Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (MCSU) (, UMCS) is a public
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
, in
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. 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
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 (, 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.
History
The University of Maria Curie-Skłodowska was founded on October 23, 1944, three months after the
Liberation of Lublin by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. 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
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
(173,000 m
2) land grant, on then outskirts of the city, for the future
Campus
A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls.
By extension, a corp ...
. This would later be expanded to 80 hectares (800,000 m
2). 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
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
, 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
Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...
. 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 th
Research.comMCSU ranks as the 18th best
Polish university, and 1534th best in the world. Meanwhile, according to the
Webometrics Ranking of World Universities
The Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, also known as Ranking Web of Universities, is a ranking system for the world's universities based on a composite indicator that takes into account both the volume of the Web content (number of web page ...
, the university ranks as the 23rd best in Poland, out of 408, and 1612th best in the world.
Authorities
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
*
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
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
and
Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
regions.
*
Jarosław Stawiarski (born 1963), politician
*
Roman Szporluk (born 1933),
Ukrainian and American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...
,
professor emeritus
''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".
...
, doctor of historical sciences
Publications
The university publishes the following journals:
*''Acta Humana'' ()
*''Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska''
**''sectio A – Mathematica'' ()
**''sectio AA – Chemia'' (
**''sectio AAA – Physica'' ()
**''sectio B – Geographia, Geologia, Mineralogia et Petrographia'' ()
**''sectio C – Biologia'' ()
**''sectio F – Historia'' ()
**''sectio FF – Philologiae'' ()
**''sectio G – Ius'' ()
**''sectio H – Oeconomia'' ()
**''sectio I – Philosophia-Sociologia'' ()
**''sectio J – Paedagogia-Psychologia'' ()
**''sectio K – Politologia'' ()
**''sectio L – Artes'' ()
**''sectio M – Balcaniensis et Carpathiensis'' ()
**''sectio N – Educatio Nova'' ()
*''Anuario Latinoamericano – Ciencias Políticas y Relaciones Internacionales'' ()
*''Artes Humanae'' ()
*''Etnolingwistyka. Problemy Języka i Kultury'' ()
*''Folia Bibliologica''
*''Kultura i Wartości'' ()
*''Lubelski Rocznik Pedagogiczny'' ()
*''Lublin Studies in Modern Languages and Literature'' ()
*''New Horizons in English Studies'' ()
*''Polish Journal of Soil Science'' ()
*''Prima Educatione'' ()
*''Przegląd Prawa Administracyjnego'' ()
*''Res Historica'' (
*''Studenckie Zeszyty Naukowe'' ()
*''Studia Białorutenistyczne'' ()
*''Studia Iuridica Lublinensia'' ()
*''TEKA of Political Science and International Relations'' ()
*''Wschód Europy. Studia humanistyczno-społeczne'' ()
*''Zeszyty Cyrylo-Metodiańskie'' ()
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
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...
) was approved. In 1958, the University obtained the property rights of 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 18th century. Between 2012 and 2013, 418 species of moths in total were recorded in the Botanical Garden.
Gallery
Image:Lublin UMCS Pomnik Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej.jpg, Marie Curie Monument in Lublin
Image:Lublin UMCS (wydział humanistyczny) i Akademia Rolnicza.jpg, Building of the Department of Humanities
Image:Lublin UMCS (ul. Sowińskiego).JPG, The Faculty of Polish Philology
Image:Widok z LSM na Rektorat.jpg, View of the Rector's Office
Image:Informatyka UMCS.jpg, Institute of Information Technology
Image:Lublin UMCS (kładka i rektorat 01).JPG, The main building of Marie Curie University as viewed from Sowińskiego St
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Curie-Sklodowska University
1944 establishments in Poland
Universities and colleges established in 1944
Lublin
Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...