Computer Science at AGH: Faculties, Admission Thresholds & Reality [Guide]

Ranking formula and item weights

The main recruitment formula at AGH UST is: W = 4 G + J, where G are points from the main subject (mathematics, physics or computer science), and J are points from a foreign language.

• Extended Mathematics: This is an absolute priority. For the most crowded IT departments, a score below 90-95% practically eliminates you from the first round of recruitment.
• Physics vs Computer Science: While both subjects are accepted, you need to check which one scores better in your chosen faculty. Typically, Computer Science at the matura exam is a safer choice for people aiming for pure programming.

Point thresholds at top faculties

In recent years, the thresholds for IT majors have oscillated between 950–990 points (on a scale of up to 1000). This means that you must have passed the matura exam in mathematics and English at the advanced level almost perfectly. Remember that AGH UST conducts several rounds of recruitment, but IT jobs usually end in the first round.

Computer science at AGH UST is not just one field of study – an overview of faculties

The biggest trap for candidates is the belief that computer science looks the same at every faculty. In Krakow, you can study computer science in at least five different places on the AGH UST campus, and each of them has a different specificity.

Faculty of Computer Science (WI) – “Pure” Software

It is the youngest faculty that was created from the separation of IT structures. Here, the focus is on software engineering, databases, algorithms, and distributed systems.

• For whom: If your goal is to be a systems architect, backend developer, or AI specialist, then this is the choice for you.
• Location: Building D-17, one of the most modern on campus.

Faculty of Computer Science, Electronics and Telecommunications (WIEiT) – Elite and Hardware

For years, it has been considered the most prestigious. Computer science at WIEiT is firmly rooted in the hardware foundations.

• What they won’t tell you: Be prepared for a large dose of electronics, signal theory and measurement in the first semesters. These are studies for people who want to understand not only the code, but also the physical layer of a computer.
• Reputation: Graduates of this faculty are most sought after by companies dealing with embedded systems and low-level programming.

Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Control Engineering, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering (WEAIiB)

Applied Computer Science at this faculty has an industrial profile.

• Specifics: A lot of automation, robotics and control. You will learn programming in the context of controlling machines and technological processes.
• Advantage: Less theoretical rigor than at WIEiT, a greater focus on specific engineering implementations.

Other faculties (WMS, WGGiOŚ)

Computer Science at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics (WMS) is a proposal for enthusiasts of theory, cryptography and advanced data analytics. On the other hand, Geospatial Informatics at the Faculty of Mining Geodesy and Environmental Engineering (WGGiOŚ) focuses on GIS systems and spatial data processing.

Level of Study: What to Expect in the First Year?

The first year at AGH UST was a brutal collision with “screening” items. You have to survive two semesters of intensive math and physics, which are designed to even out and verify your resistance to stress.

Mathematical Analysis and Linear Algebra

This is where most people drop out. Lecturers at AGH UST require not only solving problems, but above all understanding evidence and theory.

• Laboratories and exercises: They take place in groups of about 20 people. Regularity is key here – the backlog of two weeks may not be catching up before the colloquium.

Computer Systems Architecture (ASK)

The subject is a legend, especially at WIEiT and WI. You’ll write in Assembler, design simple processors, and learn how memory is managed at the bit-level. For people focused solely on “slapping code” in Python or JavaScript, ASK can be a cognitive shock.

Physics for Computer Scientists

Often underestimated, but a big obstacle. At AGH UST Computer Science, physics is taught on a grand scale, covering mechanics, electromagnetism and the basics of quantum mechanics (needed to understand semiconductors).

What does the university not tell applicants? (Reality and logistics)

Open days and brochures focus on successes, but the everyday life of a computer science student at AGH UST is a high-workload that is rarely talked about directly.

1. Independence is the only way: The university provides the foundations, but you have to learn market technologies (modern frameworks, cloud, devops) on your own or in scientific circles. Lectures often use technologies from 5-10 years ago to teach you the rules, not specific tools.
2. Projects “for yesterday”: From the second year, you will start to be inundated with team projects. Coordinating work in a group, using the Git system and fighting deadlines in the UPEL system (AGH UST e-learning platform) will become your everyday life.
3. ECTS and “conditions”: The point system is merciless. If you fail a subject with a high ECTS weight (e.g. Object-Oriented Programming), the cost of conditional entry can put a significant strain on your wallet, and you will have trouble adjusting the timetable.
4. Climate of Krowodrzy and Miasteczka: AGH UST has the best campus in Poland. The fact that you can walk from the dormitory on the Student Campus to the WI or WIEiT building in 7 minutes is a gigantic logistical asset, which is the envy of Jagiellonian University students (commuting to Ruczaj).

IT infrastructure and technical facilities at AGH UST

When studying computer science, you will use resources that are among the top in Europe.

