The Jagiellonian University also known as the University of Kraków is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by the King of Poland Casimir III the Great, the Jagiellonian University is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe, and one of the oldest surviving universities in the world. Notable alumni include astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, poet Jan Kochanowski, Polish King John III Sobieski, constitutional reformer Hugo Kołłątaj, chemist Karol Olszewski, anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski, and writer Stanisław Lem. Students at the University who did not earn diplomas included Nobel laureates Ivo Andrić and Wisława Szymborska. In the mid-14th century, King Casimir III the Great realised that the nation needed a class of educated people, especially lawyers, who could arrange a better set of the country's laws and administer the courts and offices. His efforts to found an institution of higher learning in Poland were rewarded when Pope Urban V granted him permission to set up a university in Kraków. A royal charter of foundation was issued on 12 May 1364, and a simultaneous document was issued by the City Council granting privileges to the Studium Generale.

The university is divided into 15 faculties which have different organisational sub-structures partly reflecting their history and partly their operational needs. Teaching and research at UJ are organised by faculties, which may include a number of other institutions:

Faculties:

• Law and Administration
• Medicine
• Pharmacy and Medical Analysis
• Health Care
• Philosophy
• History
• Philology
• Polish Language and Literature
• Physics, Astronomy and Applied Computer Science
• Mathematics and Computer Science
• Chemistry
• Biology and Earth Sciences
• Management and Social Communication
• International and Political Studies
• Biochemistry, Biophysics and Biotechnology

The university's main library, the Jagiellonian Library, is one of Poland's largest, with almost 6.5 million volumes. It is a constituent of the Polish National Libraries system. It is home to a world-renowned collection of medieval manuscripts, which includes Copernicus' De Revolutionibus, the Balthasar Behem Codex and the Berlinka. The library also has an extensive collection of underground political literature from Poland's period of Communist rule between 1945 and 1989. In 1851, the university's first student scientific association was founded. Now, over 70 student scientific associations exist at the Jagiellonian University. Usually, their purpose is to promote students' scientific achievements by organizing lecture sessions, science excursions, and international student conferences, such as the International Workshop for Young Mathematicians, which is organized by the Zaremba Association of Mathematicians.