University of the Commission of National Education in Krakow

Voivodeship: małopolskie

City: Kraków

The University of the Commission of National Education in Kraków was established on 11 May 1946 as the State Higher School of Pedagogy and began teaching on 25 October of the same year. At first, it educated primary school teachers, offering a three-year cycle of education ending with a diploma examination. From the academic year 1949/1950, the university expanded its offer to include secondary school teachers and introduced a new organizational structure based on faculties. Currently, the university offers students a choice of 80 scientific fields, covering the humanities, social sciences, pedagogy, natural sciences, technology and arts. This year, six new fields of study were added to the offer: applied computer science, production and quality engineering, civil protection and civil defense, nursing, management and biolinguistics with clinical communication. The University of the Commission of National Education has the highest university astronomical observatory in Poland, located in the Gorce Mountains on the top of Mount Suhora. The university also runs a unique Children and Parents University in the country, the only Textbook Museum in Poland, and also offers the University of the Third Age. The university actively participates in organizing the Małopolska Night of Scientists and the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Małopolska. Currently, the university has almost 19 thousand students, of whom 75.1% are women and 2.8% are foreigners. Last academic year, 3,623 graduates left the university building. In the academic year 2024/2025, 8,955 male and female students began their studies, including 317 foreigners. The university employs 900 academic teachers, of whom 57.4% are women. The university's graduates include: Ewa Drzyzga – journalist and TV presenter, Tomasz Sobczak – photographer, and Michał Strzelecki – brigadier general of the Polish Army, commander of the Commando Military Unit in 2016–2021, and from July 1, 2022, commander of the 6th Airborne Brigade.