Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce

Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce is not a dedicated medical university but a comprehensive university to which medicine was added relatively late. The institution traces its roots to a teacher-training college founded in 1945 and today bears the name of the Renaissance poet Jan Kochanowski. Only on 30 September 2014 did the then Ministry of Science grant approval to offer the long-cycle medical programme; the Institute of Medical Sciences followed in 2015. Those who apply here are going to a location that has been training physicians for just over ten years and built this structure alongside ongoing university operations.

The English-Language M.D. Programme

The School of Medicine offers a six-year, fully English-taught programme with twelve semesters of 30 ECTS each. The university puts the scope at more than 5,700 teaching hours in preclinical and clinical subjects; the qualification awarded is the M.D. Anatomy is taught on cadavers in the early semesters; the sixth year consists of 30 weeks of practical clinical teaching at hospital, amounting to around 900 hours. The programme has been evaluated by the Polish Accreditation Committee, is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and received ECFMG certification in 2024. There is also a cooperation with Case Western Reserve University in the USA.

Clinical Training in the Voivodeship

Kielce is the capital of the Holy Cross Voivodeship, and clinical teaching takes place there. The university lists among its training sites the cardiology centre with cardiac surgery, the oncology centre, the children's hospital, the psychiatric centre, and the specialist mother-and-child clinic. This is a solid regional care landscape, but not a university hospital in the German sense of a single large campus. You rotate between several institutions, and group sizes are smaller than at the large Polish medical universities.

What Kielce Offers and What It Does Not

The location is compact, personal, and considerably cheaper in day-to-day life than Warsaw or Kraków. At the same time the English Division is young: there are fewer graduating cohorts, a smaller international alumni network, and fewer testimonials than at, say, Poznań or Wrocław. Those who value a long tradition, a large university hospital, and a broad German-speaking community are not automatically in the right place here. Those who are looking for a small cohort, short distances, and a quiet study environment will find a serious option in Kielce. Medschool Experts can advise whether this location fits your profile.

Admissions Process

Kielce does not select on grades alone but runs its own admissions examination in biology and chemistry, conducted online. The prerequisite for sitting the examination is that your school-leaving certificate shows results in biology or chemistry and in physics or mathematics. If your schooling was not in English, the university requires a language certificate; IELTS from 6.5 and TOEFL iBT from 87 points are among the accepted qualifications. The application fee is 85 PLN and is non-refundable. The university advertises several examination dates per year: for the 2026/2027 cycle registration opened from 1 August 2026 with the examination on 22 and 23 September; in earlier years an additional date in July was offered. Plan your application early and check current dates directly with the university.

Tuition and Living Costs

Tuition fees for the six-year M.D. programme from the academic year 2025/2026 are 12,500 EUR per year, payable in two instalments of 6,250 EUR at the start of the winter and summer semesters. For living costs in Poland the DAAD quotes 300 to 500 EUR per month for a modest lifestyle; Kielce is not among the expensive cities. Budget additionally for books, travel home, and insurance.

Programme Structure and Language of Instruction

The programme lasts six years and is taught entirely in English, from the preclinical subjects through the clinical rotations to the final practical year. At the bedside, however, English alone will not suffice: patients in the Holy Cross Voivodeship speak Polish, so you should plan for language tuition from the start. Those who leave this until the fourth year will struggle in their clinical placements.

Degree and Recognition in Germany

The qualification awarded is the medical degree, designated lekarz in Poland and listed as M.D. in the English-language programme. Poland is an EU member state; the degree therefore falls under the Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC and is in principle automatically recognised in Germany. One point deserves honest mention: Poland reintroduced the LEK state examination and the 13-month postgraduate internship (staż podyplomowy) in 2019 and anchored them in Annex V of the Directive. As a result, German Approbation authorities initially withheld licences from graduates without these certificates, a dispute that was publicly aired between the Federal and Länder governments in 2019 and 2020. The Medical University of Bialystok also advises its graduates that Germany typically expects the LEK and a recognised internship. Clarify your individual path early with your Landesapprobationsbehörde. German language proficiency must also be demonstrated, which is usually unproblematic with a German school-leaving certificate; you still go through the formal Approbation procedure.

City and Accommodation

Kielce lies between Warsaw and Kraków at the edge of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains and is a mid-sized regional capital without big-city bustle. The university operates several dormitories clustered on śląska Street, including Odyseja, Fama, Melodia, Łącznik, and Asystent; Asystent has 177 beds in single, double, and triple rooms with shared kitchen and bathroom. Those who prefer private accommodation will find relatively moderate rents on the local market.

Daily Life and Getting There

Day-to-day life is quiet and compact; the cultural offer is more modest than in a metropolis, but the surrounding countryside with hiking trails and nature parks is close. The German-speaking group at this location is small; the language of the cohort and of the course is English. Kielce has no scheduled-service airport; travel from Germany typically goes via Kraków or Warsaw and then onward by train or bus. Getting home for a weekend is feasible; a spontaneous trip home between two exams is not.

Is the medical programme in Kielce taught in English?

Yes — the School of Medicine offers a six-year M.D. programme taught entirely in English. For patient interaction during clinical placements you additionally need Polish. Plan language acquisition from the very beginning.

Is there an entrance examination?

Yes. Kielce runs its own admissions examination in biology and chemistry, conducted online. The prerequisite is that your school certificate shows results in biology or chemistry and in physics or mathematics. The university advertises several examination dates per year.

What does studying in Kielce cost?

Tuition fees from the academic year 2025/2026 are 12,500 EUR per year, split into two instalments of 6,250 EUR. In addition there is an application fee of 85 PLN. For living costs the DAAD quotes 300 to 500 EUR per month in Poland.

Is the degree recognised in Germany?

Poland is an EU member state; the medical degree falls under Directive 2005/36/EC and is in principle automatically recognised. Since Poland reintroduced the LEK state examination and the staż podyplomowy postgraduate internship in 2019, German authorities in practice often require evidence of both. Clarify your path early with the responsible Landesapprobationsbehörde.

How does Kielce compare with the large Polish medical universities?

Kielce has been training physicians for just over ten years and is part of a comprehensive university rather than a dedicated medical university. That means smaller cohorts, short distances, and a more personal environment, but also less tradition, fewer graduating years, and a smaller alumni network than Białystok or Katowice.