UMCS History
Maria Curie Skłodowska University was established three months after Nazi’s occupation ended in Lublin. A group of scholars from Lviv and scientists who survived the occupation of Lublin started to work in Lublin Catholic University, which used to specialize in humanist sciences.
In 1944 scientists whose research focused mainly on natural and medical sciences started to deliver lectures on various topics in Jan Zamoyski Gymnasium and came up with an idea to open a state university in Lublin.
On 23 October 1944, Polish Committee of National Liberation established a university named after Maria Curie-Skłodowska.
There were four faculties opened in the new university: Faculty of medicine, Faculty of agriculture, Faculty of veterinary medicine, and Faculty of natural sciences.
On 9 January 1945 the fifth faculty, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science, was opened and on 14 January 1945 the first academic year was officially inaugurated in Stanisław Staszic Gymnasium.
Prof. Henryk Raabe assumed the position of the first rector of UMCS.
In 1945 the university was given a few premises left by the army. In addition, students were provided with access to schools and hospitals in Lublin, where they could gain valuable knowledge through practicals.
In the course of university’s activities it was decided that UMCS must provide full scope of programs. Consequently, the Faculty of Natural Sciences opened three bodies: Philosophy unit, Pedagogy and Psychology unit, and Athnography and Archeology unit.
On 3 April 1946 the Council of Lublin City decided to give 17.3 ha of land in the western part of the city. Professor Raabe wanted to build ‘Oxford in Lublin.’ Hence, the plot of land was further expanded and in 1949 the university campus measured 80 ha.
Organisational structure of the university was unchanged for the first five years of running academic activity. In the meantime UMCS collected books and manuscripts, gathered scientific equipment, and prepared for opening the University Library.
In the period between 1948-1949 Government decisions influenced the organizational aspects of UMCS; In 1949 the Faculty of Law was established, while in 1950 the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical science separated from UMCS to create a Medical Academy (which today is Medical University). In 1952 the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences split to create the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, and the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences. Faculty of Humanist Sciences was opened in the same year and Faculty of Zootechnics was established in 1953.
By resolution 503 of the Ministry in charge of higher education in 1955, a further additional Faculties were separated from UMCS; Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Veterinary Science, and Faculty of Zootechnics to create a higher school of Agriculture (Today it is known as the University of Natural Sciences).
The University saw further development in the 1960s; new Faculty premises were erected, interfaculty library, student dormitories, Chatka Zaka entertainment centre, the gym and Faculty of Economics in 1965. Professor Grzegorz Leopold Seidler, the Rector of the university at the time, substantially contributed to the growth of UMCS by assertively encouraging the creation of teaching and research opportunities.
Around the same period, 23rd October 1964 to be exact, the statue of Maria Curie Skłodowska sculpted by Marian Konieczny was officially unveiled.
In 1969 the university extended its activities and opened two branches: in Rzeszów and Biała Podlaska. The latter one, however, quickly separated from UMCS and liaised with Academy of Sports Education in Warsaw. The Rzeszów branch was later assimilated by the University of Rzeszów in 2001.
In the 1970s Maria Curie Skłodowska University received further recognition under the new adopted organizational structural reforms of higher education. The new reforms included 77 departments being replaced by 21 institutes (incl. 2 intercollegiate) divided into departments dealing with teaching and scientific activities. In 1973 a pedagogic section separated from the Faculty of Humanities and it merged with Post-Secondary School for Teachers, what resulted in establishing Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology.
This structure functioned until 1989 at which point the University underwent further major changes. The Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry was split into Faculty of Chemistry and Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. The latter one was extended in 2001 and renamed Faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science. In 1989 Faculty of Arts Education emerged from the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology. Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology was established in 1990 and Institute of Politology was converted into a Faculty. The Institute of Arts Education became Faculty of Arts in 1997. In the years 2000-2001 UMCS opened Bachelor Colleges in Biała Podlaska, Biłgoraj, Radom, and Kazimierz Dolny. These bodies were responsible for supporting the university externally.
Further changes in UMCS structure were made in 2011 when the Faculty of Biology and Earth Sciences was divided into two faculties: Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology and Faculty of Earth Sciences and Land Management. In addition to this, the UMCS Arts and Media Incubator, an outstanding digital creation centre, was established in 2013.