Is 11 November 2026 a day off from university in Poland? Yes. 12 and 13 November depend on your university

The short answer

Yes. 11 November is National Independence Day, listed in Article 1 of the Polish act on days off work (ustawa o dniach wolnych od pracy). In 2026 it falls on a Wednesday. Universities treat it as a day without classes: the Silesian University of Technology explicitly lists it among its public holidays free from classes.

The days around it are different. Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November are not holidays. They are free only if your university has decided so. We checked several rector's orders for the 2026/2027 academic year, and the answers vary.

Who decides on extra days off

Article 66 of the Polish Law on Higher Education and Science (Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym i nauce) says only that the academic year runs from 1 October to 30 September and has two semesters. The act contains no list of rector's days. Each university sets its own calendar, usually in a rector's order (zarządzenie) on the organisation of the academic year.

A rector's day (dzień rektorski) is a day without teaching at that particular university. It is not a statutory day off work, so if you have a job, it does not bind your employer.

What universities have set for November 2026

These results come from orders we opened on 7 November 2026. They are examples, not a full list of Polish universities. A faculty may also have its own arrangements, so treat them as a starting point.

• University of Wrocław: 12 November is a rector's day, and 13 November is a rector's day for the University's Day (Święto Uniwersytetu).
• Poznań University of Life Sciences: on Friday 13 November, classes follow the Wednesday timetable. It is not a day off.
• University of Warsaw: the teaching block runs from 2 November to 6 December, and the only extra day off in the winter semester is 1 October. So 12 and 13 November are not listed as free.
• Jagiellonian University: the extra days off are 31 October and 2 November. 12 and 13 November are not on the list.
• Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań: free on 31 October and 2 November, not on 12 or 13 November.
• Silesian University of Technology: in the winter semester, free on 1 and 11 November and on 2 October (the opening ceremony), not on 12 or 13 November.

A trap: Wednesday on another day of the week

Check not only the days off but also any days with “another day's timetable”. The Poznań example shows that Friday 13 November can work like a Wednesday: if your Fridays are normally free, you may have classes there, and your usual Friday classes may not take place.

Other universities have such days too, on other dates. At the University of Wrocław, Wednesday classes will be held on Friday 18 December 2026, and at Adam Mickiewicz University on Friday 29 January and Tuesday 2 February 2027. The orders do not give a reason for these changes, but the effect is simple: put those dates in your calendar now.

Part-time studies and hours off

Wednesday 11 November does not usually affect weekend sessions (zjazdy). Check more carefully if you have weekday or Friday afternoon classes. Some orders distinguish between modes of study and others do not: the University of Wrocław order lists rector's days without such a split, while the Poznań one states for individual dates whether they apply to full-time or part-time students.

Timetables can also change during the year. At the Jagiellonian University, the rector may set additional hours off, in particular at the request of the head of the student government, and a dean may do so for important reasons related to the faculty's work.

How to check your university in 5 minutes

The most reliable document is the rector's order, not a social media post or a calendar from another year.

• Search for “organizacja roku akademickiego 2026/2027” (organisation of the academic year) and your university's name. Look for the document on the university's website or its public information bulletin (Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej).
• In the document, look for “dni wolne od zajęć” (days free from classes), “dzień rektorski” (rector's day) and “godziny rektorskie” (rector's hours).
• Also look for phrases like “zajęcia według planu na środę” (classes following the Wednesday timetable).
• Compare this with your timetable in the university's system (such as USOS) and the faculty website.
• If something does not match, write to the dean's office (dziekanat) or your lecturer. A day without classes does not tell you whether the dean's office or library is open, so check their hours separately.

What about schools?

Different rules apply to pupils. There are no lessons in any school on 11 November, and the head teacher decides about 10, 12 and 13 November. We cover this in a separate guide to days off in November 2026, and school days off are also in the Tools section of NaukoMapa.