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Program & Living Costs

Program Costs

Tuition and Fees

2013 tuition and fees are as follows:

• Tuition: $900 per credit hour (pending approval).
• Activity Fee: $400 per student (proratable at $100 per week)
• Medical Insurance Evacuation and Fee: $100 per student. This fee is assessed by the MSU Office of Study Abroad. The fee covers the following: health insurance, an emergency assistance card for immediate telephone access to the MSU Department of Police and Public Safety; emergency medical evacuations; and routine scanning of U.S. State Department travel warnings.

Housing and Living Expenses

Currency Exchange

Although a member of the EU, Poland continues to use its own currency, the złoty (usually denominated as “PLN” or “zł”). Currency exchange rates fluctuate often – we have experienced fluctuations between 2.55PLN and 3.40PLN to the dollar over various years of the program, and we recommend that you use a currency calculator to plan your living expenses. Examples (which are not endorsed in any way by MSU College of Law) of currency calculators on the Internet include:  Google (USD to PLN); Yahoo (USD to PLN); and XE (USD to PLN).

Program Housing and Housing Fees

Program housing is located in two dormitories near the University of Bialystok Law Faculty. Busing is readily and regularly available from the dormitories to the center city and to other parts of the university campus.
Single and double rooms are available, as are three-person rooms. All feature typical American dormitory conveniences. The rooms are not air conditioned, but this is usually not a problem in Poland. The newer of the two dormitories features a gym, laundry facilities, and other amenities. We have no control over dormitory pricing policies, so final rates cannot be published until closer to the program start. We anticipate, however, that rates for a double-occupancy room will be approximately $185 total per person for the entire month-long program. Rates for a singe person occupying a double occupancy room will be approximately $315 total for the entire month-long program.

Non-dormitory housing may be available upon request but will be significantly more expensive.

*A note on housing: UwB will be in the last week of final exams from June 22 through June 28. In a similar overlap period two years ago, there were concerns regarding noise in the dorms, but the large majority of students reported that it was not a serious problem. If you are sensitive to noise issues, we may be able to arrange alternative housing provided it is requested sufficiently in advance of the program.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum
One of the major highlights of the Program is the annual trip to Krakow and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum. In 2013, we will depart for Krakow on the afternoon of Thursday, June 27, 2013 and make a field trip by bus to the Memorial the next morning at 10:00. There, we will have a professional guided tour of the Auschwitz and Birkenau camps. We’ll return to Krakow at approximately 14:00 or 15:00, after which you will have the remainder of Friday, all of Saturday, and Sunday morning free.

The cost of the trip – bus ride, entrance fee, and guided tour of both locations – to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial and Museum is included in your program fees. You will be responsible for paying for travel to and from Krakow (approximately 200 PLN), accommodations in Krakow (between 35 PLN and 125 PLN per night, 105-375 PLN total, depending on whether you elect to stay in a hostel or in a hotel. Single rooms in a hotel are more expensive.), food, and any other tours and admissions to museums and concerts. Depending on your accommodation selections that you will make in April, the Law College will bill you for your train ticket and accommodations. You will be responsible for all other costs you choose to incur during the trip. The total average cost of the trip (including double rooms in a decent hotel) for participants in 2012 was approximately 1050 PLN ($350 USD at the summer 2012 exchange rate).

Cell Phones

It is strongly recommended that program participants obtain either an international cell phone or a Poland-specific cell phone or GSM SIM card for their unlocked cell phone. The Program owns several Polish cell phones that we will make available on a first-come-first-served basis for interested participants for $30 per phone, plus the cost of a new temporary “pay-as-you-go” SIM card (usually about 9 zł, although cell phone plans are subject to change). The normal rate for Polish domestic prepaid cell phone service is approximately 0.3 zł per minute (roughly $0.10 / minute), which compares favorably to the cost of international cell phone service.

The Program also has ten Polish SIM cards available for sale. The cost is $3 USD. Please contact Professor Barnhizer (daniel.barnhizer@law.msu.edu) if you are interested in purchasing a card. You can also purchase SIM cards in the Warsaw airport.