# SWPS University

SWPS University is a private non-profit university in Poland established in 1996 by three psychology professors, Andrzej Eliasz, Zbigniew Pietrasiński and Janusz Reykowski.
SWPS University is one of the largest private universities in Poland which had, as of 2024, over 16,000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level students, including over 1,100 international students from more than 80 countries. The university has six campuses, located in major Polish cities, including Warsaw, Wrocław, Sopot, Poznań, Katowice and Kraków.
The institution was formerly known as the Warsaw School of Social Psychology (Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej, SWPS). It was granted university status under Polish law in 2015.

## Administration

In 2008, the position of SWPS University founder was transferred to the Institute for the Development of Education (Instytut Rozwoju Edukacji) and its president, Polish businessman and philanthropist Piotr Voelkel. Before 2018, SWPS University was administered by a privately appointed board of trustees. Trustees served four-year terms and met annually. Andrzej Eliasz was chairman of the board of trustees. Other members included Jan Strelau (former chairman of the board of trustees), Michał Jan Boni (Member of the European Parliament), Magdalena Dziewguć (Google for Work), Robert Firmhofer (director of Copernicus Science Centre), Aleksander Kutela (Onet.pl S.A.), Przemysław Schmidt, Ewa Voelkel-Krokowicz. As of 2018, in compliance with the new higher education law in Poland, the governing body of SWPS University consists of rector and director general.

### Rectors

* Andrzej Eliasz (from 1996 to 2016)
* Roman Cieślak (since 2016)

## Academics

SWPS University offers 18 undergraduate and graduate programs taught entirely in English and over 30 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral study programs, with over 70 specializations, in Polish. The main study areas are Psychology, Law, Languages, Literature and Culture Studies, Media and Communication, Management, and Design. The University has been ranked by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as the leading higher education institution offering Social Sciences program in Poland.

## Faculties

Twelve faculties of SWPS University have the authority to grant doctoral degrees in the following disciplines: cultural studies, literature studies, law, and sociology (in Warsaw) as well as psychology (in Warsaw, Wrocław, and Sopot). The university also has the authority to grant post-doctoral degrees (habilitacja) in cultural studies (Warsaw) and psychology (Warsaw and Wrocław).
Faculties of SWPS University :
| Locations | Faculties | Subjects |
| Warsaw | Warsaw Faculty of Psychology | Psychology |
| Warsaw | Warsaw Faculty of Humanities | Humanities |
| Warsaw | Warsaw Faculty of Social Sciences | Social Sciences |
| Warsaw | Faculty of Design in Warsaw | Design |
| Warsaw | Warsaw Faculty of Law | Law |
| Kraków | Kraków Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies | Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Kraków | Kraków Faculty of Psychology | Psychology |
| Sopot | Sopot Faculty of Psychology | Psychology |
| Katowice | Katowice Faculty of Psychology | Psychology |
| Wrocław | Wrocław Faculty of Psychology | Psychology |
| Wrocław | Wrocław Faculty of Law and Communication | Law and Communication |
| Poznań | Poznań Faculty of Psychology and Law | Psychology and Law |

## Notable staff

* Jan Strelau, doctor honoris causa
* Shevah Weiss, doctor honoris causa
* Robert Cialdini, doctor honoris causa
* Philip Zimbardo, doctor honoris causa
* Małgorzata Kossut, head of the Department of Psychophysiology of Cognitive Processes
* Jerzy Adam Kowalski, Institute of Culture Science
* Tomasz Witkowski, founder of the Klub Sceptyków Polskich
* Roman Laskowski, professor of the Jagiellonian University and University of Gothenburg
* Piotr Waglowski, researcher of communication processes in the paradigm of social constructionism
* Andrzej Nowak, director and founder of the Institut of Social Psychology of Internet and Communication
* Jerzy Szacki, one of the most prominent representatives of the Warsaw School of the History of Ideas
* Dariusz Doliński, president of the Psychological Sciences Committee in the Polish Science Academy
* Bogdan Wojciszke
* Klaus Bachmann, associate professor at the Institute of Political Science.

## Notable alumni

* Daria Abramowicz, sports psychologist
* Ania, singer
* Agnieszka Brustman, chess master
* Tomasz Kamusella, historian
* Żanna Słoniowska, novelist and journalist

## Social engagement

SWPS University collaborates with various local and national organizations nurturing the idea of social engagement of its faculty and students. SWPS has a Legal Clinic which offers free legal advice for low-income individuals. The University also supports local craftsmen running their small businesses in the Praga District of Warsaw where the University main campus is located. Much of the research output is devoted to social, business and political issues such as neuroscience, behavioral insights for economy and public policy, health and nutrition, ageing, youth adaptation, or facing EU challenges from Horizon Europe (e.g. migrations, human & technology relations in the digital world). SWPS cooperates with various NGOs and institutions devoted to social causes, are the first European campus with the Ashoka Journey to Changemaking Certificate, and are member of newly-established Engaged Universities Forum, grouping 7 Polish Universities around the UN SDGs.

## Rankings

* SWPS University is ranked the second best private higher education institution in Poland according to Perspektywy 2019 Polish University ranking.
* SWPS University is ranked 1201+ in the 2025 World University Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE), with place 401+ in Psychology and 501+ in Social Sciences by subject.
* SWPS University was ranked second in Poland in the Psychology category in the Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.
* Silver Medal for SWPS University's Researchers at Euroinvent 2023.