Why is it worthwhile to study at AGH-UST?

We would like to welcome all who are about to make a decision as to the choice of the university and the type of studies. Being a student is not an easy period of gaining knowledge and skills, but it is also a wonderful, unrepeatable adventure of your lifetime - the most beautiful period in life! The choice of the branch of studies and the university itself is an important decision and before you make it, it is necessary to find out about educational offers of different colleges and universities.

These are just a few points why it is worthwhile to study at AGH-UST:

One of the largest technical universities in Poland

AGH University of Science and Technology has many advantages. For many years the University has been among the best technical universities. Its high quality is confirmed by the number of candidates, which every year exceeds the number of places available for students. A balanced budget, very good university premises, good laboratories and equipment, as well as excellent staff are all our most important assets. We are a university closely related to the national economy and local government units.

Wide scope of education

AGH-UST educated students at 15 Faculties and in the Multidisciplinary School of Engineering in Biomedicine. This makes 32 fields of studies and over 180 specializations. We are about to start new fields of studies: Mechanical and Material Engineering and Ceramics. Apart from traditional faculties connected with mining and metallurgical engineering we have faculties which deal with computer science, telecommunications, new materials, robotics, physics, mathematics, as well as management and sociology.

Teaching profile adjusted to current needs and trends of the labour market

We create possibilities for students to obtain very good education and prepare themselves for their future careers. It is worth emphasizing that AGH-UST graduates - holding managerial and technical positions - played a significant role in the development of Polish industry and economy both in the interwar and difficult post-war period. Today, we face new challenges due to our accession to the European Union, an increase of competitiveness, as well as new financial opportunities. The initial university name - the University of Mining and Metallurgy (AGH) - can be associated with a university in which the problems of mining and secondary industries play a dominant role. This was true in the primary phase of the University development and was determined by technological and economic needs of the country in those days. Today, AGH-UST is typically a technical university with teaching and research areas meeting the criteria of contemporary needs in the domain of technological and scientific development. This requires constant changes in the structure of the university faculties and undertaking new branches of education, which we successfully put into practice.

Prospects for good employment (an AGH-UST diploma opens doors to the best firms and companies in Poland and other countries)

It is worth emphasizing that University graduates can very well cope in today's labour market. Many students begin their work while still studying. The University has educated over 150 000 engineers and masters of science, thus supplying qualified staff to the country's economy. Education which can be gained at our University is widely accepted by employers both in Poland and abroad. Sparkling professional careers of many AGH-UST graduates, often employed at various - including the highest - positions in industrial plants are an easy to follow, practical proof of the real quality and usability of knowledge they gained at the University.

Department of International Relations

University authorities appreciate and support international collaboration. At the moment we have about 90 agreements of collaboration and co-operation with universities and research institutions outside Poland. Besides, the University takes part in the following projects of educational character: LLP Erasmus, CEEPUS, UNESCO, Vulcanus, Leonardo da Vinci, TEMPUS, EFS, eTEN. The University takes part in the programme of interchangeable apprenticeships, which enable many students to go abroad and receive a double diploma. Collaboration in Poland encompasses universities and research institutions, as well as economic units. AGH University of Science and Technology collaborates with nearly all sectors of industry, to begin with raw materials processing, through selling and implementation of new technologies into industry, to finish with branches of high technology. It would be difficult to name all units and companies with which AGH-UST co-operates actively. AGH-UST's partners are not only small and big Polish companies, but also international corporations of worldwide reputation, such as Motorola, IBM, Lafarge, Saint Gobain and Valeo. Our collaboration with industry is based on teaching, as well as research and development. A clause specifying conditions of student internships and apprenticeships is an indispensable part of collaboration agreements signed with various companies. Our aim is to combine industry and economy with our University.

Department of Education

Department of Education, on behalf of the Vice-Rector of Education, coordinates the process of education during the full-time and part-time first cycle-degree programmes and second-cycle degree programmes, particularly by:

Location

Becoming a student of AGH University of Science and Technology you gain an opportunity of studying in the fascinating and primeval city of Krakow, a historic place with antique architecture, a royal castle, numerous palaces and temples, apartment buildings dating back to the old days, as well as many theatres, galleries and museums.

University campus

This largest university campus in Poland is nearly 40 years old and consists of 20 halls of residence located on 16 hectares, and is situated in the immediate neighborhood of the university lecture buildings. Within the campus area there are halls of students' residence, students' clubs and unions, the "radio17" Academic Radio Station, a post office, a bank, a sports centre, a football pitch and tennis courts, shops, a supermarket, food and service outlets, a nursery school. The campus is connected with the University via a modern, one-gigabyte computer network and a Wi-Fi network.

Tradition and modernity

AGH-UST has nearly ninety years of history. It continues traditions of the Mining Academy brought into life by a decree of the Cabinet on 17th April, 1919. Today, the University's full name is Stanislaw Staszic AGH University of Science and Technology.

