Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń

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Nicolaus Copernicus University
Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu
Image:UMKLogoV2.jpg
Latin: Universitas Nicolai Copernici
Established: August 24, 1945
Rector: Professor Andrzej Jamiołkowski
Students: 40 539 (March 2006)
Location: Toruń, Poland
Affiliations: EUA, Socrates-Erasmus
Website: www.umk.pl/en/

Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (Polish: Uniwersytet Mikołaja Kopernika w Toruniu; UMK) is one of the most respected universities in Poland. It was named after Nicolaus Copernicus, the famous Prussian astronomer who was born in Toruń (Thorn) in 1473.

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[edit] History

The Nicolaus Copernicus University (NCU) in Toruń was established in 1945, as a replacement of Polish universities in Vilnius and Lviv. It is the largest university in northern Poland and is outstanding in terms of academic potential, courses of study on offer, forms of education, and number of students. The University employs a total staff of over 4,000, of whom 2,306 are academic teachers.

The NCU is composed of thirteen faculties: the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences, the Faculty of Chemistry, the Faculty of Economic Sciences and Management, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Faculty of History, the Faculty of Humanities, the Faculty of Languages, the Faculty of Law and Administration, the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Physics, Astronomy and Informatics, and the Faculty of Theology. There are 38 areas of study and over 80 specialisations. Students have the choice of, for example, the only Polish university course in Art History and Conservation, or attractive interdisciplinary options in the humanities. There are several specialisations available which are rarely represented at other Polish universities, such as Medical Physics, and Chemistry with Elements of Marketing and Management. Over 56 postgraduate and 12 doctoral programmes are also available. The total enrollment at the University is 34,000, of whom 508 are graduate students working towards Doctor degrees.

The University has been extensively involved in the preparation of a system of quality standards and principles for Polish universities, in co-operation with the State Accreditation Commission and the Universities Accreditation Commission. Several courses of study at the NCU have already received certificates confirming standards of educational excellence. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) enables our students to engage in more individualised courses of study and to continue their studies at other educational institutions in Poland and abroad. In 1993 the first Careers and Appointments Office for Polish university students was set up at the NCU to serve in active job mediation between students, graduates, and employers.

All the faculties are entitled to confer doctoral and post-doctoral (habilitation) degrees and to apply for professorial titles. Doctoral studies are available in 20 different disciplines. Each year the NCU academic staff receive around 50 grants from the State Committee for Scientific Research and participate in joint projects with various higher educational and research institutions. The following research centres are located at the University: the Centre for Canadian Studies, the Jean Monnet Centre for European Studies recognized as 'a centre of excellence', the Juliusz Schauder Centre for Nonlinear Studies, the National Laboratory of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, the Centre of Archeology, and the Centre of Astronomy.

A 32-metre radiotelescope, the third biggest in Europe, operates at the Toruń Centre for Astronomy. One of the Centre's researchers is Prof. Aleksander Wolszczan, who discovered the first planetary system outside our solar system. The University also has research facilities for glaciological studies located in Spitsbergen and the Antarctic. According to the most recent survey, the NCU is ranked among the top five Polish universities.

Apart from the centres, and research units within the faculty structure, there also exist various inter-faculty units and interdisciplinary teams, such as the Foreign Languages Centre, the Physical Education and Sports Centre, the Information and Communication Centre, the Interdisciplinary Group for Optical Methods in the Early Detection of Cancer, the Interdisciplinary Group for Methods of Absolute Dating, the Alliance française Centre, and the British Council Library. The University Library is one of the biggest in Poland, and its collection contains 2 million volumes.

The NCU occupies a broad local base - almost 60 buildings are situated on the central academic campus, and others are located elsewhere in the city and its vicinity. Eleven dormitories provide accommodation for 3,300 students. The University is constantly expanding, a fact illustrated by the current construction of a new building for the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences.

The NCU maintains contacts with many universities and research organisations throughout the world. These take the form of individual arrangements for scientific co-operation and contacts pursued within the framework of 45 bilateral agreements with foreign universities and international organisations.

The individual organisational units of the University participate in international educational and research programmes. Within the 5th Framework Programme, the University participates in 10 European projects. The NCU co-operates with the Socrates-Erasmus programme facilitating student and staff mobility between the University and 80 educational institutions in the European Union. Consequently, the number of foreign courses and work experience placements for our students has significantly increased while, at the same time, more foreign students have taken up their studies in Toruń.

Academic staff travel on lecture tours, attend conferences, and engage in research in many countries. The University is visited by about 400 researchers from various countries every year. Another avenue of co-operation gaining in importance takes the form of international scientific publications edited at the NCU and published in conjunction with foreign partners, e.g., Reports on Mathematical Physics (with Pergamon Press), Open Systems and Information Dynamics in Physical and Life Sciences (with Kluwer), Comparative Law Review, Eastern European Countryside, Logic and Logical Philosophy, Theoria et Historia Scientiarum.

The University's Library is one of the biggest and best public and academic libraries in Poland and Europe.

[edit] School Authorities

  • Rector: Prof. Andrzej Jamiołkowski
  • Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations: Prof. Andrzej Tretyn
  • Vice-Rector for Education: Prof. Andrzej Radzimiński
  • Vice-Rector for Students: Prof. Leszek Kuk
  • Vice-Rector for Development and Computerisation: Prof. Grzegorz Jarzembski
  • Vice-Rector for Collegium Medicum: Prof. Małgorzata Tafil-Klawe
  • Director of Administration: Dr Stefan Nielek

[edit] Staff

  • Professors: 475
  • Habilitated doctors: 111
  • Senior lecturers: 805
  • Teachers (total): 2 306
  • Total staff: 4 111

[edit] Number of students

  • Full-time day students: 20 688
  • Extramural students: 17 178
  • Postgraduate students: 2 673
  • Total: 40 539

[edit] Levels of study offered by institution

  • Shorter/intermediate university level qualifications
  • First main university level final qualifications
  • Advanced/postgraduate study
  • Doctorate
  • Higher/post doctorate

[edit] Diplomas and degrees

  • Licentiate (3 years undergraduate degree. Equivalent to Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Art)
  • Engineer (3 or 3.5 years technical degree. Equivalent to Bachelor of Engineering)
  • Magister (5 years degree equivalent to a course-based Masters programme)
  • Ph.D. Degree
  • Habilitated Doctor Degree.

[edit] International cooperation

  • Universita degli Studi di Padova – Italy
  • Universita degli Studi di Ferrara – Italy
  • Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg – Germany
  • Otto Friedrich Universität Bamberg, – Germany
  • Universität Rostock – Germany
  • Ernst Moritz Arndt Universität Greifswald – Germany
  • Bundeswehr Universität München – Germany
  • Université d’Angers – France
  • The Nottingham Trent University – United Kingdom
  • Dominican University – USA

[edit] Faculties

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] See also

[edit] External links