Tarnów’s wide range of educational offerings, continually adapted to the needs of the labour market, and its high level of teaching make it a regional centre for education. The city hosts approximately 5,000 students at four universities, the largest of which is the Tarnów University of Applied Sciences. Currently, it educates approximately 4,200 young people in 33 fields of study across six faculties: polytechnic, humanities, mathematics and natural sciences, administration and economics, health care, and arts. In recent years, the university has added fields such as medicine and psychology.
The university also cooperates with secondary and technical schools based in the Tarnów region, offering them various grants, courses and classes led by academic professors, as well as access to the university’s laboratories and classrooms.
The Małopolska University of Economics in Tarnów is a private university founded in 1995 by the Małopolska Centre for Economic Education. Bachelor’s and master’s degrees are complemented by practical experience gained during domestic and international internships.. It was the first university in Tarnów to be registered with the National Agency of the LLP-Erasmus Programme.
In addition to universities, the city boasts numerous specialized secondary and technical schools offering proven high quality of education. Highly esteemed Secondary School No. 2 is the only public school in the Małopolska Voivodeship to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.
Technical and vocational schools are also very popular, offering a wide range of educational profiles and internships at local companies. Responding to the needs of the labour market, new specializations are emerging. Chemical technology technician, industrial machine operator, electromechanical technician, and many other future career paths are available.
Newly emerging fields of study are the result of collaboration between businesses, universities, and secondary schools, aiming at meeting current market needs. Research conducted by the IPC Research Institute confirms that over a thousand companies operate in foreign markets. To fulfil the market’s needs, the city boasts more than a dozen language schools and three university philology programs, all of which enable students to acquire high level of language proficiency. Each year, over a hundred students specialized in English, German, and Romance philology graduate from Tarnów’s universities.