The Warsaw University of Life Sciences ( pl, Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego, lit=Main School of Rural Homestead, SGGW) is the largest agricultural university in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, established in 1816 in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. It employs over 2,600 staff including over 1,200

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

educators. The University is since 2005 a member of the

Euroleague for Life Sciences The Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS), established in 2001, is a network of leading universities cooperating in the fields of natural resource management, agricultural and forestry sciences, life sciences, veterinary sciences, food sciences, and ...

(ELLS) which was established in 2001. The SGGW offers some 37 different fields of study, 13 faculties in

Agricultural Sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

Economic Sciences Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

, Technical as well as

Life Science Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy t ...

History

On 23 September 1816 the School of Agronomy was founded at

Marymont Marymont (from French ''Mont de Marie'' - Mary's Hill) is one of the northern neighbourhoods of Warsaw, Poland, administratively a part of the boroughs of Żoliborz (Marymont-Potok) and Bielany (Marymont-Kaskada and Marymont-Ruda). Named after the ...

and was accommodated in the palace of

Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (Polish: Maria Kazimiera Ludwika d’Arquien), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka" (28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716) was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and gran ...

. Branches were established at

Bielany Bielany () is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city. Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west. Its ...

, Ruda,

Wawrzyszew Wawrzyszew is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Błonie, within Warsaw West County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Błonie, west of Ożarów Mazowiecki, and west of Warsaw. Ref ...

and Buraków. An Institute of Veterinary Medicine was established at Rządowa, followed by the Institute of Rural Economy and Forestry in 1840. As Poland was ruled by the Tsar of Russia there were attempts at

Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cultur ...

which nearly resulted in the closure of the school, but it was transferred first to

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...

and later to Russia. After the independence of Poland in 1918 the Institute was returned to Warsaw and became the Major School of Rural Economy in 1919. Horticultural studies were added to those of agriculture and forestry in 1921. Activity was disrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and resumed in 1945. The veterinary faculty was transferred from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

in 1952, and later the departments of agricultural drainage, wood technology, animal husbandry, and of landscape, now known as the Landscape Architecture Section, were established. Land and farms at and

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

were acquired in 1956 and used for development. In 1973 the faculties of agricultural technology and human nutrition were established. The Rector of the university has an office in the historic palace of

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, near ...

, now known as "the rector's palace."

Campus

The campus is located is the southernmost district of Warsaw,

Ursynów Ursynów () is the southernmost district of Warsaw. With a surface area of , it is the third largest district in Warsaw, comprising 8.6% of the city. The district has a population of over 150,000, and is one of the fastest-growing neighbourhoods ...

. The campus has a historic part, with an 18th century palace, and a contemporary part where most of the faculty buildings and dormitories are situated. On 70-hectare main campus are located 12 dormitories, a modern library, a sports centre (with tennis courts, a sports hall and a swimming pool) a language centre, a veterinary clinic.

Faculties

# Agriculture and Ecology # Animal Breeding, Bioengineering and Conservation # Applied Informatics and Mathematics # Biology and Biotechnology # Civil and Environmental Engineering # Economics # Food Technology # Forestry # Horticulture # Human Nutrition # Sociology and Education # Production Engineering # Wood Technology # Veterinary Medicine

Notable staff

* Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1868–1935), politician, agricultural chemist; Minister of Religious and Public Enlightenment 1922–1923, 1926 Grabski rektor SGGW

Władysław Grabski Władysław Dominik Grabski (; 7 July 1874 – 1 March 1938) was a Polish National Democratic politician, economist and historian. He was the main author of the currency reform in the Second Polish Republic and served as Prime Minister of Poland ...

(1874–1938), politician, economist and historian;

Prime Minister of Poland The President of the Council of Ministers ( pl, Prezes Rady Ministrów, lit=Chairman of the Council of Ministers), colloquially referred to as the prime minister (), is the head of the cabinet and the head of government of Poland. The responsibi ...

1923–1925; founder of the

Bank of Poland The Bank of Poland (Bank Polski) is the name of two former banks in Poland, each of which acted as a central bank. The first institution was founded by Prince Francis Xavier Drucki-Lubecki in 1828 in the Kingdom of Congress Poland. The second was ...

and the Polish currency * Stefan Ignar (1908–1992), politician, economist,

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland is the deputy of the Prime Minister of Poland and member of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland. They can also be one of the Ministers of the Republic of Poland. The Constitution of ...

1956–1969

Rectors

# Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1918–1920) # Tadeusz Miłobędzki (1920–1921) # Stefan Biedrzycki (1921–1922) # Wacław Dąbrowski (1922–1923) # Jan Sosnowski (1923–1925) # Zdzisław Ludkiewicz (1925–1926) #

(1926–1928) # Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1928–1929) # Stefan Biedrzycki (1929–1932) # Jan Sosnowski (1932–1933) # Marian Górski (1933–1936) # Jan Miklaszewski (1936–1944) # Franciszek Staff (1944–1947) # Marian Górski (1947–1949) # Antoni Kleszczycki (1949–1955) # Kazimierz Krysiak (1955–1962) # Antoni Kleszczycki (1962–1969) # Zbigniew Muszyński (1969–1975) # Henryk Jasiorowski (1975–1981) # Maria Joanna Radomska (1981–1987) # Wiesław Barej (1987–1990) # Jan Górecki (1990–1996) # Włodzimierz Kluciński (1996–2002) # Tomasz Borecki (2002–2008) # Alojzy Szymański (2008–2016) # Wiesław Bielawski (2016–2020) # Michał Zasada (since 2020)

History

Campus

Faculties

Notable staff

Rectors

Notes

See also