• ACK Cyfronet AGH: It is here that one of the most powerful supercomputers in Poland is located. As a senior student or member of scientific circles, you may have the opportunity to take part in projects using this computing power.
• Specialist laboratories: Each faculty has its own laboratories. In the D-17 (WI) building, you have access to modern workstations with Linux systems, which are standard work at AGH.
• Software: As a student, you get access to a wide suite of tools: a full subscription to JetBrains, Microsoft Azure for Students, MATLAB, and licenses for specialized engineering software.

Labour market in Krakow: How does the AGH UST brand help in your career?

Krakow is the second IT area in Poland after Warsaw. Living and studying here, you are at the heart of an ecosystem that absorbs every number of engineers.

• Companies in the neighborhood: Motorola, Sabre, Cisco, ABB, Aptiv and Comarch – these corporations are located in the immediate vicinity of the campus or within a 15-minute ride on the MPK Kraków tram.
• AGH UST Job Fair: They are held twice a year and are the largest event of this type in the region. This is where most computer science students find their first paid internships after the second year of study.
• Earnings: A Junior Developer with a diploma from AGH UST can count on a start at a rate 15-20% higher than graduates of smaller, private universities. Employers know that if you have passed the exam sieve at WIEiT or WI, you are taught to work hard and absorb knowledge quickly.

Specific tips for a future student of Computer Science at AGH UST

• Master C++ before October: Most faculties (especially WI and WIEiT) start learning programming from C++. Don’t wait for the first class. Transform indicators, memory management, and classes into a holiday.
• Install Linux: Forget about Windows as your main learning system. At AGH, most laboratories are based on distributions such as Ubuntu or Fedora. Knowing the terminal (bash) will save you a lot of time.
• Sign up for the study club: Bit, KN Magnet or other student organizations are places where you can learn real IT. It is there that your older colleagues will give you databases of questions for exams and teach you technologies that are not in the study program.
• Beware of discrete math: It is a subject that is more important to an IT specialist than analysis, and it is often neglected. Graph theory and combinatorics are the foundations of algorithmics that will chase you at every job interview.

The biggest fears and “subjects-filters” – why computer science students at AGH UST resign

The prestige of studying computer science at AGH University of Science and Technology is associated with enormous psychological pressure, which for many turns out to be more difficult to bear than the substantive requirements themselves. The greatest fear is the uncertainty about one’s own competences in the face of peers, many of whom are Olympiad winners. This “imposter syndrome” has accompanied students since their first matriculation in the Main Hall. You need to be prepared for the fact that computer science at AGH UST is not only programming, but above all a hard school of engineering thinking, where failure in one exam can trigger an avalanche of problems with ECTS credits.

Mathematical Analysis and Algebra – the Front Line

It is here, in the halls of buildings B-1 or D-17, that the greatest drama of the first year takes place. For many students who were top students in high school, the collision with the academic rigor of proving claims is a shock.

• What they can’t cope with: The biggest problem is not the lack of counting skills, but the pace. At AGH, the material that took a semester in high school is processed here in two weeks.
• Colloquium: Often called a “slaughterhouse”, they require perfect preparation. Students are frightened by the fact that one error in the calculation at the beginning of the task resets the entire result, which, with strict passing thresholds (often 50-60%), leads to massive corrections.

Computer Systems Architecture (ASK) – a legend that scares

If you survive the math, your next opponent will be ASK. This is a subject that is considered the “ultimate test for computer science” at the faculties of the Faculty of Mathematics and Technology.

• Low-level nightmare: Writing in Assembler, managing memory in C, and optimizing code at the level of processor registers is an insurmountable barrier for many. Students are afraid of this subject because it requires a paradigm shift in thinking – from a high-level “what the program is supposed to do” to a low-level “how the processor is supposed to do it”.
• Labs: They last until late in the evening, and it often takes longer to prepare for them than to study for the exam itself. It is at ASK that the decision to resign is most often made, when the student realizes that “pure coding” is only the tip of the iceberg.

Algorithms and Data Structures (AiSD) – the wall of the third semester

The third semester is the moment when the next wave of students drops out. AiSD is the foundation of computer science, but at AGH UST it is conducted with extraordinary detail.

• Theory vs Practice: You must not only implement a complex graph algorithm, but also prove its computational complexity. The lack of an analytical mind causes students to “get stuck” on project tasks that cannot be solved by simply copying patterns from the Internet.

When and why do AGH UST students drop out of college?

There are several critical moments in the timeline of computer science studies. Statistics show that most people disappear from student lists at two specific points.

1. After the first winter session (January/February): This is the time of “verification of dreams”. People who have not mastered Mathematical Analysis or have decided that engineering computer science (with a large dose of physics and circuit theory) is not what they want to do are resigning.
2. End of the second year: Paradoxically, this is the moment when the reason for resignation is often not difficulties, but… labour market. Computer science students at AGH UST are so sought after that after gaining basic knowledge, they receive job offers for PLN 8-10 thousand net. Some of them cannot stand combining full-time with demanding full-time studies and decide to leave the university in favor of a career, which in the long run can be a mistake when promoted to higher level positions (Senior/Architect).

