Agricultural University of Krakow is a public institution of higher education, tracing its origin to the 19th century Study of Agronomy at the Jagiellonian University of Krakow. It has been operating as an independent unit since 1953. At present it is a modern research and academic centre with 7 faculties: Agriculture and Economics, Animal Sciences, Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying, Horticulture, Forestry, Agricultural Engineering, Food Technology and the Interfaculty Study of Biotechnology. University academic staff (745 persons) conducts research focused on areas of key importance for agriculture, forestry, food economy and rural development in southern Poland. The University offers full time, part-time and PhD programmes. Currently there are over 13 thousands of students educated by 745 academic teachers among whom 131 are professors. The University maintains close contacts both with agricultural practice in Poland and numerous foreign centres of research. It participates in the EU Framework Programme and EU educational programmes (Socrates-Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Jean Monnet).