The Medical University of Silesia in Katowice is the largest medical school in Poland. It has been established on the 20th of March 1948. At first it was given the name Medical Academy and was placed in Rokitnica Bytomska. The name Medical University of Silesia was given in 1949. The lectures for the 135 newly admitted students of medicine and 96 students of dentistry had begun in October 1948. The first Celebration  of the academic year  took place on the 20th of November 1948. The first Rector was Professor Nowakowski, a famous specialist in hygiene. Gradually, the school was extending and the number of students grew up.

In 2005, the Experimental Medicine Center was incorporated into the faculty as an experimental-breeding unit, and in 2012, the Center for Medical Education and Simulation was opened, the first of its kind in Poland and one of the most modern in Europe. On October 1, 2019, the name of the Medical Faculty in Katowice was changed to the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice.

Currently, the faculty has a total of 96 organizational units, including: 26 medical theory units (12 departments and 14 institutes) and 70 clinical units (28 departments, 34 clinics, 4 institutes, and 4 clinical wards).

The clinical base of the faculty consists of 5 clinical hospitals located in Katowice:

  • University Clinical Center named after Prof. K. Gibiński (hospitals at ul. Medyków 14 and ul. Ceglana 35),
  • Independent Public Clinical Hospital named after Andrzej Mielęcki (ul. Francuska 20–24),
  • Independent Public Clinical Hospital – Upper Silesian Medical Center named after Prof. Leszek Giec (ul. Ziołowa 45),
  • Independent Public Clinical Hospital – Upper Silesian Children’s Health Center (ul. Medyków 16),

as well as units located in facilities of other healthcare organizers: at Dr. Urbanowicz and Dr. Kośny Hospital in Chorzów and at the Provincial Specialist Hospital named after St. Barbara in Sosnowiec.

The English Language program for medical students has been carried out at the Faculty of Medical Sciences in Katowice since 1996.