SWPS University (Polish: Uniwersytet SWPS) is a private non-profit university in Poland, established in 1996. It operates six campuses across major Polish cities, with its primary campus located in Warsaw.
As of 2025, the university has an enrollment of over 17,800 students in undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. This includes a growing international community of approximately 1,200 students from over 80 countries, spread across 56 full-time and 41 part-time programs. Additionally, around 4,000 professionals have enrolled in the 200 post-diploma professional courses offered by the university in the 2025/2026 academic year.
Rankings and recognition
SWPS University consistently features in major international rankings, including the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and THE Impact Rankings, as well as the Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS, it is part of the Shanghai Ranking), where it stands as the only non-public Polish university.
SWPS University was founded in 1996 as the Warsaw School of Social Psychology (Polish: Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej, later also known as SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities) by renowned psychologists from the Polish Academy of Sciences: Prof. Andrzej Eliasz, Prof. Zbigniew Pietrasiński, and Prof. Janusz Reykowski. Professor Andrzej Eliasz served as the Rector of SWPS for the university's first two decades (1996-2016).
SWPS University in Sopot
As one of the first private higher education institutions in Poland to specialize in psychology and the social sciences, SWPS launched its inaugural five-year Master’s program in psychology with approximately 500 students. In 2008, the role of the SWPS University founder, as defined in Polish law, was legally transferred to the Institute for the Development of Education and its president, Piotr Voelkel.
SWPS University in Poznań
Throughout the 2000s, SWPS expanded its national footprint, opening campuses in Wrocław and Sopot (2002), Poznań (2003), Katowice (2014), and Kraków (2023). The curriculum grew to include law, management, design, media and communication, and Asian studies. It also introduced computer science programs, often designed as interdisciplinary studies in combination with psychology.
In 2023, the institution was granted full university status under Polish higher education law and adopted its current name, SWPS University, becoming one of Poland’s largest non-public, non-profit universities. In the same year, SWPS University joined the European Reform University Alliance (ERUA), established under the European Universities Initiative. This membership places the SWPS among the approximately 10% of European higher education institutions included in such federations.
Governance and administration
SWPS University in Kraków
Academic division:
Rector: Professor Roman Cieślak (2016–present), psychologist
Directorof Finance, Deputy Director General: Marcin Gędziorowski, Ph.D.
Directorof Marketing and Admissions, Deputy Director General: Kinga Nowacka
Director for ProfessionalEducation, Deputy Director General: Jan Jaworowski
Academic profile
SWPS University, across its six campuses, offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and long-cycle programmes in the social sciences, humanities, and arts. These include the disciplines of psychology, law, sociology, management and quality studies, political and administrative sciences, social communication and media studies, culture and religion studies, literary studies, and fine arts and art conservation. As of 2025, the university offers 12 programs taught entirely in English and over 40 in Polish, covering 99 distinct specializations.
SWPS University maintains broad international cooperation, established through over 200 agreements with institutions worldwide, including partners in North America, East Asia, and across Europe via the Erasmus+ programme. This network provides significant mobility opportunities for both students and staff.
The University's commitment to global education is highlighted by its coordinating role in several key collaborative initiatives. SWPS leads Green Mundus (an Erasmus Mundus Design Measures project developing a joint Master’s degree in the psychology of climate action) and coordinates JUSTMobi (Digitalising Education for an Inclusive Mobility Transition), an Erasmus+ Key Action 2 project focused on equitable urban mobility. The University also participates in the Erasmus Mundus joint Master’s degree Global MINDS: Psychology of Global Mobility, Inclusion, and Diversity in Society, delivered in cooperation with the University of Limerick, the University of Oslo, and ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon, which prepares graduates for specialised work in social and cultural psychology.
Research institutes and centres
SWPS University in Wrocław
SWPS University identifies as a research-driven institution with a strong interdisciplinary and applied orientation. It maintains over 30 research centres[8] and five institutes - Psychology, Social Sciences, Humanities, Law, and Design - responsible for doctoral and postdoctoral programmes and research projects. By 1 October 2025, the university had awarded doctoral degrees to 514 individuals, and 122 had obtained the degree of habilitated doctor.
More than 2,400 publications authored by SWPS researchers are indexed in Scopus, with about 20% appearing in top international journals. Key research areas include behavioural and cognitive neuroscience, intercultural communication, design for social innovation, and law and society.
SWPS holds the highest rating in psychology and political and administrative sciences (A+) and a high rating in sociology (A) from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, placing it among Poland’s top research institutions. In 2016, the university was granted the HR Excellence in Research award by the European Commission, which was subsequently renewed in February 2024.
Doctoral School
The Doctoral School of SWPS University is an English-language, interdisciplinary program training future researchers in the disciplines of psychology, sociology, political and administrative sciences, culture and religion studies, literary studies, fine arts and art conservation, and law. Its innovative model combines academic excellence with strong practical and international components. Every doctoral candidate is a member of one of the University’s 33 research and development centres.
In April 2023, SWPS granted a doctoral degree in law to later Vice Minister of Justice Arkadiusz Myrcha.[9] The candidate had presented a general and descriptive thesis with a text body of about 100 pages on Polish lawmaking, without indicating a specific topic of inquiry. In the wake of the vast Collegium Humanum scandal, this conduct was perceived critical, since the doctoral supervisor prof. Chmaj has guided the dissertation of several ascending politicians in the past.[10]
Student life
SWPS fosters a vibrant and diverse student life, offering a wide array of student organisations, athletic pursuits, and artistic activities across all campuses. This includes the central SWPS Student Council, three distinct choirs, and sports clubs (in Warsaw and Poznań). Furthermore, numerous organisations are active at the faculty level, offering both research-oriented groups and those focused on student integration and community building.
Beyond extracurriculars, the university supports students with essential services, such as career counselling, the Erasmus Student Network (ESN), general counselling, and a comprehensive range of disability services and student health services, with a particular emphasis on mental well-being. SWPS also engages with new technologies, giving students the opportunity to become Adobe Campus Ambassadors.[11]
In terms of governance, students are represented by local student councils on each campus. The chairpersons of these councils collectively form the Central Student Council. Additionally, SWPS students are actively represented in the broader European University Alliance (ERUA) student bodies, participating in the proceedings of both the local board and the ERUA Student Board.
Social engagement
SWPS University integrates research and teaching with a practical social impact through proactive partnerships with public institutions, NGOs, local communities, and the business sector. These projects enhance societal welfare, focusing on areas such as mental health support (e.g., distributing 20,000 copies of the "How to Talk to Children About the Flood" guide for crisis assistance) and social inclusion (e.g. funding the "I Change the World" scholarship, enabling 2024 laureates to study free of charge[12]).
The university also houses specialized departments dedicated to knowledge sharing and social outreach. These include the Centre for Knowledge Transfer (CTW) for the commercialisation of research results, a unit carrying out commercial projects in cooperation with external partners, and the Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy Clinic. The Clinic provides access to scientifically verified methods of psychological support while also serving as a practical research base for conducting studies and training students. Furthermore, SWPS shares expertise with public institutions by integrating academic social and psychological knowledge into strategic public planning and communication efforts.
Doctors Honoris Causa of SWPS University
2011 – Prof. Helmut Skowronek, educational psychologist, former Rector of the University of Bielefeld
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