American Studies, full-time, first cycle

The American Studies Center is an interdisciplinary research and higher-education institution of the University of Warsaw. Its faculty members specialize in various fields of knowledge about the United States and the Western Hemisphere—culture, literature, arts, film, media, history, economy, politics, history of ideas, society, and law.

The American Studies Center has a full-time liberal arts undergraduate program in American Studies. The program lasts three years (or six semesters). All instruction is conducted in English, by permanent, adjunct, and visiting faculty. Among our permanent faculty are Polish professors as well as professors from the US and Mexico.

The program covers both humanities and social sciences— the interdisciplinary field of cultural studies, history, political science, sociology, as well as literature. Cultural studies is the leading one in the program. The ASC American studies program is one of the largest in Europe. It’s also unique in Poland in that it is interdisciplinary and includes a comparative perspective on the US vis-à-vis Latin America. It’s also unique in that it’s an all-English program, thus promoting intercultural understanding and international exchange. Our American studies program teaches how “to address the problems of the modern era—locally, regionally, and supra-regionally,” and helps develop “skills most looked for by employers on today’s job market” (from the mission of the UW Institute of the Americas and Europe to which the ASC belongs).

The program includes obligatory courses introducing students to the five major disciplines as well as elective courses helping students expand their knowledge within individual disciplines, in particular knowledge relevant to research projects which students engage in for the purposes of their BA theses. The program also provides for courses on research methods in humanities and social sciences as well as courses in academic writing in English. Research grants allow our best students to travel abroad for research purposes to other American Studies libraries in Europe or the United States and to conduct empirical research there.

The current study program is available on the website of the American Studies Center

The graduates of the ASC’s undergrad program are awarded BA degrees in American Studies. They have knowledge allowing them understand various cultural phenomena, in particular those of the United States of America. Trained to understand various cultural phenomena and institutions, ASC alumni seek employment in the media, cultural institutions, foundations, institutions of state administration, local governments, and other public institutions.

Our graduates know how to formulate and address various research problems; they know how to identify, understand, interpret, explain and analyze the causes and dynamics of cultural processes and phenomena observable in the US. They know how to use various resources for this purpose and how to employ several research methods and tools developed in humanities and social sciences. ASC alumni have all the necessary skills and competences to collect, evaluate, and sort various facts of culture and society, and to draw conclusions. In short, they know how to carry out work done by researchers, entrepreneurs, journalists, teachers of humanities and social sciences, social activists, and specialists working at various public institutions. Thanks to our interdisciplinary program, our graduates can not only recognize and understand basic phenomena and processes, but also collect, connect, and interpret them, and on their basis offer autonomous judgments and opinions.

Our BA graduates are equipped with skills and competences necessary to continue their studies at the MA level.

ASC graduates find employment in business, trade, journalism, media, cultural institutions, higher education, public administration, diplomacy, international organizations, and tourism.

Admission rules

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Candidates are obliged to hold one of the documents accepted by the University of Warsaw, certifying their competence in the English language at least at the B2 level.

Polish new maturity exam 2005 – 2024

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Points are calculated as follows:

W = a * P + b * M + c * J + d * X

where:

W – the final result
P – result from the Polish language on basic or advanced level
M – result from Mathematics on basic or advanced level
J – result from the English language on advanced level
X - result from additional subject on basic or advanced level
a, b, c, d – weights.

Important information for candidates with the foreign language exam result at bilingual level. >> Check! <<

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

Candidates whose result in the English language at the advanced level in the Polish maturity exam („new maturity diploma”) is lower than 60% are obliged to upload on their registration account in the IRK system (section “Education” – “Certificates and other documents required to start studies”) one of the documents accepted by the University of Warsaw certifying their competence in English (see the above list) and contact the Admissions Commission.

