Scholarship for persons with disabilities

A scholarship for persons with disabilities is awarded upon application by the student to the unit responsible for persons with disabilities. The application must be submitted together with:

• a disability certificate,
• a certificate on the degree of disability,
• a certificate of being included in an invalidity group,
• a certificate of total inability to work, or inability to lead an independent life, or partial inability to work issued by a Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) practitioner.

The award of the disability scholarship is independent of income.

Benefits are available for first-cycle studies, second-cycle studies and long-cycle master studies.

The total period for which benefits are available is 12 semesters, regardless of the student's intake, with the proviso that within this period benefits are available for:

1. first-cycle studies - no longer than 9 semesters;
2. second-cycle studies - no longer than 7 semesters.

The total period referred to in sec. 4, shall be extended by 2 semesters where the student has undertaken a long-cycle master degree programme, the duration of which is 11 or 12 semesters as stipulated in the regulations.

All semesters of studies started by the student, including semesters falling within the period of use of leaves of absence, shall be included in the period for which benefits are granted, with the exception of semesters of further first-cycle studies started or continued after the first bachelor's, engineer's or equivalent degree has been obtained. In the case of studying in more than one field of study, semesters taken concurrently are treated as one semester.

The above provisions shall apply mutatis mutandis to students who have studied or obtained their degrees abroad

Scholarship benefits are not available to a student holding a Master, Master of Engineering or equivalent degree, regardless of when and in which field of study it was obtained.

The right to these benefits is also deprived of the holder of a bachelor's, engineer's or equivalent degree if he/she resumes his/her first-cycle studies.

If the disability arose during the course of study or after the completion of the degree, the scholarship for disabled persons is available for a period of 12 semesters. The provisions of sec. 4-6 of the Regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis.

If a student's disability is declared during the academic year, the student may apply for a special scholarship for disabled persons. The scholarship is paid from the month in which the student applies.

If a certificate containing a specific symbol for the cause of disability expires during the academic year, payment of the scholarship shall be discontinued from the month following the expiry.

The student should provide a valid disability certificate no later than 30 days from the date of issue of the aforementioned certificate.

Resumption of payment with compensation for the months in which the scholarship was withheld will take place from the month following the month in which the student provides the next continuing certificate.

If a student provides during the academic year a certificate with a different cause of disability symbol, which is not a continuation of the previous certificate, the certificate will be treated as a new certificate and payment will be made from the month in which the application was submitted.

If the student provides during the academic year a document confirming the attainment of a higher degree of disability (with the same symbol of the cause of disability), he/she is entitled to a benefit at a correspondingly higher amount with compensation for the period from which he/she became entitled to a higher degree of disability. The submission of a document shall be treated as an application for which a decision is issued within the meaning of art. 155 of the Act - Code of Administrative Proceedings.

In case a student provides during the academic year a document confirming the attainment of a lower degree of disability (with the same symbol of the cause of disability), which overrules in its entirety the previously submitted document of a higher degree of disability, the provisions of § 16 sec. 4-10 Regulations shall apply.

A scholarship for persons with disabilities is awarded for an academic year, for a period not exceeding the end of the period of validity of the disability certificate.

Detailed criteria for granting benefits to students are described in the Benefits Regulations for students of the JKU in Kielce.