International Studies in Philosophy (ISiP) is a 3-year bachelor’s degree programme taught entirely in English which took off in October 2007.

All tutorials, lectures, and seminars are taught in English. The teaching staff have an extensive teaching experience both in Poland and in abroad. The programme is ran by the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Warsaw.

Philosophy gives you a wider perspective

During the three–year period of study, ISiP students obtain a thorough grounding in the current state of research in various philosophical disciplines. They are also familiarised with the main historical traditions within European philosophy, with particular attention to analytical philosophy and the Lvov-Warsaw School. According to the tradition of that school, the basis for a philosophical education lies in ontology and epistemology.

Courses in these branches provide a broad overview of the world and cognition: compatible with but deeper and more general than that offered by the natural sciences. At the same time, the main accomplishments of the latter are also studied. Supplemented by tutorials on the history of philosophy, all these courses make it possible to understand the content and evolution of the most important ideas and research of the Western civilization.

Courses in ethics and aesthetics develop a theoretical understanding of the realm of values as well as emotional and moral sensitivities. They cultivate respect for civic responsibilities and show the interrelations between legal, moral, and religious normative domains. Courses in logic and logical semiotics (areas in which the work of Polish philosophers has had a world-wide impact) teach thinking skills — significant both within science and public life. Together with philosophy of language, they also provide the tools to formally analyse natural language and the structure of scientific theories. Studying philosophical anthropology, social philosophy and philosophy of culture allow ISiP students to comprehend intricate relations between a manner of living, the dominant intellectual culture, and the goals of social elites in diverse times and societies.

Other specialist and interdisciplinary courses give students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with issues in such fields as philosophy of action, philosophy of mind, political and legal philosophy.

Diverse classes

The broadening of students’ intellectual horizons is promoted by a varied programme of lectures, tutorials, and seminars. During lectures, students obtain knowledge of a subject, while during the tutorials and other classes they learn how to actively participate in philosophical debates, how to analyse basic philosophical ideas, and how to individually formulate and deal with challenging theoretical problems.

After graduation

Philosophy graduates are seen by many employers as particularly important and valuable employees. They find employment in various educational institutions, publishing companies, PR firms, marketing agencies, mass media and, on top of that, in government offices, political organizations and local government institutions.

Those philosophy graduates who are not native speakers gain a fluent command of English which makes them more employable in Poland and the European Union. Their qualifications can provide a good basis for applying for prestigious grants and scholarships as well as for places in MA and PhD programmes throughout Europe.

Visit Students tab to learn more about the programme.

The origins of university–level philosophy teaching in Warsaw date back to the days of the Collegium Nobilium (opened in 1740), and the Knights’ School (founded in 1865 by King Stanislaus Augustus). Philosophy blossomed in the first half of the 20th century, at which time the chairs of philosophy at University of Warsaw were held by such famous representatives of the Lvov–Warsaw School as Jan Łukasiewicz and Stanisław Leśniewski (logicians), Władysław Tatarkiewicz (specialising in aesthetics and the history of European philosophy) as well as Tadeusz Kotarbiński (who developed praxiology). During this period, qualifications were granted to Alfred Tarski (logician who, after World War II, worked in the US), as well as Maria Ossowski (ethicist) and Stanisław Ossowski (specialising in aesthetics and sociology). In the post–war period, the greatest figure in Warsaw Philosophy was that of Kazimierz Ajdukiewicz (metaphysician and logician).

The Faculty of Philosophy consists of the following departments: Aesthetics, Analytic Philosophy, Epistemology, Ethics, History of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, History of Contemporary Philosophy, History of Modern Philosophy, History of Polish Philosophy, Logic, Logical Semiotics, Philosophy of Culture, Philosophy of Politics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Social Philosophy, and sections: The Lvov-Warsaw School Research Center, Centre for Bioetics and Biolaw, Laboratory of Experimental Philosophy ‘KogniLab’, Laboratory of Didactics of Philosophy, Laboratory of French Philosophy, Laboratory of Philosophy of Technology, and Communication, Laboratory of Methodology of Humanities, German Philosophy Lab, Centre for Intercollegiate Cooperation.

Visit Faculty Website for more information.

Founded in 1816, University of Warsaw is the largest university in Poland and the best research centre in the country. 

Several facts about UW:

• Belongs to the top 3% of universities in the world according to global rankings such as Times Higher Education World University Ranking (THE), Quaquarelli Symmonds World University Ranking (QS), Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU)
• Belongs to the 4EU+ European University Alliance selected by the European Commission for funding in the ‘European Universities’ call for proposals, launched as part of the 2019 Erasmus+ programme
• Awarded the “HR Excellence in Research” title by the European Commission for adopting the principles of the European Charter for Researchers, which means that UW offers a friendly working environment and transparent recruitment procedure
• Distinguished by the European Commission for its participation in the Erasmus+ programme

Click here to find out more about why it is a good idea to study at the University of Warsaw.

Students have access to two great libraries: faculty's library and the main university library.

Faculty's library is the largest collection of philosophical works in this part of Europe. It offers traditional books as well as digital archives, internet databases and other electronic research tools.

Spacious, cozy, and well-equipped reading room in the Faculty's building  is also available for students.

Visit Faculty's Library website for more information.

The Main University Library is located in the distance of a fifteen minutes walk from the Faculty of Philosophy.  The library was constructed with the aim of creating an open library with free access to its collections. This approach grew from the belief that the spatial arrangement of a library has a distinctive influence on the quality of the work carried out within it.

The library system stacks contain over 3,500,000 books, over 1,000,000 journals and magazines, over 700,000 items in the reserve collections, with the library currently subscribing to 1,200 foreign journals and periodicals.

Visit Main University Library website for more information.

As a member of a well known Erasmus+ Student Exchange programme, our faculty has a partnership with over 25 universities around Europe (Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Italy). For the full list of partners click here.

We strongly encourage our students to take advantage of the Erasmus programme and study abroad. We are also happy to host students from other countries as part of the Erasmus programme.

Please visit Candidates and Students tabs for more details.

For comprehensive information about applying for the studies please visit Candidates section.