Old maturity exam

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Points are calculated as follows:

W = a * P + b * M + c * J + d * X

where:

W – the final result
P – result from the Polish language on basic or advanced or undefined level
M – result from Mathematics on basic or advanced or undefined level
J – result from the English language on advanced or undefined level
X - result from additional subject on basic or advanced or undefined level
a, b, c, d – weights.

Maturity exam after 1991

grade 6 = 100%
grade 5 = 90%
grade 4 = 75%
grade 3 = 50%
grade 2 = 30%

Maturity exam until 1991

grade 5 = 100%
grade 4 = 85%
grade 3 = 40%

Important information for candidates with Polish old maturity exam. >> Check! <<

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

International Baccalaureate (IB)

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Points are calculated as follows:

W = a * P + b * M + c * J + d * X

where:

W – the final result
P – result from the Polish language on standard or higher level
M – result from Mathematics on standard or higher level
J – result from the English language on higher level
X - result from additional subject on standard or higher level
a, b, c, d – weights.

The IB results will be converted according to the table below:

7 = 100%
6 = 90%
5 = 75%
4 = 60%
3 = 45%
2 = 30%

Important information for candidates with IB and EB. >> Check! <<

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

European Baccalaureate (EB)

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Points are calculated as follows:

W = a * P + b * M + c * J + d * X

where:

W – the final result
P – result from the Polish language on basic or advanced level
M – result from Mathematics on basic or advanced level
J – result from the English language on advanced level
X - result from additional subject on basic or advanced level
a, b, c, d – weights.

The EB results will be converted according to the table below:

9,00 - 10,00 = 100%
8,00 - 8,99 = 90%
7,50 - 7,99 = 75%
7,00 - 7,49 = 60%
6,00 - 6,99 = 45%
5,00 - 5,99 = 30%

Important information for candidates with IB and EB. >> Check! <<

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

Foreign diploma

 Minimum number of points needed to be qualified: 50

Qualification procedure consists of two stages: calculation of points obtained at high school diploma (I stage) and qualification interview (II stage).

Qualification result at I stage is calculated according to the table below:

Points are calculated as follows:

W = a * P + b * M + c * J + d * X

where:

W – the final result
P – result from the Polish or original language
M – result from Mathematics
J – result from the English language
X - result from additional subject
a, b, c, d – weights.

Candidates, who obtain at least 60 points can participate in the II stage of the qualification procedure.

II STAGE

In the II stage candidates participate in the oral exam. The exam can also be conducted via Google Meets or, if necessary, another Internet communicator.

Candidates can obtain 0-100 points in the additional oral exam.

The oral exam will cover contemporary social issues of the United States of America, as well as basic information about political, social, and economic life of the USA and the region. Basic knowledge of facts about the US history and geography will also be evaluated. The exam consists of 4 questions.

The final result is calculated as follows: the weight of stage I of the qualification procedure – 50%, the weight of stage II of the qualification procedure – 50 %. The final result will be the arithmetic average of the results of both stages of the procedure.

Qualification interview: 17th of July, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. (interview will be conducted online via Zoom)

Calculation of candidates high school diploma results. >> Check! <<

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

Checking candidates' competence to undertake studies conducted in the English language

Candidates are obliged to hold one of the documents accepted by the University of Warsaw, certifying their competence in the English language at least at the B2 level.

Information on documents certifying knowledge of the English language. >> Check! <<

Deadlines

Announcement of results: 22nd of July, 2024

Reception of documents: 

• I round: 23rd-25th of July, 2024
• II round (in case of not fulfilling the limit during I round): 26th, 29th of July, 2024
• III round (in case of not fulfilling the limit during II round): 30th-31st of July, 2024
• additional rounds will be announced in case of not fulfilling the limits

Payments

Application fee

Student's ID payment (ELS)

The studies are payable for citizens of Non-UE/EFTA countries (EEA parties) and Switzerland - tuition fees

Required documents

List of required documents submitted by candidates qualified for studies

Additional information

Find us on the map: American Studies Center