Admission

General information

Admission to the Doctoral School of Natural and Agricultural Sciences is based on competition. The competition is conducted by the Admission Committee composed of researchers from the Institutes that run the Doctoral School in order to select the best candidates through evaluation (in the form of scoring) of their academic performance, scientific achievements, and knowledge related to the subject of their master's thesis and the doctoral research topic selected for implementation during the doctoral studies. The candidates with the highest scores are admitted to the Doctoral School. Admission to the Doctoral School takes place by enrolling a candidate on the list of doctoral students in a given academic year.

The regular admission period is held in September, and detailed admission rules are announced five months in advance. Research topics proposed to candidates, along with the admission limit to the Doctoral School, are announced in early July.

In addition to the regular admission period, candidates may also be admitted outside the standard admission schedule through competitions for doctoral student positions within research projects funded from external sources.

Terms and conditions of admission

Admission to the Doctoral School is based on a competition, the rules and requirements of which are approved by the Council of the Doctoral School and the Scientific Council of IB PAS:

Admission calendar for the academic year 2026/2027

Candidates must submit their application documents by August 7, 2026
Interviews will take place on September 8, 2026
Admission results will be announced by September 10, 2026

Candidates will be notified of the interview process (online or in-person) before September 1, 2026.

Admission Committee

The Director of the W. Szafer Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences has appointed the Admission Committee for the admission of candidates to the Doctoral School for the academic year 2026/2027:

Dr Agnieszka Bednarska (chairperson)
Dr Beata Grzywacz
Prof. Anna Janeczko
Prof. Łukasz Kajtoch
Dr Paweł Kapusta
Katarzyna Karpierz
Jakub Kurczab
Dr Marta Libik-Konieczny
Dr Joanna Nowak
Prof. Henryk Okarma
Dr Grażyna Szarek-Łukaszewska
Prof. Lucyna Śliwa
Prof. Sylwester Świątkiewicz
Prof. Elżbieta Wilk-Woźniak

Admission limit and research topics

The Director of the W. Szafer Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences announced an admission limit of five students and the following research topics for the Doctoral School for the academic year 2026/2027:

Hypoxia as a modulator of the tumour microenvironment: functional and transcriptomic studies in equine sarcoid cell lines (PDF)
Exploring the genetic basis of the BEW (blue-eyed white) phenotype in alpacas using the latest genome sequencing techniques (PDF)
The role of plant-associated microbiota in shaping tolerance strategies to potentially toxic metals (PDF); admission to this research topic is linked to a competition for a doctoral student position within an OPUS project carried out at the W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences (link to the competition will be available soon)
Genome structure of two invasive Hemiptera species, Cinara curvipes and Leptoglossus occidentalis, and their success outside the natural range (PDF); admission to this research topic is linked to a competition for a doctoral student position (PDF) within an OPUS project carried out at the Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences; application documents should be submitted electronically to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (cc: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by August 7, 2026
Spatio-temporal dynamics of mammal communities in mountain ecosystems: integrating camera traps, artificial intelligence and citizen science in Tatra National Park (PDF); admission to this research topic is linked to a competition for a doctoral student position (PDF) within a Biodiversa+ project carried out at the Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences; application documents should be submitted electronically to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (cc: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) by August 7, 2026

Required documents

Application for admission to the Doctoral School together with a statement of reasons and specification of the framework research topic referred to in the announcement of the admission; the candidate may indicate the second research topic (along with the justification of the choice), the implementation of which he/she is interested in if he/she is not accepted for the research topic indicated as the first choice (DOCX)
Consent to the processing of personal data for the purposes of the admissions procedure (DOCX)
CV specifying a list of scientific achievements, employment record and participation in scientific projects
Personal data form (DOCX)
Two photos + one photo in electronic form (passport-sized format)
Diploma certifying completion of Master studies or a document confirming the fulfilment of the conditions set out in §2 sec. 6–8 of Rules for admission (useful information: link 1, link 2); in the case of a diploma of study abroad, it should be endorsed with an apostille clause
Certificate or diploma certifying completion of studies, confirming English language competencies at no less than B2 level; if English is the applicant’s native language, a certificate or diploma certifying completion of studies, confirming another modern language competencies at no less than B2 level is required; the list of certificates is specified in Appendix 2 to these Rules for Admission
Photocopy of the student's record book/diploma supplement containing the relevant entries
Statement concerning previously commenced doctoral studies or doctoral programme, or education at another doctoral school
Information on the doctoral scholarship received at another doctoral school, and the period for which it has been paid
A copy of the abstract of the Master's thesis in Polish or English
A statement of no health-related contraindications to carry out the tasks provided for under the research topic concerned
A statement to the effect that the person can use electronic equipment in order to attend classes held with the use of distance learning methods and techniques
Declaration of disability