About
"It could seem that during this program we talk exclusively about history, but this is not the case. The real goal of the program is to relate it to the contemporary world and show mechanisms of evil, which affect all of us acutely. Here and now. The program also provides students with unique instruments useful in coping with all these threats."
Adam Szpaderski, Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Head of the Program
Addressees
The program is mainly addressed to teachers of history, civics, religion, or ethics as well as guides, educators, employees of museums and memorial sites, who in their professional capacity use knowledge concerning the history of the Second World War, the Holocaust and genocide.
Goal
The goal of the graduate certification program “Roots of the 20th Century Totalitarianism: Auschwitz - Holocaust - Genocides” is to:
- provide knowledge on the mechanisms of totalitarianisms of the 20th century, in particular Nazism and the Holocaust, including the role of the concentration camp Auschwitz, and other genocides;
- present innovative teaching methods concerning such difficult subjects, and sensitize students to human suffering and harm, which result from indifference to extreme attitudes such as antisemitism, racism, persecution, and war.
Our difference
- The program offers two modes of study: online and onsite. Classes take place at the authentic Auschwitz Memorial Site and are taught by a team of acclaimed experts specializing in the topics of the program.
- The program constitutes not only a thorough source of knowledge, but also provides a wide range of methods and tools indispensable to educators specializing in the topics of Auschwitz, the Holocaust and genocides.
- Although every year, millions of people visit the most significant Memorial Site in the world, only very few have an opportunity to see how a day in life of employees working at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site looks like. What do restorers do? How are the traces of history and object kept in the Collection? How are documents preserved in the Archives? How does education looks like at this very special Place. This program provides a unique opportunity to see a day-to-day operation of the Museum, behind the sciences, and beyond the spaces normally open to visitors.
- This unique program is unparalleled on the market of post-graduate education.
Learn more about the program. Read an interview with Professor Adam Szpaderski, Head of the program.
Duration
200 hours, two semesters.
Class format
Classes take place on Saturdays and Sundays. The meetings are scheduled twice a month, at the maximum. The program has been planned to be provided in an online format, i.e., all meetings will take place online.
Credit requirements
- Minimum 60% on each final module test.
- Minimum 80% attendance in each type of class.
- Final project, which must relate to a selected topic included in the program of study; the project grade is the final grade printed on the diploma of program completion
Document confirming completion of the program
Graduates will receive a postgraduate diploma (świadectwo ukończenia studiów podyplomowych), issued by SWPS University, as defined by the Act on Higher Education, and a diploma issued by the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust (ICEAH).
Program
PROGRAM
The Center for Professional Education reserves the right to make changes to the program, the faculty, and the mode of teaching, should significant reasons for such changes occur.
The program includes 200 hours of teaching and is divided into four thematic modules. The classes take a form of workshops, seminars, and lectures.
THE GRADUATE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM FRAMEWORK
MODULE I Politics and ideology
- 20th Century Totalitarianisms — a comparative perspective (10 hours)
- Antisemitism — the birth and rise of the ideology (10 hours)
- National Socialism — the birth and rise of the ideology (8 hours)
- Nazi regime in Germany and the occupied Europe (8 hours)
MODULE II The Holocaust — a study of different cultures of remembrance
- Overview of Jewish history and culture (12 hours)
- Overview of Roma history and culture (10 hours)
- Persecution and genocide of Jews (16 hours)
- Persecution and genocide of the Roma (12 hours)
- Persecution and extermination of Poles (12 hours))
- Prisoners of other nationalities (4 hours)
- The forgotten victims of Nazism (4 hours)
ODULE III The Holocaust, in particular the role of the Auschwitz concentration camp and other genocides of the 20th century
- Nazi German death camps, with the focus on the Auschwitz concentration camp (22 hours)
- The Holocaust and other Nazi crimes in literature (8 hours)
- The Holocaust and other Nazi crimes in film (8 hours)
- Genocides and crimes against humanity in the 20th century (10 hours)
MODULE IV Education at Memorial Sites
- Education at memorial sites: theory and practice (20 hours)
- Developing cooperation in education (4 hours)
- Human Rights in the contemporary world (6 hours)
- Concepts of new technologies in education about Auschwitz, the Holocaust, and genocides (6 hours)
- Project seminar (10 hours)
Our Lecturers
LECTURERS
Admissions
ADMISSIONS TO POST-GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Please fill in the online Application Form. In the Application Form, please provide your personal data and attach the following documents:
- scan/photo of your university diploma
- CV including your professional experience to date
Please note, completion of the online Application Form does not equal acceptance to a given post-graduate program. The Center for Professional Education reserves the right to invite candidates for an interview.
Please note: SWPS University reserves the right to cancel a post-graduate program, should the number of candidates be insufficient.
Fees
FEES
Tuition fee
| 2023-2024 academic year |
|---|
| 2 instalments |
EUR 675/each |
| 1 instalment |
EUR 1,250 |
| Application fee |
EUR 100 |
Graduates of the former Warsaw School of Social Psychology (Szkoła Wyższa Psychologii Społecznej, SWPS), SWPS University, and students of SWPS University are exempt from paying the application fee.
You will pay your tuition fee into your individual subaccount. You can find your account number on the Virtual University Platform (enter your last and first name and the name of the Graduate Certification program you are paying for).