Three professors working for the Institute of Psychology at the Polish Academy of Sciences - Mr Andrzej Eliasz, Mr Zbigniew Pietrasiński and Mr Janusz Reykowski establish our university. Professor Andrzej Eliasz becomes the first Rector.

The first field of study is launched - social psychology. Over 500 students begin their studies here..

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• Wisława Szymborska receives the Nobel Prize in Literature,
• the onet.pl website is launched,
• Dolly the sheep, the first successfully cloned mammal, is born.

The University starts admissions for postgraduate studies in negotiation and mediation, development of managerial skills, market research methodologies and customer service.

There are over a thousand people studying at SWPS now.

At that time in Poland:

• the Constitution of the Republic of Poland is enacted,
• TVN begins to broadcast.

The Experimental Psychology Laboratory begins its activities where research into automated processing of social information and attitude modification is conducted.

SWPS now has over 3 thousand students.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• a new administrative division of Poland’s territory into 16 provinces is introduced,
• Poland becomes a member of NATO,
• The Matrix premieres in cinemas.

SWPS is the first non-public university to be evaluated by a university accreditation committee (Pol. Uniwersytecka Komisja Akredytacyjna).

The founders agree to work towards achieving the full academic status of university.

At that time in Poland:

• The Polish parliament passes a law establishing the office of Ombudsman for Children,
• Gadu-Gadu, the first Polish instant messenger, is introduced to the public,
• Andrzej Wajda receives an Oscar for his lifetime achievements.

SWPS moves to a newly acquired building located at Chodakowska Street in Warsaw which from then on becomes its headquarters.

The first graduates receive their MA diplomas.

At that time abroad:

• the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center unfolds,
• the iPod is introduced to the public worldwide,
• Microsoft rolls out Windows XP.

The university continues growing and starts ifs first satellite campus. Professor Alina Kolańczyk becomes the first dean of the Sopot branch.

For the first time, SWPS receives the right to confer the degree of doctor in psychology.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• the Euro Area is born - the common currency, the euro, is adopted by most of the Member States,
• Daniel Kahneman wins the Nobel Prize for applying tools used in the study of psychology to economic research,
• the Polish Internet Library is established.

On 12 December 2003, Anna Siwy-Hudowska becomes the first doctor to receive her degree at SWPS. She is awarded the title for research conducted under the guidance of professor Jan Strelau.

SWPS launches its first 5-year psychology degree programme in English, which is the first such course to be offered in Poland.

The University becomes a member of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland.

At that time abroad:

• China becomes the third country in history to independently send a man into space,
• Swedish activist Greta Thunberg is born,
• Arnold Schwarzenegger begins his tenure as the governor of California.

The Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław is currently the best-rated faculty of social sciences in Poland (evaluated at A+ by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education).

SWPS becomes a member of the European University Association.

At that time abroad:

• Facebook is created,
• Poland is accepted as a member of the EU,
• NASA lands its Opportunity rover on the surface of Mars.

The first psychology degree program in Poland to have received such high rating by the Polish Accreditation Committee.

At that time abroad:

• YouTube goes online,
• The European Parliament passes a resolution recognizing the right of homosexual people to marry as a civil right and a human right.

The Faculty comprises the Institute of English Philology, the Institute of Scandinavian Philology, the Middle East Centre and the Centre for East Asian Civilisations.

At that time abroad:

• the world’s population reaches 6,5 billion,
• women win the right to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time in Kuwait,
• YouTube is bought by Google for $1,65 billion,
• the English version of Wikipedia now has 1 million entries.

This makes SWPS the only non-public university with qualifications to grant the degree of doctor in two faculties and to confer the degree of doktor habilitowany.

At that time abroad:

• the iPhone is presented to the world,
• Google Translate is launched,
• Poland joins the Schengen Area.

This is the third qualification to confer doctoral degrees awarded to our university. New academic and research centres are being established, including the Centre for the Study of Democracy, the Centre for Polish Literature and Language and the Centre for Comparative Studies in Literature and Art.

At that time abroad:

• the Phoenix lander touches down on the surface of Mars,
• scientists film a moving electron for the first time in history in Lund, Sweden,
• the Large Hadron Collider starts operation at the CERN centre in Geneva.

The University decides to offer studies in law and officially establishes the Faculty of Law, with professor Teresa Gardocka appointed as the dean.

There are now over 11,000 students studying at the university.

At that time abroad:

• Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States of America,
• Jerzy Buzek becomes President of the European Parliament,
• the World Digital Library is launched.

SWPS opens new branch campuses. The Wroclaw faculty achieves the highest academic rating among all university faculties in Poland. The Faculty of Psychology in Warsaw and the Faculty Arts and Social Sciences in Warsaw are also ranked in the highest category.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• The iPad is presented in San Francisco,
• The WikiLeaks scandal unfolds,
• The Copernicus Science Centre opens the first wing of its building with five galleries.

