Poland sets 2026/27 medical and dental admission limits

The Minister of Health has fixed the admission limits for the medical (lekarski) and dental (lekarsko-dentystyczny) degree programmes for the 2026/2027 academic year, in a regulation dated 28 August 2026 published in Dziennik Ustaw on 2 September 2026 under poz. 1167. The regulation, signed on behalf of the Minister by K. Kęcka, determines how many places each Polish university may offer to future doctors and dentists.

The measure is issued under Article 444(2) of the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (Dz. U. 2024, poz. 1571, as amended). It replaces the previous regulation of 7 August 2025 (Dz. U. poz. 1086) and enters into force on the day following its publication.

Medical programme limits

Annex 1 sets the limits for the medical degree across 39 universities, broken down by mode of study: full-time Polish-language places, reserved places for foreign students, part-time Polish-language places, and places taught in a language other than Polish.

The largest full-time Polish-language quotas are concentrated in the public medical universities:

Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach – 806 places (including 75 at its Bielsko-Biała branch)
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Łodzi – 680 places (including 200 financed by the Minister of National Defence)
Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny – 550 places
Uniwersytet Medyczny we Wrocławiu – 417 places (including 60 at its Wałbrzych branch)
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Poznaniu – 340 places
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie – 330 places

Among the smaller allocations, several universities are limited to fewer than 100 full-time Polish-language places, including Uniwersytet w Siedlcach (45), Akademia Nauk Stosowanych w Nowym Sączu (45), Akademia Nauk Stosowanych w Nowym Targu (45), Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie (70) and Uniwersytet Zielonogórski (90).

Dental programme limits

Annex 2 sets the limits for the dental degree across 12 universities. The largest full-time Polish-language quotas are:

Śląski Uniwersytet Medyczny w Katowicach – 120 places
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Łodzi – 120 places
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie – 90 places
Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny – 84 places
Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku – 73 places

The remaining dental allocations range from 30 to 71 places, with Uczelnia Łazarskiego w Warszawie and Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu at the lower end.

Foreign-student places

For both programmes, the regulation reserves specific full-time Polish-language places for foreign students admitted under Article 323(1)(3) and (4) of the Law on Higher Education and Science. Unused foreign-student places do not increase the general full-time Polish-language quota.

The annual fixing of these limits directly shapes the number of doctors and dentists entering the Polish healthcare system, and is a key tool for managing the supply of medical professionals in the face of persistent shortages. For candidates, the published quotas define the competition they will face in the 2026/2027 recruitment round.

Source: Dziennik Ustaw, No. 2026, 2 September 2026, section I (official reference: Dz. U. 2026 poz. 1167).