean’s leave. In case of problems with credit, it is worth going directly to the Vice-Dean’s office, who has the authority to make a decision to increase the permissible ECTS deficit in exceptional, justified situations (e.g. illness, difficult family situation). However, it is crucial for the student to monitor their status in the USOS system and react to emerging deficiencies in protocols.

Where to get questions for mechanical exams?

At the Cracow University of Technology, there is a strong tradition of handing over materials between years, known as the question exchange. Students use social media groups and cloud drives, where photos of topics from previous years are archived. This is especially helpful for subjects such as Geology, Geodesy or Building Materials. However, in the case of Theoretical Mechanics and Strength of Materials, relying solely on the question exchange is risky. Instructors often change data in tasks or introduce new static schemes, which means that without a deep understanding of methodology (e.g. Cross’s method or the force method), the mere knowledge of old questions will not allow you to pass. The best source of knowledge remains the scripts published by the Cracow University of Technology and the tasks solved during exercises.

Is it possible to work and study Civil Engineering at the same time?

Combining full-time studies in the field of Civil Engineering at PK with full-time employment is practically impossible. The schedule is dense, and in addition, the student has to devote dozens of hours per week to performing manual and computer-based (CAD) projects. Casual work on weekends is feasible, but it often comes at the expense of the time spent studying for colloquia. Many students who try to work in the 1-2nd year of study end up with few conditions or are crossed off the student list due to lack of time to prepare projects. The situation changes in second-cycle (master’s) studies, where the timetable is often arranged in such a way as to enable students to gain their first professional experience in design offices or on construction sites.