University of Silesia in Katowice

[EduCativ]

The University of Silesia in Katowice is one of the largest and most dynamically developing public universities in Poland. Founded in 1968, the University of Silesia quickly established a reputation as a vibrant academic institution and an important interdisciplinary research hub. With a tradition of launching new programs to best meet the needs of rapidly changing labor markets, the University of Silesia offers students a variety of programs and specialized fields of study. With outstanding research teams and well-equipped laboratories, we are an important player in the global research arena. We actively participate in European Commission initiatives focused both on educational and scientific development, and realize projects within the frame of programs such as Erasmus+ and Horizon 2020.
The University of Silesia in Katowice gives its students a unique possibility to develop their interests, fulfill their passions and gain practical skills necessary in the constantly changing job market. Every academic year we offer over 70 programs and over 240 specializations, that are designed to help our students and alumni meet the challenges of changing reality and the labor market. We provide a stimulating learning environment where individual interests can be pursued and academic ambitions achieved. The University of Silesia serves almost 25,000 intramural and extramural students and it already has 250,000 proud alumni, among which there are outstanding personalities in many fields. Our community consists also of more than 2,000 teachers and researchers.
The roots of the University of Silesia date back to 1928 when the Institute of Pedagogics was established in Katowice. The institute was later reformed to National Pedagogical University in 1950, however, the first preparations for the formation of what would later become the University of Silesia were taken just after the finish of the Second World War.
In June 1962, a branch of Jagiellonian University was settled in Katowice, which concentrated, apart from humanities, on mathematics, physics, and law. Together with the National Pedagogical University, these are the foundations of what came to life in 1968 as the University of Silesia. And so on October 1, 1968, the University (comprising of four faculties) had its first academic year inaugurated, providing almost 6,000 students with twelve programs, such as philology, pedagogics, psychology, history, law, administration, mathematics, physics, chemistry, physical education, electrotechnics, and mechanics. Two years later, the branch of the University in Cieszyn was established, and in the following years (1974-1978) six new faculties were opened.
We are currently teaching almost 25,000 students on over 70 programs and 240 specializations on bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. With almost 50 years of its tradition, the University of Silesia has gathered well over 250,000 alumni to this day and has its units located in 4 different cities. Having renown among international students, the University of Silesia makes its best efforts to provide them with a profound and satisfying learning experience supported not only with the sole transfer of knowledge but also by emphasizing students' personal development.
The University of Silesia warmly welcomes international students and candidates willing to undertake studies in our institution either in Polish or in a foreign language. Our broad and diverse educational offer ensures us that we can develop specialists in almost every possible field of science - from arts and linguistics to molecular physics.
"The University of Silesia, operating under the ethos of European scholarship, assumes that as a commu­nity of scholars and students bound up with mutual respect and trust it not only responds to the increasing educational needs by providing instruction at the best possible level and conducting research which respects the elementary right of academic freedom in the pursuit of Truth but also carries out a significant social mission consisting in encouraging self-development as well as the formation of creative attitudes and spiritual aspirations, whereby it helps shape the cultural image of the Region and Poland.
Whilst being committed to both preserving and dissemi­nating knowledge which is a legacy of past generations, the University of Silesia also actively contributes to the cultural heritage of society through the pursuit of art and creative rese­arch, the interpretation of contemporary reality, and the analysis of the evolution of values which shape the immediate envi­ronment. Both the geographical and cultural situation of the University, at a junction of regions to every one of which History assigned a different course, yet which for centuries have developed their culture through interpenetration and dialogue, endows the University with a European dimension and enables it to define itself as a place whose identity is constituted not by its isolation, but by its readiness to wel­come the Other and Different."

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