| Maria Curie-Sklodowska University | |
| Native Name: | Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie |
| Latin Name: | Universitas Maria Curie-Skłodowska |
| Established: | October 23, 1944 |
| Rector: | Radosław Dobrowolski |
| Total Staff: | 2810 [1] |
| Students: | 15,632[2] (12.2023) |
| Undergrad: | 9,261 |
| Postgrad: | 3,992 |
| Campus: | Urban |
| Affiliations: |
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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.[3] [4]
The University belongs to the network of European Universities ATHENA,[5] as well as smaller, regional organisations, such as Union of Lublin Universities (ZUL).[6] 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.[7]
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 3rd of 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.[8]
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University maintains high academic standards. In 2017 it has been granted the right to display the HR Excellence in Research logo.[11] 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.
| Rector | prof. dr hab. Radosław Dobrowolski | |
| Vice-Rector for Development and Business Cooperation | dr hab. Zbigniew Pastuszak, prof. UMCS | |
| Vice-Rector for Science and International Cooperation | prof. dr hab. Wiesław I. Gruszecki | |
| Vice-Rector for Students and Quality of Education | prof. dr hab. Dorota Kołodyńska | |
| Vice-Rector for General Affairs | dr hab. Arkadiusz Bereza, prof. UMCS | |
| Chancellor of the University | mgr Grażyna Elżbieta Fiok |
The university publishes the following journals:[13]
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 13hectare 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.[14] Between 2012 and 2013, 418 species of moths in total were recorded in the Botanical Garden.[15]