Czy doktoranci są prekariuszami?

The article touches upon the subject of PHD studies and students in Poland based on the precariat theory by Guy Standing. In the initial part, studies regarding tertiary education in Poland that have been carried out so far are covered. In the further part, main presuppositions of precariat theory are indicated. The author shows PHD students’ position in relation to possessing security forms appropriate for industrial era employees cited by Standing, for instance employment, income and representation security. Socio-economic standing of PHD students has been recreated based on empirical data stemming from “Doktoranci 2011”and “Doktoranci 2015” surveys. This data was supplemented by Statistics Poland (GUS) data and by regulations. Conclusions were drawn from the considerations showing that if one takes Standing’s categories literally, PHD students do not fall within the Precariat category, however one can indicate that they are somewhere in-between precarians and other social strata.