ECTS Point System and Deletion Spectrum

AGH UST rigorously adheres to the limits of the ECTS credit deficit. If you fail a key item for 6-8 points, you fall into the so-called “conditional entry”.

• Cost of the “condition”: You have to pay for each ECTS credit you fail (the rates depend on the faculty, but can range from PLN 100 to PLN 200 per credit).
• Accumulation of debt: The greatest stress is generated by the situation in which you draw a “condition” from mathematics from the first year, and in the second semester you have problems with physics. Such accumulation most often ends with deletion from the list of students, because the university does not allow exceeding a certain threshold of credit debt (usually 12-15 ECTS).

Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Faculty of Economics and Technology

What are candidates most afraid of at the Faculty of Computer Science, Electronics and Telecommunications? The fact that computer science is only an addition to… electricity.

• Circuit and Signal Theory: These are subjects that are completely incomprehensible to “pure programmers”. The need to calculate integrals on complex numbers in the context of electrical circuits is the reason for many sleepless nights.
• Experimental physics: Taking measurements in laboratories, where a measurement error of more than 5% results in the rejection of the report, teaches humility, but also exhausts nervously.

How to survive and not be thrown out? Practical strategy

In order not to become part of the dropout statistics, you need to implement specific defense mechanisms:

• Databases of questions and materials from older years: The AGH UST has legendary “packages” with materials. Knowing typical tasks from previous years with a given professor is half the battle. Don’t try to be a pioneer – use the experience of those who have already gone through it.
• Consultations are not a shame: Lecturers at AGH UST value students who come with specific problems. Often, appearing at consultations decides to “stretch” the grade at the cut-off score.
• Group work: Computer science at AGH UST is a team sport. Debugging projects with ASK or AiSD together in the main library or in rooms on the Student Campus is the only way not to go crazy under the overload of tasks.

Frequently asked questions about computer science at AGH UST

Is it difficult to make a living in computer science at AGH?

The first year is the most difficult. Statistically, about 20-30% of students do not graduate on time or drop out after the first session. If you survive the third semester, your chances of graduating increase to 90%.

Do I need to have outstanding scores in physics to study computer science?

Do I need to have outstanding scores in physics to study computer science?

Is there a lot of programming in computer science at AGH?

Yes, but be prepared for the fact that you will have to write many projects in low-level languages (C, C++, Assembler) or Java/C#. Web development (JS, React) appears in full-time studies rarely and usually as an elective subject.

Are part-time studies at a lower level?

The program is similar, but the requirements are slightly different due to the smaller number of contact hours. A computer science diploma from AGH UST (regardless of the mode) is valued just as highly.

What are the point thresholds for Applied Computer Science?

They are usually 20-40 points lower than for “pure” computer science, which makes WEAIiB a great alternative for people with a slightly weaker high school diploma who still want to study at a top university.

Is it possible to work at GameDev after studying computer science at AGH?

Yes, Krakow is the center of Polish GameDev (e.g. CD Projekt Red has a branch here). There are scientific clubs dealing with game development at AGH, and the foundations of C++ and computer graphics are an excellent base.

Is attendance mandatory at university?

In laboratories and exercises – absolutely yes. Lectures are usually voluntary, but in subjects such as Mathematical Analysis, absences quickly backfire during colloquia.

Is mathematics at AGH UST more difficult than at the Jagiellonian University?

Mathematics at AGH UST has an engineering profile – there is a lot of arithmetic and practical applications. At the Jagiellonian University, it is more theoretical. For an IT specialist, the AGH UST approach is sometimes easier to understand, but the volume of material is overwhelming.

Is it possible to take a “dean” to save yourself from being expelled?

Yes, dean’s leave is possible, but usually only after completing the first year. Students often take medical leave (often due to burnout or mental health issues resulting from stress) to gain time to catch up.

Do AGH UST look at attendance at lectures?

Officially, not always, but in practice at smaller faculties (such as WI or WMS), lecturers associate faces. Failure to attend a lecture often ends up with the inability to take the exam on a zero date.

What are the most common reasons for “spontaneous” resignation?

Apart from academic difficulties, the main reason is the rapid entry into the IT job market in Krakow. Students in the 3rd year often have such high earnings that finishing writing an engineering thesis seems to them to be an unnecessary formalism.

Computer Science at AGH UST is an elite study that requires you to be fully committed from the first week of October. The key to success is not only your intelligence, but above all regularity and the ability to select information. If you are not afraid of mathematical challenges and want to understand technology at the very basics, AGH UST will offer you the best start in adult professional life in Krakow. Check the current recruitment schedules on the ERK AGH website and start repeating mathematics – your ticket to the IT world begins with a well-passed matura exam.