Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

Voivodeship: kujawsko-pomorskie

City: Toruń

The Council of Ministers' Decree of 24 August 1945 on the establishment of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, approved by the Presidium of the State National Council on 11 September 1945, concluded almost 550 years of efforts to establish a higher education institution in the Pomeranian lands. This idea seemed close to realization several times, the last time in the interwar period. Ultimately, however, the academic institution located in the lands of Northern Poland became a fact only in the year of the end of World War II. In 2004, the Medical Academy in Bydgoszcz became part of Nicolaus Copernicus University, creating the University Medical College. The university runs a research station on Spitsbergen and manages the University High School in Toruń. Currently, UMK consists of 16 faculties (13 in Toruń and 3 in Bydgoszcz). The university offers 106 fields of study, 37 postgraduate studies, 49 other forms of education, 5 doctoral schools and 18 types of doctoral studies. The university educates almost 17.8 thousand students, of whom 66.7% are women and 6.3% are foreigners. The students come from over 50 countries, with the largest groups coming from Ukraine, Belarus, Ireland and China. Last academic year, the university educated almost 4 thousand graduates. In the academic year 2024/2025, over 6.5 thousand male and female students began their studies, including 329 foreigners. The university employs 2029 full-time academic teachers, of whom over 50% are women. The outstanding figures who studied at this university include: Michał Zaleski – local government official, mayor of Toruń in the years 2002–2024; Zbigniew Herbert – poet and playwright; Iwona Chmielewska – author and illustrator of books for children and adults; Bogdan Hołownia – jazz artist; Rafał Kapeliński – director and screenwriter; Robert Małecki – writer, political scientist, philosopher, journalist and teacher of creative writing; Janina Ochojska – founder and president of the Polish Humanitarian Action Foundation, Member of the European Parliament and social activist; Aleksander Wolszczan – astronomer, discoverer of three planets outside the Solar System; and Tomasz Organek – guitarist, composer and producer.