Jagiellonian University Medical College is the medical school of Jagiellonian University, a public research institute in Kraków, Poland. It was established by King Casimir III of Poland in 1364, making it the 12th oldest medical school in the world. Jagiellonian University Medical College (JUMC) provides patient care, medical education, and research training through its various clinical affiliates and research institutes.
Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University is the oldest institution of higher education in Poland. Established in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the second oldest university in Central-Eastern Europe, preceded by the Charles University in Prague, which was founded in 1348. Called Studium Generale in its early years, it was modeled after the Universities of Bologna and Padua and was initially composed of three faculties: Liberal Arts, Medicine, and Law. After its restoration in 1400, changes to the academy's statute made it more resemble the Paris Sorbonne. For over 600 years, many prominent Poles and Europeans received their education within the walls of this university. It was here that Nicolaus Copernicus studied, and in 1578 Walenty Fontana delivered the first academic lecture based on Copernicus' heliocentric theory, an inconceivable notion to many scholars at the time. In 1938, Karol Wojtyła began his studies in Polish philology at Jagiellonian University, interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, when occupying forces closed the university. During the War, he actively participated in classes organized by the underground university. Upon taking Holy Orders and returning from his doctoral studies in Rome, he received his post-doctoral degree from Jagiellonian University in 1953, continuing to work at the university until 1954. In 1983, already as pope, he was honored by university authorities with an Honorary Doctorate.
After Poland regained independence following World War I, new institutions of higher education were established and older institutions were able to recover their Polish identity. With its already famous university, Kraków already possessed adequate intellectual potential to help these new institutions.
Despite numerous challenges, particularly economic, sustained scientific development continued at the university until the outbreak of World War II and Nazi German occupation. On November 6, 1939, in room number 26 at Collegium Novum, the teaching staff was gathered on orders by SS-Sturmbannführer Bruno Muller, who accused university authorities of illegal activity. On these false charges, all those present were arrested and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Despite this grievous tragedy and loss of its greatest luminaries of science, on the initiative of Professor Mieczysław Małecki, Jagiellonian University established an underground university in 1942, the Rector of which was Professor Władysław Szafer. After World War II, notwithstanding a shortage of teaching staff, the university resumed its functioning in 1945. However, despite the good will and sincere enthusiasm of all academic teachers and students, these efforts were soon stifled by ever-increasing political interference.
Today Jagiellonian University combines tradition with the challenges of the modern world. In compliance with the principles of the Bologna Process, over 46 000 students study in 15 faculties on all three levels of study: Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral. One may choose to study from nearly a hundred majors. The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) enables students to combine their studies at Jagiellonian University with coursework from other European universities.
Teaching staff includes over 3600 academic instructors, 500 of whom hold the title of Professor.
Faculty of Medicine
When King Casimir III the Great in 1364 established the University of Kraków, there were initially three faculties. The Faculty of Medicine included two types of professors: Professor of Medicine, or lector ordinarius in medicines, and presumably a Professor of Astronomy, who would lecture on astrology, which for a long time remained an inextricable part of medicine. All lectures took place in the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill.
King Władysław Jagiełło, using jewels donated by his wife, Queen Jadwiga, financed the restoration of the University in 1400. Stanisław of Skarbimierz, the first rector of the university, stressed the importance of the Faculty of Medicine already in his inauguration speech. Soon after the restoration process, renowned Polish and foreign scholars began to arrive at the university. Jan Kro of Chociebuż (Johannes Kro de Kostebus) was one of its first professors, as well as the first physician to be chosen as rector of the university, a position he assumed in 1419. Other notable scholars include Jan of Pawia (Johannes de Saccis de Pavia), who introduced the first statute of the Faculty of Medicine in 1433, Marcin Król of Żurawica, and Piotr Gaszowiec of Loćmierz, who, in addition to medicine, displayed great interest in astronomy and astrology.
At the time, each physician who practiced in Kraków, nationality notwithstanding, was obliged to teach as a lecturer of medicine, or lector in medicines. Owing to this fact, already in the 15th century, the teaching staff at the Faculty of Medicine numbered nearly 50 members.
One of the greatest personalities of the 16th century was undoubtedly Maciej of Miechów (1457–1523), a historian and physician; he served as Rector of the University for eight terms and is often called the "Polish Hippocrates". Other eminent scholars include Wojciech Oczko (1537–1599), author of many meticulous works on balneology and syphilology; Sebastian Petrycy of Pilzno (1554–1626), a clinician, philanthropist, and renowned expert on Aristotle; and Josephus Struthius (1510–1568), a critic of Galen and author of Sphygmicae artis libri quinque (1555), a treatise on the human pulse, he went on to lecture in Padua.
