Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education in Warsaw

Voivodeship: mazowieckie

City: Warszawa

The Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education is a public pedagogical university with the longest tradition in Poland, reaching back over 95 years. Its history dates back to 12 June 1922, when the State Institute of Special Education (PIPS) was established as a result of the merger of the Seminary of Special Education – founded by Maria Grzegorzewska on the model of the International Pedological Faculty in Brussels, initially as a one-year Course of Special Education, and then as a one-year Seminary in 1920/21 – and the Phonetic Institute headed by Tytus Benni. Organizationally, PIPS was subordinate to the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment of the Republic of Poland. The Academy of Special Education offers the opportunity to gain qualifications in many professions, including: teacher-tutor, preschool teacher, primary school teacher, art teacher, computer science teacher, special education teacher, educational therapist, speech therapist, social worker, sociologist, psychologist and career counselor. Currently, the university has nearly 4.2 thousand students, of whom 90.9% are women and 1.5% are foreigners. Last academic year, the university produced 805 graduates. For the academic year 2024/2025, 1,415 male and female students began their studies, including 24 foreigners. The university employs 325 academic teachers, of whom 78.2% are women. The university's graduates include: Iwona Banach, née Pizoń – writer and translator of fiction, Elżbieta Jakubiak, née Dąbrowska – politician, Minister of Sport and Tourism in Jarosław Kaczyński's government, head of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland and Secretary of State in the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland in 2005–2007, as well as Paulina Krupińska-Karpiel – model, Miss Polonia 2012 and TV presenter.