Program Duration

Fall semester: Late August - Mid-December
Spring semester: Late January - Late May

Program Description

Offered through the Council on International Education Exchange (CIEE), this program in Poland is co-sponsored by UW-Madison. Established in 1989, the program provides a broad-based academic program combined with an in-country cultural experience. The program is intended for students who have an interest in Poland and Central Europe, as well as political, social, and/or economic transformation from a state controlled to a democratic market-based system.

A relatively young city by Polish standards, Warsaw was founded in the 14th century and became the nation’s capital in 1596. Warsaw was completely devastated during World War II but was totally rebuilt, with many sections designed to look exactly as they did before the war. Today’s Warsaw is a bustling city at the center of Poland’s economic and cultural life, and a thriving Central European capital. It has an excellent public transportation system and is easily navigable; especially for those with no prior knowledge of Polish (many people speak English). The city is divided by the Vistula River, and has many parks, royal palaces, and a colorful Old Town area. Enjoy the many theaters, cinemas, museums, concerts, cafés, and discos while studying in the most rapidly growing city in Central Europe.

Academics

Established in 1906, the Warsaw School of Economics (WSE) is the oldest and largest economics university in Poland, with 16,000 students and a teaching staff of 1,100. WSE has undergone fundamental curricular and structural transformation since 1990. Today, WSE offers undergraduate and graduate study programs in economics, international economics, management, statistics, computer science, demography, and public-sector economics.

This program offers participants a series of specially designed courses in fields such as Central European politics, literature, history, and economics. Although there is no language prerequisite for participation in the program, all students are required to take conversational Polish. In addition to Polish language, students select four area studies courses each semester taught in English. CIEE classes are attended by CIEE program students and occasionally by WSE or other international students.

Housing

Housing is included in the program fee. CIEE students live together in double rooms in a Warsaw School of Economics dormitory, with shared bath and kitchen facilities. Meals may be taken at a student cafeteria, in restaurants, and cafés in Warsaw, or may be prepared in the dormitory, but are not included in the program fee.

Excursions and Activities

A mandatory orientation session, conducted in Warsaw at the beginning of the program, introduces students to the country, the culture, and the academic program, and provides practical information about living in Warsaw. Students benefit from ongoing orientation and cultural learning through their associations with Polish language partners whom they meet at the beginning of orientation.

The program includes visits to sites of historic and cultural importance in Warsaw, a study tour to Gdansk—the home of the Solidarity Movement, as well as a five-day study tour to Kraków and the surrounding area. In Kraków, students attend several days of lectures in art history taught by specialists in the field. A visit to Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp, is also included. This study tour also includes a visit to Zakopane in the Polish Tatra Mountain Region. Visits to other Polish cities are also included as a part of some of the classes.

One of the features of the CIEE Study Center in Warsaw is financial support for student participation in the cultural life of the city. As a means of encouraging students to take maximum advantage of their time in Warsaw and in Poland, students may be reimbursed for tickets to theater, film, opera, ballet, and some train travel within Poland.