Recruitment for studies in the academic year 2025/2026 – statistics and trends

The academic year 2026/2027 is fast approaching. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education has not yet published statistics on this year's recruitment. Currently available data concerns recruitment for 2025/2026.

At that time, as many as 450,715 people started their studies. The vast majority were students of first-cycle studies and long-cycle master's studies - 335,368 people, while 115,347 candidates were admitted to second-cycle studies.

The most popular public universities in Poland

Among public universities, renowned universities in the largest cities are invariably the most popular. The most students were accepted by:

University of Warsaw – 9,898 new students;

Jagiellonian University in Kraków – 8,682;

University of Wrocław – 6,842;

University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznań – 6,826;

University of Lodz – 6,699.

Not only the number of admissions, but also the number of applications proves the popularity of a given university. In this respect, the leader is the University of Warsaw (48,749 applications), followed by the Jagiellonian University (36,808), Warsaw University of Technology (33,363), Gdańsk University of Technology (33,162) and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków (30,091).

Some candidates also choose to attend vocational universities that offer practical preparation for the profession and often close cooperation with the local labor market.

The most popular choices in this category were:

Tarnów Academy – 2,826 accepted;

Collegium Witelon State University – 1,687;

State Academy of Applied Sciences in Yaroslavl – 1,385;

Biała Podlaska Academy John Paul II – 1,189;

Academy of Applied Sciences in Nowy Sącz – 1,118.

The biggest competition for a place at university

Some fields of study attract extremely many applicants, which means huge competition for one place. This year's recruitment was most crowded with:

Oriental studies – Japanese studies – 22.2 candidates per place;

medical and dental field – 18.0;

business and management – ​​17.7;

data science in business – 16.3;

directing – 16.1.

Such high indicators show that not only "traditional" medical and legal fields are of interest to young people, but also modern specializations that respond to the needs of the changing market.

The most frequently chosen fields of study

The list of the most popular fields of study in Poland is still dominated by the classics, although modern fields are playing an increasingly important role. The top five are:

psychology – 43,562 reports;

medical studies (excluding medical universities supervised by the Ministry of Health) – 30,597 applications;

management – ​​27,368 reports;

law – 26,377 reports;

IT – 26,248 reports.

These data clearly show that young Poles are still eager to choose fields that guarantee professional stability and broad development prospects, both in the areas of social, medical and exact sciences.

Private universities also recorded high interest in the offer of full-time studies. The most frequently chosen ones included:

SWPS University,

Leon Koźmiński Academy in Warsaw,

WSB Academy,

VIZJA University,

WSB Merito University in Poznań.

Diverse choices of young people and labor market needs

Candidates for studies are increasingly choosing not only the largest academic centers, but also vocational and private universities. The popularity of "traditional" fields of study, such as law, psychology or medicine, goes hand in hand with the growing interest in modern specializations such as data science or management.