Who can award a doctorate? Degree-granting rights of universities and institutes
Not every university awards academic degrees – only one that holds the appropriate scientific category in the given discipline. According to the results of the 2022–2025 evaluation, 257 universities and institutes hold such rights.
Author: Artur Dubiel
Published 6 November 2026
Where degree-granting rights come from
The Act on Higher Education and Science (Ustawa – Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce) grants the right to award the doctoral and habilitation degrees to a university, a Polish Academy of Sciences institute, a research institute, an international institute or the Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education in a discipline in which it holds a scientific category of A+, A or B+. The right may also be granted by the Council for Scientific Excellence under a separate procedure.
Categories are awarded in the evaluation of the quality of research activity – we describe it in the article Research evaluation step by step.
How many units hold degree-granting rights
According to the results of the 2022–2025 evaluation, 257 units hold a category entitling them to award degrees: 130 universities and 127 institutes. In total that is 1105 rights in individual disciplines.
The units with the most disciplines with degree-granting rights are: Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu (31), Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie (30), Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu (28), Uniwersytet Wrocławski (27), Uniwersytet Śląski w Katowicach (26), Uniwersytet Warszawski (26).
Categories B and C
A unit with category B in a given discipline does not open new doctoral procedures but may complete those begun earlier – as provided by the act of 29 May 2026 on special arrangements related to the evaluation results. Procedures conducted in units with category C are taken over by an entity designated by the Council for Scientific Excellence.
The list of rights held by each unit is shown on its profile page in the Universities and Institutes directories.
Sources
- Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce – tekst jednolity, Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1362
- MNiSW – Komunikat w sprawie zakończenia kolejnego etapu ewaluacji jakości działalności naukowej (22.07.2026), z wykazem kategorii
- 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)
- 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.