SWPS adds new programmes to its offer. The School of Form is established in Poznań, offering studies in the field of design. In Wroclaw, the first students begin their studies in the field of Graphic Design.

The Senate of the University grants an honorary doctorate to professor Philip Zimbardo for his outstanding contribution to the development of psychology and for promoting international academic cooperation.

Scientists from SWPS - professor Leszek Koczanowicz, professor Aleksandra Łuszczyńska, professor Grzegorz Sędek and professor Bogdan Wojciszke receive the “MISTRZ” award from the Foundation for Polish Science.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• the national census takes place,
• Minecraft is officially released for gamers worldwide,
• the Polish Presidency in the Council of the European Union begins.

This is the fourth qualification to grant doctoral degrees in SWPS. Studies in Design in Poznan and Psychology in Sopot receive an award in a competition of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

SWPS becomes the best non-public university from the perspective of the number of grants obtained from the National Science Centre.

SWPS students are awarded in the Student Nobel Prize 2012 competition and the "Diamond Grant" competition.

At that time abroad:

• The Curiosity rover successfully lands on the surface of Mars,
• a new elementary particle, the Higgs Boson, is discovered experimentally.

The "A+" category is awarded to less than 4% of all the institutions under assessment.

Studies in law among the best academic programmes according to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

Professor Cialdini receives an honorary doctorate from SWPS.

At that time abroad:

• The European Union welcomes its new Member State - Croatia,
• Royal Baby is born,
• a meteor shower hits Chelyabinsk,
• Lem, the first Polish scientific satellite, is launched into space.

Cultural Studies offered in the Faculty of Cultural Studies and Philology receive a distinction after an audit by the Polish Accreditation Committee. This is the first such high result for cultural studies in the history of the Committee’s activity.

SWPS joins the nationwide celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the first partially free elections in Poland.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• The Polish version of Wikipedia reaches one million entries,
• The Voyager 1 probe enters interstellar space - a boundary which humanity has never crossed before in history,
• Heweliusz, the second Polish satellite, is successfully launched into space.

SWPS receives its sixth qualification to confer the degree of doctor in the field of literature studies. It can now use the word “university” officially as part of its name.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• the first successful face transplant is performed,
• doctors in Poland successfully perform the first chain transplant,
• “Ida” directed by Paweł Pawlikowski is receives an Academy Award for best foreign language film.

The prize is awarded to professor Bogdan Wojciszke by the Foundation for Polish Science for developing a model of causality and communality as the basic dimensions of social cognition.

Distinction for the Psychology programme in Warsaw and the Faculty of Psychology in Wrocław. The Sopot campus obtains the right to grant the degree of doctor in the field of psychology.

After 20 years of service as Rector of the university, professor Andrzej Eliasz hands over the chair to professor Roman Cieślak.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• Donald Trump is elected the 45th President of the United States of America,
• Great Britain holds a referendum which will later trigger the Brexit process,
• crisis breaks out around the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland,
• Netflix becomes available in Poland.

The YouTube channel of SWPS University’s Strefa Psyche is awarded the prestigious Złoty Spinacz distinction by the Polish Public Relations Companies Association in its Branded Content category. It also wins first prize in the Genius Universitatis competition organized by "Perspektywy” magazine in the Content Marketing category.

At that time abroad:

• unrest in Poland due to the controversial reform of the judiciary,
• Android (and by extension Linux) becomes the most popular operating system on the planet,
• Leonardo da Vinci's "Savior of the World" is sold for $450 million in an auction in New York.

The Faculty of Law in Warsaw receives the right to confer the degree of doktor habilitowany in legal science.

At that time in Poland and abroad:

• a nationwide women's protest against stricter abortion laws takes place under the informal name “black Friday”,
• prince Henry and Meghan Markle take their marriage vows,
• the 23rd Olympic Winter Games start in Pyongyang, South Korea.

Campuses in Poznań and Katowice receive the qualification to grant the degree of doctor of social sciences in the scope of the discipline of psychology.

At that time abroad:

• scientists present the first-ever image of a black hole in the centre of the M87 galaxy,
• the series of thousands of forest fires in the Amazon begins,
• Mr Pawel Adamowicz, the mayor of Gdansk, is attacked with a knife during the 29th Grand Finale Fundraiser of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. He dies the next day as a result of his injuries.

School of Form moves to Warsaw. The Faculty of Design in Warsaw is established. Doctor Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielelcka becomes the dean of the newly founded unit.

The university receives the qualification to grant doctoral degrees in the discipline of political and administration sciences. This is the sixth doctoral qualification received by SWPS University.

Professor Jan Strelau, a legendary figure in Polish psychology and a very important person for our University, passes away.

At that time abroad:

• The coronavirus pandemic is announced on 11 March,
• Great Britain leaves the European Union,
• Luxembourg becomes the first country in the world to introduce completely free public transport within its borders.