In total, there are approximately 501 universities and collegiate-level institutions of higher education in Poland, including 131 government-funded and 326 privately owned universities, with almost 2 million enrolled students as of 2010.[1] According to the March 18, 2011 Act of the Polish Parliament, the universities are divided into categories based on their legal status and level of authorization.[2]
There are forty publicly funded and two private universities considered classical, granting doctoral degrees on top of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in at least ten fields of knowledge. The remaining universities are divided according to their educational profile usually reflected in their differing names. Academy is used for institutions which focus on fine arts, music and drama. The technical universities specialize in engineering and the physical sciences. (The name refers to the subjects taught; they are not technical schools.)
In total, there are 24 cities in Poland,[3] with between one and eight state-funded universities each.[4] Among the top are Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, and Wrocław.[5] The Polish names of listed universities are given in brackets, followed by a standard abbreviation (if commonly used or if existent). Note that some of the institutions might choose to translate their own name as university in English, even if they do not officially have the Polish-language equivalent name of uniwersytet.