The Warsaw University of Life Sciences (, SGGW) is the largest agricultural university in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, established in 1816 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. It employs over 2,600 staff including over 1,200

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

educators. The University is since 2005 a member of the

Euroleague for Life Sciences The Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS), established in 2001, is a network of leading universities cooperating in the fields of natural resource management, agricultural and forestry sciences, life sciences, veterinary sciences, food sciences, and ...

(ELLS) which was established in 2001. The SGGW offers some 37 different fields of study, 13 faculties in

Agricultural Sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professiona ...

Economic Sciences Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses ...

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

, Technical as well as

Life Science Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, organisation, metabolism, growth, adaptation, respon ...

s. Its Agriculture and Forestry and Veterinary Medicine have been ranked as top 41 and 51-70 in the world on QS top university ranking 2023.

History

On 23 September 1816 the School of Agronomy was founded at

Marymont Marymont (from French ''Mont de Marie'' - Mary's Hill) is one of the northern neighbourhoods of Warsaw, Poland, administratively a part of the boroughs of Żoliborz (Marymont-Potok) and Bielany (Marymont-Kaskada and Marymont-Ruda). Named after ...

and was accommodated in the palace of

Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien (, ; 28 June 1641 – 30 January 1716), known also by the diminutive form "Marysieńka", was a French noblewoman who became the queen consort of Poland and grand duchess consort of Lithuania from 1674 ...

. Branches were established at

Bielany Bielany () is a district in Warsaw located in the north-western part of the city. Initially a part of Żoliborz, Bielany has been an independent district since 1994. Bielany borders Żoliborz to the south-east, and Bemowo to the south-west. Its ...

, Ruda, Wawrzyszew and Buraków. An Institute of Veterinary Medicine was established at Rządowa, followed by the Institute of Rural Economy and Forestry in 1840. As Poland was ruled by the Tsar of Russia there were attempts at

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

which nearly resulted in the closure of the school, but it was transferred first to

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

and later to Russia. After the

independence of Poland Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

in 1918 the Institute was returned to Warsaw and became the Major School of Rural Economy in 1919.

Horticultural Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

studies were added to those of agriculture and forestry in 1921. Activity was disrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and resumed in 1945. The veterinary faculty was transferred from the

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well ...

in 1952, and later the departments of agricultural drainage, wood technology,

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

, and of

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

, now known as the Landscape Architecture Section, were established. Land and farms at Wolica and

Natolin Natolin is a neighbourhood and a City Information System area located in Warsaw, Poland, within the district of Ursynów. It is a predominantly mid-rise multifamily residential area, with a smaller presence of low-rise single-family housing in ...

were acquired in 1956 and used for development. In 1973 the faculties of agricultural technology and human nutrition were established. The Rector of the university has an office in the historic palace of

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life and education Julian Ursyn Ni ...

, now known as "the rector's palace."

Campus

The campus is located is the southernmost district of Warsaw,

Ursynów Ursynów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It has an area of 43.79 km2 (16.88 sq mi), and in 2023, it was inhabited by 149,775 people, making it the 5th most populous and 3rd largest district of the city. Located in its western ...

. The campus has a historic part, with an 18th century palace, and a contemporary part where most of the faculty buildings and dormitories are situated. On 70-hectare main campus are located 12 dormitories, a modern library, a sports centre (with tennis courts, a sports hall and a swimming pool) a foreign languages centre, a veterinary clinic.

Faculties

# Agriculture and Ecology # Animal Breeding, Bioengineering and Conservation # Applied Informatics and Mathematics # Biology and Biotechnology # Civil and Environmental Engineering # Economics # Food Technology # Forestry # Horticulture # Human Nutrition # Sociology and Education # Production Engineering # Wood Technology # Veterinary Medicine

Notable staff

* Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1868–1935), politician, agricultural chemist; Minister of Religious and Public Enlightenment 1922–1923, 1926 Grabski rektor SGGW

Władysław Grabski Władysław Dominik Grabski (; 7 July 1874 – 1 March 1938) was a Polish National Democratic politician, economist and historian. He was the main author of the currency reform in the Second Polish Republic and served as Prime Minister of Pola ...

(1874–1938), politician, economist and historian;

Prime Minister of Poland A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...

1923–1925; founder of the

Bank of Poland Bank of Poland may refer to: * Bank Polski, the central bank of Congress Poland (1828-1885) * Bank Polski SA Bank Polski SA, full name Bank Polski Spółka Akcyjna (), was the central bank of the Second Polish Republic. On , Bank Polski SA su ...

and the Polish currency * Stefan Ignar (1908–1992), politician, economist,

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

1956–1969

Rectors

# Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1918–1920) #

Tadeusz Miłobędzki ''Tadeusz'' is a Polish first name, derived from Thaddaeus. Tadeusz may refer to: * Tadeusz Bednarowicz (1906–1939), Polish footballer * Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader * Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish wr ...

(1920–1921) # Stefan Biedrzycki (1921–1922) # Wacław Dąbrowski (1922–1923) # Jan Sosnowski (1923–1925) # Zdzisław Ludkiewicz (1925–1926) # Władysław Grabski (1926–1928) # Józef Mikułowski-Pomorski (1928–1929) # Stefan Biedrzycki (1929–1932) # Jan Sosnowski (1932–1933) # Marian Górski (1933–1936) # Jan Miklaszewski (1936–1944) # Franciszek Staff (1944–1947) # Marian Górski (1947–1949) # Antoni Kleszczycki (1949–1955) # Kazimierz Krysiak (1955–1962) # Antoni Kleszczycki (1962–1969) # Zbigniew Muszyński (1969–1975) # Henryk Jasiorowski (1975–1981) # Maria Joanna Radomska (1981–1987) # Wiesław Barej (1987–1990) # Jan Górecki (1990–1996) # Włodzimierz Kluciński (1996–2002) # Tomasz Borecki (2002–2008) # Alojzy Szymański (2008–2016) # Wiesław Bielawski (2016–2020) # Michał Zasada (since 2020)

History

Campus

Faculties

Notable staff

Rectors

Notes

See also