Research evaluation step by step – where the A+, A, B+, B and C categories come from
Every 4 years, universities and institutes are assessed in each discipline they work in. The result – a category from A+ to C – determines, among other things, the right to award academic degrees and the status of an academic university.
Author: Artur Dubiel
Published 6 November 2026
Who is assessed
Evaluation covers academic universities, Polish Academy of Sciences institutes and international institutes; vocational universities, research institutes and the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education are covered at their own request. Each discipline is assessed separately, provided the unit employs at least 12 people conducting research in it (in full-time equivalents, as of 31 December of the year preceding the evaluation).
Each academic staff member states in a declaration in which unit and in which disciplines they are to be counted – at most two. The disciplines are listed in the classification of fields and disciplines.
What is assessed
The Act lists three main criteria: the scientific or artistic level of the activity, the financial results of research and development work, and the impact of research activity on the functioning of society and the economy.
The details – types of achievements and how points are calculated for publications, patents, projects and impact statements – are set out in a ministerial regulation. Points for articles and monographs depend on the ministry’s list of journals and publishers.
How a category is determined
The Science Evaluation Committee (Komisja Ewaluacji Nauki) proposes reference values for categories A, B+ and B for each discipline, and the minister sets them. A unit’s result is compared with these values: a unit exceeding the A threshold receives A; those falling lower receive, in turn, B+, B or C.
Category A+ requires an additional assessment. It can only be awarded to units with category A whose result exceeds a threshold set by the Committee – no lower than the median result of units with category A. Their achievements are assessed by two experts, including one from a research centre abroad.
The Committee adopts a resolution with proposed categories by 15 June of the evaluation year, and the categories are awarded by the minister in administrative decisions. Within 30 days a unit may apply for reconsideration of the case.
How often evaluation takes place and how long a category is valid
Evaluation is carried out every 4 years and covers the 4 years preceding the year of assessment. The exception was the 2022 evaluation, which covered 5 years (2017–2021). A category remains valid until the decision from the next evaluation becomes final.
Evaluation for 2022–2025
The ministry announced the results of the evaluation for 2022–2025 on 22 July 2026. 280 entities were assessed in 55 disciplines – 1241 assessments of disciplines in units in total. Category A+ was awarded 106 times, A – 392, B+ – 607, B – 120 and C – 16.
A separate act was passed for this evaluation on 29 May 2026. A unit that received category B in a given discipline may complete doctoral procedures opened earlier but may not open new ones; if it again receives B or C in the next evaluation, it loses the right to award the doctoral degree in that discipline. Procedures conducted in units with category C are taken over by an entity designated by the Council for Scientific Excellence.
Categories on Polska.science
On the profile pages of universities and institutes we show the categories from the ministry’s list of 22 July 2026 and, alongside them for comparison, the results of the evaluation for 2017–2021 from RAD-on open data. The most A+ categories went to: Uniwersytet Warszawski (9), Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza im. Stanisława Staszica w Krakowie (7), Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie (6) (full ranking). How to read the categories is explained in the article Scientific categories A+, A, B+, B and C – what do they mean?.
Sources
- Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce – tekst jednolity, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1362
- Rozporządzenie w sprawie ewaluacji jakości działalności naukowej – tekst jednolity, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1346
- Ustawa z dnia 29 maja 2026 r. o szczególnych rozwiązaniach związanych z wynikami ewaluacji jakości działalności naukowej za lata 2022–2025 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 971)
- MNiSW – Komunikat w sprawie zakończenia kolejnego etapu ewaluacji jakości działalności naukowej (22.07.2026), z wykazem kategorii
- Forum Akademickie – Ministerstwo podało wyniki ewaluacji za lata 2022–2025 (23.07.2026)
- RAD-on – Raporty, analizy, dane o nauce i szkolnictwie wyższym (OPI PIB)
Sources are in Polish. Figures from the register as of 6 November 2026; checked: 2026-11-06.