Studying in Poland and getting a quality higher education has been very popular for some time. The universities of this country have become an excellent alternative to Russian and Ukrainian higher educational institutions. The ethnic proximity, similarities of the mentality common to the Slavs and, importantly, financial accessibility made education in Poland very popular among applicants from neighboring countries.
Many educational institutions are located in one of the most beautiful cities in this country - in Krakow. Here is also one of the oldest higher education institutions not only in Poland, but also in Europe - Jagiellonian University.
Foundation History
A letter of its foundation was published on May 12, 1364 by King Casimir III. Then, the Jagiellonian University included eleven departments, of which eight were legal, two were medical, and one studied free arts. The pope’s permission was not obtained to create a branch of theology.
Headed the Cracow Jagiellonian University Chancellor of the Kingdom. He was appointed to take care not only of his activities, but also of further development. The then head of the oldest university in Europe actively began to carry out construction and organizational work. But soon after the death of Casimir, by whose order the Jagiellonian University was founded, they were suspended. And the subsequent reign of Louis of Hungary became not the most favorable for the institution.
In honor of the Grand Duke Jagiello
And only in July 1400 the university resumed its activities. This happened thanks to the help of Queen Jadwiga, at the request of which the King of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Władysław Jagello, reopened this oldest educational institution. It was in his honor that the university was named. The fact that it began to function again was then of great importance for Poland, since neither Wilensky nor Koenigsberg universities had yet been founded.
Studium generale
King Jagello strongly supported the Lithuanians who came to Krakow to study. In 1409, he even ordered a small house to be allocated, which could accommodate poor students, especially those who came from Russia. Jagiellonian University has turned into the main higher school for youth from ON. Until the mid-fifteenth century, about seventy young Lithuanians who came from the bourgeois class, as well as some representatives of the nobility, including the princes Sapieha, Gedroitsy, Svirsky and Golshansky, studied here.
Initially, the university was named Studium Generale, then it was renamed the Cracow Academy. And only in the nineteenth century he received his current name - Jagiellonian, which emphasized his connection with the royal dynasty of the same name.
General information
Today, the university has become a combination of innovation and tradition of obtaining high-quality education. It includes several institutes - molecular biology and state-of-the-art biotechnologies, environmental protection, and zoology. There are three campuses on its territory. The latest one was built for the sixth anniversary of the university. He became the building where the faculty of mathematics, science and computer science moved. The campus was built four kilometers from the city center, near the Technological Park and the economic zone of the city of Krakow.
Specialty
The Jagiellonian University, whose faculties offer training mainly in Polish, has one hundred thirty-seven specialties. More than fifty thousand registered students get higher education. Of these, more than two thousand young people are foreigners.
The Jagiellonian University, whose specialties are attractive not only to local residents, but also to Europeans, works according to the Bologna education system with credit accruals. The diplomas given to their graduates by this oldest university are recognized all over the world.
Today, the Jagiellonian University, whose admission to the faculties is becoming more and more popular every year, is a member of the Association of European Higher Educational Institutions - the Utrecht Network. The demand for education in the walls of the Krakow alma mater is explained by a wide variety of specialties and relatively low prices. Today, the Jagiellonian University has fifteen faculties, including political science and international relations, biology, earth sciences, as well as three medical, which in the middle of the last century were separated into an independent Collegium Medicum.
University Pride
The university provides training in forty-six areas and one hundred and twenty-seven specializations. However, his pride is the library. Cracow Jagiellonian University owns the largest collection of the oldest manuscripts in Poland. The library of this institution has about six million items. The collections contain medieval manuscripts, including the “Codex of Baltazar Behem” and even “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium”, which was written by Nikolai Copernicus. There is also a rich collection of literature published by Polish samizdat back in the days of the communist system. The university’s library also includes the funds of the so-called Berlin, whose status is still controversial, as well as historical collections from the Prussian imperial collection.
The main hall of the Jagiellonian University - the assembly hall - was once the largest in Krakow: more than one scientific debate took place under its arches, which later went down in history.
Historical value
The Jagiellonian University, whose photo of the old building is another proof of its status as the oldest in Europe, is really considered a landmark of Poland. The Collegium Magnus building, which today houses a library with a museum, is not in vain guarded by the state as historical value. Its walls, made of bright red bricks with a perfectly smooth surface, are decorated with rectangular window openings and crowned with battlements. Surprisingly interesting roof slopes cut by chimneys are made.
Tourists are brought here
Many travelers visiting Krakow necessarily express a desire to see the Jagiellonian University. Walking through the beautiful courtyard, surrounded by arched arches, you can go to the museum halls. A massive door, upholstered in copper, leads from the General Hall to two rooms united by a single arch. Here is located the "holy of holies" - the treasury of the university. Despite repeated ruins and robberies, her collection, which includes the amazing Jagiellonian globe, is the oldest existing in the world today. By the way, at the mentioned exhibit the American continent is also called by the name that Amerigo Vespucci gave him. In another museum treasury dedicated to the great Copernicus, the astrolabes used by him are stored. The globe of the heavenly vault is also exhibited here, as well as the torquectum of Mikolai Bylica, which was bequeathed to the scientist.
Admission Rules
At Jagiellonian University, applicants who have a Pole card are admitted free of charge. Since studies are organized according to a single system - the Bologna process, graduates receive one of three qualifications: bachelor, master or doctor.
For applicants from Ukraine entering the university, only an interview is provided at which they pass the test of the level of knowledge of the Polish language, as well as basic subjects in their specialty and motivation.
Students, regardless of the form of study, are given the opportunity, if they wish, to change their education profile, adding to the courses they have already attended, new ones that are more in demand in the current conditions. The educational system at the University of Krakow is not traditionally tied to national values: this creates the conditions for the maximum comfort of students arriving from other countries.
Programs
This university has an excellent material base: many campuses located throughout the city, scientific centers. Students have the opportunity to participate in many exchange programs. They can take internships around the world. The university also provides numerous scholarship programs. Registration entry fee for training in Polish-language courses - 275 PLN. The list of specialties taught in English changes annually. The cost of services for organizing the process of admission to the Jagiellonian University is 950 euros.
Benefits
The prestige of studying at this institution is known throughout Europe. Among the advantages of the Jagiellonian University are its 650 years of experience in the educational field, and a high rating among world universities. Developed international relations and a highly qualified faculty say that it will be easy for graduates of this educational institution to find work in the largest organizations.