The 17th and 18th centuries saw a decline in the university, marked mainly by external factors (e.g., the 1655–1660 Swedish invasions), which led to a decrease in the number of students. Those students who decided to stay in Kraków, especially medical students, oftentimes received an incomplete education and had to supplement their studies abroad, mainly in Italy, where they obtained doctoral degrees.
The second half of the 18th century saw the condition of the university improve dramatically when, in 1773, the Commission of National Education entrusted Hugo Kołłątaj with the task of reform, carried out from 1778 to 1780. This reform initiated a new period in the history of the Faculty of Medicine: Professor Andrzej Badurski (1740–1789) worked to establish a clinic, ultimately opened in 1780, and Rafał Józef Czerwiakowski (1743–1816) began to teach surgery and, as professor of anatomy, was one of the first to perform posthumous examinations in Poland. When Kraków was partitioned as part of the Austrian Empire in 1796, attempts were made at transforming the university into an Austrian institution through the introduction of foreign teachers. Not until 1809, when Kraków was partitioned as part of the Duchy of Warsaw, did the university regain its Polish identity.
The university entered into a period of prosperity when Kraków gained political independence in 1815–1846. The university owes its renown to such academics as Józef Brodowicz (1790–1885), professor of internal diseases; Ludwik Bierkowski (1801–1860), professor of surgery; and Józef Majer (1808–1899) and Fryderyk Skobel (1806–1878), professors of theoretical sciences. The 19th century saw a period of further prosperity at the Faculty of Medicine and university, owing to such outstanding scholars and physicians as Józef Dietl (1804–1878); Edward Korczyński (1844–1905); Walery Jaworski (1849–1924), in internal diseases; Jan Mikulicz Radecki (1850–1905); and Ludwik Rydygier (1850–1920) and Alfred Obaliński (1843–1898), in surgery.
The beginnings of stomatology date back to the 18th century. Already in 1779, Professor Rafał Czerwiakowski included dentistry as part of his university lectures for barbers-surgeons. From 1899, the completion of medical studies also required participation in dentistry lectures. Similar to ophthalmology, orthopedics, or laryngology, dentistry was at first considered a part of surgery, long remaining within this field. Formed at Jagiellonian University in 1902, Poland's first Chair of Dentistry continued the process of establishing dentistry as an independent discipline. This Chair was headed by Professor Wincenty Łepkowski (1866–1935). During World War II, medical studies were secretly organized and run by Professor Stanisław Madziarski. In 1950, all Faculties of Medicine in Poland were separated from their universities and transformed into independent institutions, called "academies of medicine".
Notable events during the functioning of the Nicolaus Copernicus Academy of Medicine (i.e., present-day Jagiellonian University Medical College) included the formation of new clinics (e.g., 3rd Clinic of Internal Diseases, 3rd Clinic of Surgery) as well as the Department of Dentistry at the Faculty of Medicine. Established in 1948, the Department of Dentistry grew to include four chairs in preventive dentistry, prosthodontics, dental surgery, and orthodontics. Each newly established department was located in old tenements or post-hospital buildings, as practically no new buildings were being built. Since 1950, the Faculty of Medicine at the Academy of Medicine educated a great number of students, filling deficits in the post-war health service and improving the health of the general population. All of its Chairs and Clinics made great strides in teaching and research, oftentimes gaining worldwide recognition. In 1965, the Institute of Pediatrics, a technological and architectural wonder at the time, was built in Prokocim District. This facility was built thanks to support from the Polish-American community and American government. Located far outside of the old town, it was built in an area which was to also include a future campus and medical center. In the 1970s and 1980s, three student dormitories and a modern medical library were built in its immediate vicinity.
In September 2000, an Institute of Stomatology was formed. Located on ul. Montelupich (Montelupich Street), it is equipped to 21st century standards and is the site of research and educational activities.
A Conference Center was put into use in 2006. This facility is meant to accommodate student needs and also serves as a venue for conferences and conventions.
School of Medicine in English
The School of Medicine in English is a structural unit of the Faculty of Medicine. Its first students were admitted in October 1994. During the 2008/2009 academic year, over 480 students from five continents and twenty countries were enrolled in the School, with the majority coming from Norway, the US, and Canada.
The School offers two programs of medicine, taught exclusively in English. This first is a 4-year program for graduates of pre-medical college/university programs in the USA/Canada and the second is a 6-year program for graduates of secondary schools. Graduates of these programs are conferred a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree by the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Medicine. Academic staff include the most experienced scholars and lecturers at Jagiellonian University, as well as foreign academics from the US, England, Germany, and other countries. These English-language programs remain in compliance with Polish and EU standards of teaching, the US Department of Education (Stafford Loan Program), and Medical Board of California.
Under agreements with different universities, final year students of the School of Medicine in English have the opportunity to complete elective rotations at the following schools: