The Medical University of Warsaw () is one of the oldest and the largest medical schools in Poland. The first academic department of medicine was established as far back as two centuries ago in 1809. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious and reputable schools nationally for the medical sciences, partly due to its affiliation with a number of large hospitals in Poland.
Originally known as the 'Medical Academy of Warsaw', its creation precedes that of the University of Warsaw, eventually merging as a single school, undergoing a considerable number of changes, before separating into the functionally autonomous university that is still operating today.
At the Medical University of Warsaw, general and specialty training are provided at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Students learn at five clinical teaching hospitals which provide general and tertiary medical care to patients. Students and staff also conduct scientific and clinical research at these hospitals in addition to involvement in a number of clinical academic departments located in other hospitals in the city.
WUM currently offers 16 degree programs including 3 full-time degree programs in English: Dentistry, Medicine, and Pharmacy. Among English-taught European schools, these are considered to be particularly well-established (the English Medical programme has been active since 1993).
Faculties Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Dental Medicine Faculty of Medical Sciences Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Health Sciences
History Much of the history of the university is shared with the University of Warsaw as they were functionally one entity for much of the previous two centuries. During this period, the Medical University of Warsaw was essentially a 'Faculty of Medicine' functioning alongside the larger general University it was associated with.
Founding (1807–1815) In 1807, the Governing Commission, finding a serious shortage of doctors within the city, issued an order for the founding of a medical school in Warsaw. This was finally realised on the 18th of September, 1809, upon the issuance of a Royal Decree by Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (then the Duke of Warsaw) at Dresden, founding the Faculty of Medicine. At the time, this faculty would be headed by Hiacynt Dziarkowski and the General Medical Council.
By the 9th of October of the same year, the Chamber of Education would go on to approve the syllabus, timetable, and internal organization of the newly founded school, formally appointing H. Dziarkowski as its Dean. Only a four-years long medical program alongside a two-years chemical and pharmaceutical course would be offered at commencement. On the 1st of December, the Obstetrics Institute was opened in the building located on the Rynek Nowego Miasta.
The final major appointment by the Chamber would be Stanisław Staszic to the post of President of the Academic-Medical Faculty prior to the inauguration finally taking place on the 7th of June, 1810. Within three years, the school presented its first diplomas in an award ceremony to 18 graduates including 6 doctors of medicine and surgery, 4 first grade surgeons, 1 second grade surgeon, 5 chemists, and 2 pharmacists.
Royal University of Warsaw (1815–1831) In 1795, the Partitions of Poland had left Warsaw without access to any centres of learning other than the Academy of Vilnius (present day Lithuania) due to Kraków (where the famed Jagiellonian University was located) falling under the Austrian Habsburg monarchy. By 1815, the newly established polity of Congress Poland would find itself without any university at all, as by then Vilnius was well integrated into the Russian Empire.
Stanisław Kostka Potocki thus submitted a memorandum to the reigning Tsar Alexander I of Russia regarding the foundation of a university inclusive of a Faculty of Medicine. This request was granted on the following year on the 16th of November, 1816, with the Tsar issuing a founding deed permitting the Polish authorities to create the 'Royal University of Warsaw'. It had 5 initial faculties: Theology, Law and Administration, Medicine, Philosophy, Sciences and Fine Arts. This was done by the combination of the already existing schools in Warsaw ‒ the Academic-Medical Faculty and the School of Law and Administration. The official opening of the university took place in March 1817. By motion of the Deans, the General Council introduced the name of the newly established institution, the 'Royal University'.
In 1818, the tenement building on Jezuicka Street became the seat of the medical faculty of the Royal University and its constituent departments of: internal medicine, surgery, and obstetrics (the associated institute of which was incorporated to the University on 5 August). Higher and lower grade doctors, midwives, ophthalmologists, dentists, and chemists studied here. The school system underwent significant changes such as that in 1828 where a resolution issued by the Government Commission of Religious Affairs and Public Education discontinued all the aforementioned lower-grade courses. Effective immediately, all candidates now had to submit a Matura certificate and complete a 5-year curriculum.
The name was changed once more on 9 March 1829 to the Alexander's Royal University of Warsaw. Just two years later on 19 November 1831, the university would find itself shut down due to the involvement of student and faculty in the November Uprising. In this 22 years of its existence, 61 students had obtained the degree 'Master of Medicine and Surgery', 30 students would graduate as doctors, 33 students obtained the degree of Surgeon of the First grade and Second grade, and a total of 165 students would obtain the degree of 'Master of Pharmacy'. Poland had lost its autonomy, and Warsaw became nothing more than a military garrison under control by the Russian Empire.
