Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program 2025-26

For over 20 years now, the Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program has been supporting individual development of young, ambitious and active citizens of selected states in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. The goal of the Program is to share the Polish experience of political transformation and integration with the European Union. The group of over 900 alumni of the Program includes members of governments, MPs, managerial staff of large multinationals, heads of local authorities and well-known social activists.

The Program offers scholarships for two-term university training courses on Polish universities. Eligible candidates are young leaders and experts with higher education coming from the following 11 countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan who are interested in fostering democracy, economy and civic society in their home countries and in the region.

The Program offers 2 terms of studies on Polish universities as well as 2-week internships in state or private institutions. Potential candidates are persons who have resolved that following the completion of the scholarship, they want to return to their home country in order to implement the knowledge gained during the scholarship or a project prepared as part of it.

CANDIDATES:

The Kirkland scholarships are addressed to individuals who represent the following professional groups:

• civil servants, employees of central and local government institutions 
• lawyers
• entrepreneurs, 
• managers in business, NGOs, culture, education, environmental protection, healthcare
• leaders of non-governmental organizations, animators in culture and civic activity 
• academic teachers
• journalists

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

•  Citizenship and permanent residence in one of the targeted countries (holders of residence card in Poland, and people living or working in Poland when applying for a scholarship are ineligible)
• Master’s degree (or equivalent)
• Up to 40 years of age  
• At least two years of professional experience
• At least two years break from participation in a previous scholarship abroad, longer than 6 months

Therefore, candidates from Belarus and Ukraine, as well as other candidates planning to study in Polish, must know Polish at the beginning of the scholarship at a level enabling them to take advantage of academic classes and write their diploma thesis (B2).  During the interview, candidates should know Polish at least at B1 level. For candidates with insufficient knowledge of the Polish language, but who have obtained a high score, we allow for the possibility of improving the assessment of Polish language skills by passing the exam in mid-June 2024. The result of the examination determines the final qualification of the candidate for the scholarship

Candidates from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan planning to study in English are required to indicate a specific educational offer in that language in the above-mentioned five academic centers. These persons are required, during the interview, to speak English at least at B2 level and have the basic knowledge of the Polish language - A1 level. Candidates who pass the qualification in terms of content, but not sufficiently know Polish, have the opportunity to continue learning the language (the Program administrator provides study materials) and pass the language exam organized in the mid-June 2024). The result of the exam determines the final qualification of the candidate for the scholarship.

PREFERENCES:

• Candidates actively working in their professional and social fields
• Candidates who have significant achievements
• Candidates who have not studied in Poland before
• Candidates choosing to study in Polish

The Program's offer

The following benefits are offered under the Lane Kirkland Scholarship Program:

• Free access to university courses at prestigious Polish universities. The offer includes 2 semesters of studies at one of 5 Polish academic centers (Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Lublin) as well as a professional internship in state institutions lasting at least 2 weeks
• The opportunity to prepare a scientific paper or an implementation project under scientific guidance of experienced Polish experts and scholars
• A scholarship of PLN 18,200 paid in 10 installments

Moreover, the Program Administrator provides the following services (the total amount of which is about PLN 4,200 a month):

• optional participation in additional trainings and subsidized post-graduate studies
• accommodation in Poland for the period of 9 months
• a Polish language course (in the period from October to June)
• purchase of learning materials and aids
• possibility to buy a laptop as a part of the didactic package and participate in branch conferences
• health insurance, civil liability insurance and private medical insurance
• costs of return travel to Poland (up to agreed caps)
• participation in an orientation program as well as workshop and integration conventions for grantees
• public transportation fares
• visa costs