Study Medicine in Katowice – Academy of Silesia

The Academy of Silesia is a private university based in Katowice. It grew out of Wyższa Szkoła Techniczna, founded in 2001, and adopted its current name in 2022. The medical programme belongs to the Prof. Zbigniew Religa Faculty of Medical Sciences, with teaching spread across Katowice and Zabrze. The programme lasts twelve semesters, is offered in Polish and English and leads to the Polish lekarz degree. The Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA) has given the programme a positive assessment. The Academy is not the same institution as the public Medical University of Silesia.

Dean and professors

The faculty is led by Dr. Grzegorz Religa as Dean. The cardiac surgeon is the son of Prof. Zbigniew Religa, the legendary founder of Polish cardiac surgery after whom the faculty is named — and he completed his own thoracic surgery training under him. Before becoming Dean, he worked as a senior consultant in the cardiac surgery department at Biegański Hospital in Łódź.

• Prof. Dr. Andrzej Bochenek – cardiac surgeon and Vice-Rector for Medical Affairs; took part in Poland's first successful heart transplant in 1985 and has performed more than 4,500 open-heart operations during his career.
• Prof. Dr. Klaudiusz Nadolny – Vice-Dean and head of the Department of Emergency Medicine; awarded an honorary doctorate by Ivano-Frankivsk National Medical University in Ukraine.
• Prof. Dr. Krzysztof Milewski – cardiologist and head of the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiology; conducted research at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York from 2008 to 2010 and has published in The Lancet, among other journals.

Accreditations of the Academy of Silesia in Poland

Is the Academy of Silesia a state-accredited university? Yes. The Medicine programme has been positively evaluated and accredited by the Polish Accreditation Committee (Polska Komisja Akredytacyjna, PKA) — the country's central state authority for the quality assurance and accreditation of higher education institutions in Poland. The PKA accredits both public and private universities in Poland to the same statutory standards.

The Academy of Silesia is registered in the World Directory of Medical Schools, the internationally recognised directory of medical schools maintained by WFME and FAIMER. The PKA itself is recognised by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) as an accrediting agency (WFME recognition valid until September 2035) — the basis for ECFMG's "Recognized Accreditation Policy," under which only graduates of programmes accredited by a WFME-recognised agency are eligible for ECFMG certification and, with it, admission to the USMLE.

Poland is also on the list of the US National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA), which identifies countries whose medical-education accreditation standards are comparable to those of the United States.

• Medicine: The Medicine programme leads to a medical degree. The pre-clinical phase establishes the scientific foundations; the clinical phase adds patient-facing work.

The programme runs over twelve semesters, or six years. In the first two years you build the pre-clinical foundations in anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology and embryology, alongside Polish language courses that you will need for patient contact later on. From the third year, the clinical phase begins with internal medicine, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology, neurology and psychiatry; placements take place at the faculty's teaching hospitals in Katowice and Zabrze. The final year is entirely practical and works like a full clinical internship year.

The basic requirement for placement at this location is a general higher-education entrance qualification. When placed through Medschool Experts, there is no separate entrance test. Get in touch to find out whether we can place you at this university, and book a free study consultation.

The tuition fee is 7,200 EUR per semester (years 1–2), 7,950 EUR per semester (years 3–4), 8,250 EUR per semester (years 5–6). Before making any decision, ask the International Office to confirm the amount in writing, specifying whether accommodation, insurance, and registration fees are included.

Additional one-off costs include the application fee, visa, health insurance, travel, and usually a deposit for accommodation. Budget 500 to 700 EUR per month for living costs.

Poland is a member of the European Union, so the Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC applies to your degree. The lekarz degree you earn at the Prof. Zbigniew Religa Faculty of the Academy of Silesia in Katowice is recognised automatically throughout the EU/EEA and in Switzerland, without an equivalence assessment or knowledge test.

To practise in Poland itself, the state exam (LEK) and the internship year (staż) would be required; for most other EU countries you do not need either. You apply for your licence with the competent authority of the country where you want to work and provide proof of medical-level proficiency in its national language. Processing times vary from country to country.

After that, specialist training is open to you on the same terms as graduates of domestic medical schools. Teaching is spread across Katowice and Zabrze, in the Upper Silesian metropolitan area of around two million people — so you will know how large hospitals work.

Katowice is the lively heart of Silesia, with one of the youngest populations in Poland and a student and bar scene known far beyond the city. Rents are well below Western European levels, and the compact city centre is easy to explore on foot or by tram.

The climate is temperate continental: spring and autumn are pleasantly mild at around 4–14 °C, and summers reach highs of about 24 °C without becoming oppressive. The annual average is just under 9 °C.

Katowice Airport (KTW) is about 30 kilometres north of the city and offers direct flights to many European destinations.