Founded in 1948 the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice is considered to be the largest medical school in Poland with an enrolment of around 10,000 students. The university started life in the city of Bytom before it moved to Katowice in 1957. Today it has schools in Bytom, Zabrze and Sosnowiec as well as its main base in Katowice.
It was awarded full university status in 2007.
The university has links with more than 80 international institutions. It has offered courses in English since its accreditation by the US Department of Education in 1996, and nowadays has around 500 international students.
As well as the six-year European MD course, it also offers English-medium qualifications in pharmacy, physiotherapy, nursing, obstetrics, public health and dietetics. Students are admitted to the university following an interview which covers biology, chemistry and physics as well as their reasons for choosing their course.
Students can work at five hospitals and three medical simulation centres. Those who stay in Poland during the summer vacation can apply for clerkships.
It has a strong research base, with particular expertise in cardiac and cardiovascular systems. Recent projects have included a study of the potential of lung transplants for acute Covid-19 patients and of the extent to which the diaphragm is a factor in balance as well as respiration.
