Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (MCSU) (Polish: Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie, UMCS) is a public research university, in Lublin, Poland. It is named in honour of Marie Curie-Sklodowska.
The university was founded on October 23, 1944, by the Lublin Committee during the Second World War. Since then, It has expanded to be the largest university in Eastern Poland, with over 12 Faculties in Lublin, and a satellite campus in Puławy. The university has nearly 16,000 students, who study in over 90 disciplines. Out of those 16,000, over 1,600 are international students, who represent almost 45 countries.
The university belongs to the network of European Universities ATHENA, as well as smaller, regional organisations, such as Union of Lublin Universities (Polish: Związek Uczelni Lubelskich, ZUL). It maintains active contacts with foreign research centres, holding nearly 200 agreements on scientific and educational cooperation with foreign partners. MCSU also holds 330 Erasmus+ agreements, and a One-Year Preparatory Course for foreigners who wish to study Polish.
Contents
History
The University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska was founded on October 23, 1944, three months after the Liberation of Lublin by the Red Army. Prof. Henryk Raabe became the first Rector, and would be the head of the university until 1948. On 3 April 1946, The university was gifted a 17,3-hectare (173,000 m2) land grant, on then outskirts of the city, for the future Campus . This would later be expanded to 80 hectares (800,000 m2). 1946 also marks the year when the Botanical Gardens, and the Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska Journal, were created.
Initially, the university was made up of four faculties: Medicine, Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine, and Life Sciences. In 1949, Faculty of Law was created. One year later, the faculty of Medicine was excluded from the institution, and became the Medical University of Lublin. Similar fate was shared by the faculty of Life Sciences, when in 1955, the Faculty of Agriculture became the University of Life Sciences in Lublin. During the 1950s, more faculties were created, such as: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences, Languages, and Economics.
The 1960s and 70s were marked by a rapid expansion of the Lublin Campus. New buildings were created for each of the faculties, the university library was created, along with residences for students, a sports hall, and a house of culture Chatka Żaka. Most of these changes were initiated by then rector, Grzegorz Leopold Seidler. In 1969, MCSU opened a branch campus in the city of Rzeszów. In 2001, that campus would merge with other institutions of the city to form the University of Rzeszów.
Major changes happened in 1989. Caused by the fall of communism in Poland, most of the faculties had to be reorganized. In 2014, MSCU opened a branch campus in Puławy, and in 2020, three new facilities were opened in Lublin for the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, and the Institute of Psychology.
Reputation
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University maintains high academic standards. In 2017 it has been granted the right to display the HR Excellence in Research logo. In 2022 the university joined the prestigious consortium of European Universities - ATHENA (Advanced Technology Higher Education Network Alliance).
According to the Research.com MCSU ranks as the 18th best Polish university, and 1534th best in the world. Meanwhile, according to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, the university ranks as the 23rd best in Poland, out of 408, and 1612th best in the world.
Faculties
Arts
Biology and Biotechnology
Chemistry
Economics
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Philosophy and Sociology
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science
Earth Sciences and Spatial Management
Education and Psychology
Political Science and Journalism
Law and Administration
Off-Campus Branch in Pulawy
Notable alumni
Adam Krzymowski (born 1973), Polish political scientist and diplomat, Ambassador of Poland to the United Arab Emirates, 2011-2015
Henryk Cioch (1951–2017), lawyer
Zyta Gilowska (1949–2016), economist and politician
Stanisław Michalkiewicz (born 1947), politician and activist
Maciej Płaza (born 1976), writer and translator
Paweł Brodzisz (born 1975), a Polish painter, photographer, graphic artist, he is also a regionalist, focusing on the Lublin and Silesia regions.
Jarosław Stawiarski (born 1963), politician
Roman Szporluk (born 1933), Ukrainian and American historian, professor emeritus, doctor of historical sciences
Sergei Pielasa (born 1976), Belarusian journalist
Publications
The university publishes the following journals:
Botanic Garden
Founded in 1946 and originally a part of the campus of the university. In 1951, a new location of the Garden in Sławinek (a district in Lublin) was approved. In 1958, the university obtained the property rights of 13-hectare (130,000 m2) area. It has about 6,500 species of flora growing here, gathered in several area, among others, a rosarium, a branch of water plants and an alpine garden. It also features a reconstructed noble manor house from the second half of the 18th century. Between 2012 and 2013, 418 species of moths in total were recorded in the Botanical Garden.