Poland · Łódź Voivodeship
Study in Lodz in English: universities, costs and careers for international students
Lodz is Poland’s fourth-largest city, sitting in the geographic centre of the country, and it is the cheapest of the big Polish student cities by a clear margin. Its technical university runs an International Faculty of Engineering that teaches entirely in English - one of the oldest such faculties in Poland - and the city’s red-brick textile mills have been converted into campuses, offices and Manufaktura, one of Europe’s largest regenerated industrial complexes. Its film school produced Polanski, Wajda and Kieslowski. Here is what to weigh.
Why Lodz
Before the detail, the snapshot - what you actually get by studying in central Poland.
- Lodz University of Technology: its International Faculty of Engineering has taught entirely in English since 1992, with a large international intake
- The University of Lodz: a big comprehensive university, strong in economics, management, international marketing and languages
- The lowest living costs of any major Polish student city - typically 20-30% below Warsaw
- Central location: 90 minutes to Warsaw by train and within two hours of most of the country, which is why the logistics sector concentrates here
Universities & English-taught programmes
Look past the overall ranking to subject strength and the language of instruction - that is what decides your fit.
- The International Faculty of Engineering at Lodz University of Technology offers English-taught bachelor’s and master’s in computer science, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, business and technology, and gestion et technologie
- The University of Lodz runs English-language degrees in management, international marketing, economics and finance, and informatics
- The Medical University of Lodz has a long-running English Division for medicine and dentistry with a large international cohort
- The Lodz Film School is one of Europe’s best-known film academies and runs English-taught programmes in cinematography and film studies
- Curriculum flexibility: double-degree agreements with French and German partner universities are a specialism of the engineering faculty
Career prospects & ROI
Cheaper study with a real job market attached - Lodz has become a business-services and logistics centre in its own right.
- Industry connections: Fujitsu, Infosys BPM, Accenture, Nordea, Ericsson, Corning, BSH and Hutchinson run large Lodz operations and recruit English-speaking graduates
- Logistics and e-commerce warehousing cluster around the city because of its central position on the north-south and east-west routes
- Students on a Polish study visa or residence permit may work without a work permit and with no weekly hour cap
- Post-study work: a temporary residence permit of up to nine months to look for a job or start a business after graduating
- Salaries are lower than Warsaw, but the cost gap is larger than the salary gap - the return on a Lodz degree is strong
Success stories
Students who crossed the bridge
“I wasted a year trying alone. After the strategy call I knew exactly which documents I was missing - three months later I had my admission.”Read full story →
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“With the VIP pack I arrived in Finland with my room, bank account and even my airport pickup organised. I just had to study.”Read full story →
What it costs
The cheapest realistic option among Poland’s large student cities.
- Tuition for non-EU students: roughly €2,000-€4,000 a year for English-taught bachelor’s and master’s; English-language medicine and dentistry are far higher, around €12,000-€15,000 a year
- Living costs: budget PLN 2,500-3,300 a month (about €580-€770), with dormitory places from roughly PLN 400-700 a month
- Proof of funds for the visa: the legal minimum is around PLN 776 a month for each month of stay plus return travel - budget realistically above it
- Health insurance: voluntary NFZ cover for students is about PLN 55-60 a month; travel or private insurance for the visa application
- Scholarships: NAWA programmes for developing-country students, faculty tuition discounts for strong applicants and Erasmus+ grants
Life, safety & culture
A post-industrial city in the middle of a long reinvention - rougher around the edges than Krakow, and much cheaper.
- Daily language is Polish and the English-speaking bubble is smaller here than in Krakow or Wroclaw, so take the free university Polish courses
- Trams and buses with a deeply discounted student pass; Piotrkowska, the four-kilometre main street, is the spine of student life
- Crime rates are low by European standards, and student healthcare runs through NFZ and university clinics
- A long-established international student community around the engineering faculty and the medical English Division, with active Erasmus and African student associations
How to apply & the bureaucracy
Direct admission through each university’s portal, with the engineering faculty running its own international admissions.
- Apply through the university’s own online system; the International Faculty of Engineering admits international students directly, with the October intake usually closing between May and July
- English proficiency: IELTS 6.0-6.5 or TOEFL iBT 79-90, or a secondary certificate taught in English
- Your secondary certificate must be legalised or apostilled and translated by a sworn translator; engineering wants mathematics and physics results
- After admission, apply for the national D student visa with proof of funds, insurance and accommodation, then apply for a residence card after arrival
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