The Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education (APS) is a university with a 90-year-old teaching tradition. Comprising a highly qualified staff and offering a diversity of study programs (in general and special education) alongside improved conditions of studying, APS provides a range of varied study opportunities leading to the acquisition of high level skills. In addition, the Academy offers various postgraduate programmes which provide complementary qualifications in general and special education, as well as in other fields of social life.
Within the Special Education programmes APS focuses on training teachers and teacher assistants for children, adolescents and adults with intellectual difficulties, hearing, speech or sight impediment, motor impairment, physical disabilities as well as emotional and behavioral disorders. Our pedagogical courses prepare teachers for working both in mainstream schools (a school pedagogue) and in other special education centers.
APS also provides qualifications in the general fields of pedagogy and social pedagogy. i.e. family support services, cultural and educational activity in a local area, continuing education of adults, job counselling, community prevention (i.e. street education) and the psycho-pedagogy of creativity, which is designed to equip graduates with the skills required for doing non-standard educational work with children.
The Maria Grzegorzewska Academy of Special Education (APS) educates approximately 7,000 students per year and employs 500 workers. The APS provides research funded mainly by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the National Science Center, as well as the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and the European Social Fund.
The academics in APS conduct research projects together with scholars from various foreign universities and academic institutions based on formal and informal agreements. The academics also represent the University in many international organisations.