Poland

Country in Europe

Capital: Warsaw
Dialing code: +48
Currency: Polish złoty
Population: 38.53 million (2013) World Bank
Official language: Polish

Poland is an eastern European country on the Baltic Sea known for its medieval architecture and Jewish heritage. Warsaw, the capital, has shopping and nightlife, plus the Warsaw Uprising Museum, honoring the city’s WWII-era resistance to German occupation. In the city of Kraków, 14th-century Wawel Castle rises above the medieval old town, home to Cloth Hall, a Renaissance trading post in Rynek Glówny (market square).

Higher Education System

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At present there are a total of 121 state higher educational institutions and not less than 210 non-state higher educational institutions in Poland, which offer a very wide range of different courses and programmers (private schools of higher education must receive permission to operate from the Ministry of National Education; they acquire a legal status when registered by the Minister of National Education). Among the higher schools, there are both university-type and non-university type (professional education) institutions. State and non-state higher professional (vocational) schools train students in professional specialisations and prepare them for specific professions by including 15-week internships and school practice in the mandatory curriculum.

Graduates of higher professional courses are awarded the title of Bachelor of Arts/Science or Engineer (Bachelor of Engineering) after 3 to 4 years of study. Graduates of university-type higher educational institutions are awarded the title of magister (Master of Arts/Science) or its equivalent after taking standard 5-year MA/MSc level courses or 1.5 to 2-year complementary MA/MSc level courses (intended for holders of the professional title of Bachelor of Arts/Science or Engineer received either at university-type institutions or institutions of higher professional education).

University of Warsaw

Located in the Polish capital, the state-funded University of Warsaw is currently ranked 6th in the EECA rankings. Founded in 1816, it’s Poland’s largest university, with 51,700 students enrolled within its 19 departments. The University of Warsaw’s long history is also packed with interesting events and legends. During World War II, for instance, the campus was turned into a military barracks by German soldiers; during this time academics established the so-called “Secret University of Warsaw” and continued educating students in various hidden locations.

Jagiellonian University

The country’s oldest university, and one of the oldest in Europe, Jagiellonian University is another of the most prestigious universities in Poland, ranked joint 7th in the EECA rankings. Established in 1364, it has a long tradition of educating the country’s future leaders. Among the numerous notable alumni of the university are John III Sobieski (King of Poland until 1696), Nicolaus Copernicus (famed for formulating a model of the universe with the Sun at the center), Pope John Paul II and two Nobel Prize winners, Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska. Today Jagiellonian University teaches about 41,800 students at its campus in Krakow, Poland’s second largest city.

Warsaw University of Technology

Next up, Warsaw University of Technology also features in the QS University Rankings: EECA, ranked 18th among universities in Emerging Europe and Central Asia. It claims a place among the leading technological institutes in Europe, and is one of the region’s largest providers of technical education. Located in the Polish capital, the university has over 37,000 students and 19 faculties, which cover all fields of science and technology. Founded back in 1899, the university was one of the first universities in Poland to teach engineering. In recent years, its graduates have become known for making up an impressively high percentage of Polish managers and executives.