History of the University

Activities towards the establishment of the Medical University of Bialystok were initiated at the beginning of 1949. The founder of the School was dr Jerzy Sztachelski. The Medical University of Bialystok was created by terms of ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 3rd February 1950, with Professor Tadeusz Kielanowski as its first Rector.
The seat of the Medical University of Bialystok is the former Branicki Palace, the most magnificent and precious historic structure in Bialystok from the 18th c. The first basic science departments were housed in the adjacent Collegium Primum. In the second year of existence the School obtained the right to confer scientific degrees. In 1953, first clinical departments were created. In 1954, a new building, Collegium Universum, was opened to house most of the basic science departments. In 1955, the academic journal "Annals of the Medical University of Bialystok" was issued for the first time and is still continued. In 1956, a few issues of "Medyk Bialostocki" were published. The journal was re-issued in 2000. The State Teaching Hospital of the Medical University of Bialystok was opened in 1962. In 1968, the Division of Dentistry was created within the Faculty of Medicine. In 1977, the Faculty of Pharmacy with the Division of Medical Analytics was opened. In 1982, Collegium Pathologicum was opened. The Children's Teaching Hospital began admitting patients in 1988. In 1999, Collegium Novum was opened. The Division of Nursing and Health Care was created in the same year. On October 1st 2004, the Medical Faculty launched medical studies for foreigners, offering a six-year curriculum in the English language.