The academic year of 1999/2000 saw the beginning of the introduction of a three-cycle system of education resulting from the implementation of the provisions of the Bologna Declaration:  

• 1st cycle lasts 7 semesters and is conducted according to a curriculum common for the whole degree programme; completion thereof enables the student to attain the title of engineer;
• 2nd cycle (only after obtaining the title of engineer) lasts 3 semesters and is conducted based on a specialisation; completion thereof enables the student to attain the title of master engineer (MSc, Eng). This degree is also available to graduates of other faculties of the University or higher vocational schools of similar profiles (in such cases, it lasts 4 semesters - applicable to part-time degree programmes);
• 3rd cycle consists in four-year doctoral studies or postgraduate studies.

What is the Bologna Process?

The Bologna Process was initiated on June 19, 1999, when ministers of tertiary education from 29 European countries signed the Bologna Declaration. They obliged themselves to create by the year 2010 a common European Higher Education Area.  In meetings held in Bologna (1999), Prague (2001) and Berlin (2003), Ministers of Education defined detailed goals. Additionally, they obliged themselves to coordinate educational policy to make European systems of higher education easier to compare and more competitive and attractive in the global context. Over four years from the signing of the Bologna Declaration, the number of countries participating in the Bologna Process rose from 29 to 40, which makes the initiative more significant.

Purposes of the Bologna Process

The Bologna Declaration (1999) lays down the following goals:

• adoption of a system of “clear” and comparable diplomas,
• introduction of a system of degree programmes based on two cycles of education (Bachelor - Master),
• introduction of a system of awarding students’ achievements with credits (ECTS),
• development of students’ and university employees’ mobility,
• development of European cooperation with respect to ensuring the quality of education,
• strengthening the dimension of the European higher education.

The Prague Communiqué (2001) introduced another three goals:

• development of lifelong learning,
• increasing students’ involvement in the conduct of the Bologna Process,
• promotion of the attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area outside Europe.

The Berlin Communiqué (2003), acknowledging the importance of research as an inherent part of higher education, adopted two goals:

• broadening the system of studies by adding doctoral degree programmes,
• cooperation between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Space.