Warsaw is one of the most important education centres of Poland. It is home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher education. The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (29.2% of the city population; 2002). The number of university students is over 255,000.
The University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski, 55,000 students, 19 faculties) was established in 1816, when the partitions of Poland separated Warsaw from the oldest and most influential Polish academic center, in Kraków.[1] Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska, 31,000 students, 18 faculties) is the second academic school of technology in the country, and one of the largest in Central Europe, employing 2,000 professors. It was established in 1898 as the Nicolas II's Technical Institute, in 1915 changed the name at the present one.[2] Other institutions for higher education:
- Medical University of Warsaw (Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny, the largest medical school in Poland and one of the most prestigious – established in 1950 as the Medical Academy (earlier a medicine was being lectured at the Medical Faculty of the University of Warsaw), the present name obtained in 2008; 10,000 students, 4 faculties;
- National Defence University University (AON), highest military academic institution in Poland, established in 1951, it has 7 faculties;
- Fryderyk Chopin University of Music (Uniwersytet Muzyczny Fryderyka Chopina), the oldest and largest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe, established in 1810, it has 6 faculties;[3]
- Warsaw School of Economics (SGH), the oldest and most renowned economic university in the country,[4] established in 1906 as “August Zieliński’s Men’s Private Trade Courses”, the present name obtained in 1916, but between 1949 and 1991 had the name “Main School of Planning and Statistics”; 18,000 students; there’s no faculties, all the professors work in the colleges (there is 5 of them) and the educational programs are being made by the whole university, not by a given college;
- University of Life Science (SGGW) - the largest agricultural university founded in 1816 as the Agronomic Institute, since 1840 – Institute of Forestry and Farming, since 1919 – the Main School of Farming (this is still the university’s name in Polish);[5] 30,000 students, 13 faculties;
- Academy of Physical Education (AWF) – established in 1929 as the Central Institute of Physical Education, the present name obtained in 1949; it has 3 faculties.
The Copernicus Science Centre, a science museum, is located on the bank of the Vistula River in Warsaw.[6] It contains over 450 interactive exhibits that enable visitors to single-handedly carry out experiments and discover the laws of science for themselves. The Centre is the largest institution of its type in Poland and one of the most advanced in Europe.