History of AGH-UST

AGH-UST is a large, good and modern university. Its 15 faculties, some of which are really unique, cover a much wider scope of teaching and research areas of 21^st century technology than majority of Polish technical colleges and universities. Apart from traditional faculties we have some modern ones dealing with computer science, telecommunications, new materials, robotics, physics, mathematics, as well as management and sociology. We are opening new branches of science: mechatronics and biomedical engineering. In addition, it is worth remembering that among over three hundred specializations at the University and the Multidisciplinary School of Engineering in Biomedicine, there are many which are one of a kind in Poland, as they are not present at any other university in the country. It means that for some professions in demand - the profession of foundryman, for example - you can gain qualifications only at our University.

Possibility to develop your interests

Students have numerous possibilities to develop interests connected with their branch of studies or specialization by joining and participating in activities of nearly 80 students' special interest groups, whose profiles get more and more interesting.

Unique atmosphere

Student cannot live by education alone - especially a student at AGH-UST and especially in Krakow. Intellectual development is followed by cultural and sports development. Many organizations operating at AGH-UST provide students with an opportunity to develop their interests and discover new ones as well. Opportunities are numerous indeed, starting with artistic groups (an excellent example here is the Student Representative Orchestra of AGH-UST), through typical forms of recreation (hiking and cycling), to finish with some specialist ones (mountaineering, diving, speleology and sailing clubs.) All University students are represented by the AGH-UST Students' Board, which deals with social, living, cultural and sports issues, as well as organises faculty excursions and balls, Miner's Day and Ironfounder's Day meetings, as well as - probably the most popular among students - the Juvenalia Krakow Students' Festival.

We care about your fitness

The development of sports base is one of University's priorities. The University has a modernised sports complex with a set of courts (volleyball, basketball, badminton) and sports rooms (aerobics, table tennis.) Students accommodated at the University campus have at their disposal football pitches, tennis courts, and basketball and volleyball courts. We are currently building our own swimming pool. AGH-UST Academic Sports Union Club with its 23 sections is the largest sports club in Krakow academic circles, and one of the largest sports clubs in Poland.

We are friendly to people with disabilities

AGH University of Science and Technology understands the needs of people with disabilities. We do our best to enable these students to take part in all aspects of the university life, but we also make sure they are treated equally with other students. Thanks to specially-equipped computers we make the Internet and library resources accessible to people who are blind or hard of seeing. For further advice or information about students with disabilities, please contact the Head of the Office for Students with Disabilities.

Modern research and teaching base, advanced technology, worldwide achievements

The University has 600 laboratories and 330 lecture rooms of different sizes. This is a very good base for teaching and research on a worldwide level. We co-operate with many universities and research centres in Poland and other countries. Being a technical university we collaborate intensely with Polish and foreign economic units and companies. The University has very modern equipment. An example of it can be the most powerful in this part of Europe microscopes for testing structures of metals, the so-called stiff testing machine, which allows to test precisely the processes of rock cracking and crushing, electron microscopes, devices for complex testing of solids and particularly their surfaces, mass spectrometers, various devices for carrying out environmental testing procedures, etc. Within the AGH-UST structure there is also the CYFRONET Academic Computer Centre with its powerful supercomputers (classified internationally on the list of a few hundred fastest computers in the world.) This equipment along with high and widely-recognised qualifications of our computer specialists place AGH-UST among the best universities in Poland and Europe, known for educating unique experts in the area of computer programming and computer methods of solving the most difficult scientific, engineering, organizational and economic problems. In the times of global and intensive development of information technologies the fact that AGH-UST hosts one of the largest and most important nodes of the Polish part of the Internet is an important asset. In the structure of AGH-UST there is also the University Computer Centre, which ensures computer and network services to all university units, and also participates in computer education of our students.

Modern education

Our basic principle and assumption is a strong link between education and high-standard research, because only educators taking part in current research activities can pass on to their students up-to-date knowledge, which will be useful in their future work and in quickly changing technological and economic conditions. We incorporate into our syllabuses the needs and experience of companies and foreign firms operating in our region. Along with other Krakow universities and economic units we create the so-called clusters, whose aim is to intensify collaboration and facilitate the transfer of technologies from universities to industry. This kind of co-operation enables undertaking scientific and research challenges which are connected with the latest technological trends.

Highly experienced educators and researchers

We have a very large group of independent researchers and scientists: 233 full professors, 230 doctors with postdoctoral qualifications, and 1138 doctors. Without good teaching and research staff we would not be able to offer a high level of education and research projects. This is why we emphasize how important it is for our staff to continue their professional development. A frequently used index is student-staff ratio. In this respect we are the best university in the country. Numerous and excellent professors, teachers, researchers and scientists are a strength of our University.