Medico–Chirurgical Academy (1857–1862)
Reopening occurred on the 1st of October, 1857, under the name 'Medico-Chirurgical Academy'. Medicine remained a 5-year degree award while Pharmacy was of 2-years. The academy was also eligible to grant doctoral degrees, and specialist degrees like the one of 'Doctor of Dental Medicine'. From September of next year, theoretical classes moved to the Staszic Palace, while the practical classes took place in a myriad of hospitals including: Infant Jesus, Saint John of God, Ophthalmic Institute, Obstetrics Institute, Ujazdów Hospital, and the Evangelist Hospital. Different departments were divided between each of these hospitals.
In 1861, the Government Commission of Religious Affairs and Public Education was restored, now headed by Aleksander Wielopolski. He would confirm the foundation of the 'Main University of Warsaw' inclusive of four different faculties. These included: Law and Administration, Philosophy and History, Maths and Physics, as well as Medicine, opening on 25 November 1862.
The university would be closed for a second time as a consequence to the failed 1863 January Uprising. Tsar Alexander II requested its transformation to the Imperial University of Warsaw which would replace it.
Imperial University of Warsaw
Buildings and Sites
WUM Campuses Banach Campus
The Banach campus is most commonly associated with the University, being the largest, most modern campus. It is where the Rectorate and school administration are located. The campus is located on a large area between Banacha, Żwirki i Wigury, Księcia Trojdena and Pawińskiego Streets. Additionally, the Centre for Postgraduate Education and the Dean's Offices for the Faculties of Medicine, Dental Medicine, Medical Sciences, and Health Sciences can also be found here.
The Rectorate is connected to Library and Information Center (LIC), a four-story building, as well as the Didactic Center (DC), where the lecture halls and rooms are used for classes. This center also houses the Academic Language Centre, the Student Benefits Section and the Career Office. Other buildings associated with the campus include the Faculty of Pharmacy, Central Clinical Hospital (UCC), Children Clinical Hospital (UCC), University Dental Center (UDC), Medical Simulation Center (CSM), Centre for Pre-clinical Research and Technology (CePT), Sports and Rehabilitation Center (SRC), and the Ronald MacDonald House used by the carers of children staying at the pediatric wards of the aforementioned hospitals. In the future, a 'WUMIK' nursery will also be opened in this building.
Lindley Campus The campus is located in the city center of Warsaw, found between the Lindleya, Oczki, Chałubińskiego, and Nowogrodzka streets. Here the historical complex of buildings can be found now known as the "Infant Jesus Hospital (later integrated into the UCC MUW). At the Starynkiewicz Square nearby, the University Centre for Women and Newborn Health is located, with the first Clinic of Gynecology and an associated Obstetrics Simulation Centre. An Anatomical College ("Collegium Anatomicum") built in the 20th century can be found at the eastern end, housing four different departments (Anatomy, Histology, Microbiology, and Biology). The Department of Forensic Medicine is found next door here.
Oczki street is also home to the "Clubhouse of Medics", headquarters of WUM Student Organizations, and one of the more famous Polish Student Clubs. Academic events and student meetings are usually held at this venue. Other buildings located nearby include the didactic units of the Faculty of Health Sciences including the Departments of: Social Medicine, Epidemiology Biostatistics, Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry and Nutrition. From the east the Campus is enclosed by the historic building of the Departments of Dermatology at 82a Koszykowa Street.
Ciołka Campus Currently the Ciołka campus consists of solely two buildings. The first houses the didactic units of the school's Faculty of Health Sciences including the Departments of: Clinical Dietetics, Human Nutrition, Nursing Development, Social and Medical Sciences, Basic Nursing, and finally Clinical Nursing. The other is a historic building found on the nearby 1 Dalibora Street. It is currently undergoing modernization and reconstruction.
University Clinical Center The main Teaching Hospital associated with the university, it was created as a merger of three separate clinical hospitals all sharing the university as the founding body, namely: the Independent Public Central Clinical Hospital, the Józef Polikarp Brudziński Public Pediatric Clinical Hospital, and the Infant Jesus Clinical Hospital. In a Newsweek 2021 Ranking of Best Hospitals, the UCC WUM ranked as the 101–200th Best Hospital in the World, consequently being ranked as the Best Hospital in Poland. Webometrics Ranking of Hospitals 2015 run by Cybermetrics Lab placed the UCC as 14th Best in Poland, 1,625th Best in the World. This ranking has yet to be updated since.
Duchess Anna Mazowiecka Hospital Specialty hospital catering to mothers and newborns for comprehensive medical care, as well as women of all ages. At present, three departments of the university operate within this hospital: the Second Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Department of Gynecological Endocrinology and the Department of Neonatology with a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The hospital is a recipient of many awards, including the certificate of "Outstanding Medical Institution", the Gold Certificate "Reliable in Health Care", the "Mazovian Eagle of Business" and the title of "Woman-Friendly Center".