Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań

Named after the Polish romantic poet, Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU) consistently ranks as one of the top universities in the country. The university was opened in 1919 in the western Polish city of Poznań, originally offering classes in law, economy, medicine, humanities, mathematics, natural sciences, agriculture and forestry.

Adam Mickiewicz University was closed in 1939 when the Nazis annexed the city, but expelled staff and students helped to form the underground “University of the Western Territories” which continued to meet in secret, an incredibly brave act for which many scholars eventually sacrificed their lives. The university reopened after the Second World War and today is one of the biggest in Poland, boasting 15 faculties and tens of thousands of students.

Situated between Berlin and Warsaw, Poznań is a great place to study if you want to experience life at the heart of European culture.

The university buildings are spread out over the city centre. The impressive Collegium Minus building which borders Adam Mickiewicz Square regularly provides a venue for music concerts and ceremonies. Elsewhere in Poznań the university occupies the old Communist Party headquarters as well as a newly-developed site in the north of the city. As well as campuses in Poznan AMU also has facilities in Gniezno, Kalisz, Pila and Slubice.

Undergraduate programs are taught in English, Polish and German; master's courses add Dutch to that mix and PhD research positions are also available in an array of languages.

The university’s famous alumni include the mathematicians who cracked the Enigma machine code in the Second World War: Marian Rejewski, Henryk Zygalski, and Jerzy Różycki.