The University of Gdansk was founded in 1970 by combining two higher schools: the Higher School of Economics in Sopot and the Higher Pedagogical School in Gdansk. The young university in Gdansk developed very dynamically and it is currently the biggest institute of higher education in the Pomorze region. It offers candidates education in some thirty different disciplines in over sixty specialisations. In the nine faculties and the Foreign Language Teacher Training College there are almost 33,000 students under the care of some 1,600 academic staff. Within the framework of European programmes such as Erasmus and Socrates, students have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and obtain new experiences abroad. The University of Gdansk Careers Office, which is a leader among professional advisers, helps students to find employment and to undertake decisions about professional development. Numerous foreign placements for the academic staff enable them to educate the students in an ever more modern and open way.

The members of the academic staff of Gdansk University conduct research on a world level. Not only do they broaden fields of scientific knowledge but they also serve the whole Pomorze region with their knowledge and experience and help in its dynamic and modern development. The University of Gdansk cooperates with universities from all European countries and with countries from around the world by conducting common research and undertakings as a result of some eighty international agreements. Successive institutes, chairs and departments obtain the prestigious statute of a Centre of Excellence, which is the European certificate of quality.

Apart from acquiring knowledge, students can realise their passions and broaden their interests in the dozens of scientific circles at the University of Gdansk, in the University of Gdansk Academic Choir, which wins important prizes at international festivals, in the "Jantar" Song and Dance Troupe and in the Academic Cultural Centre, which organises important cultural events and shows that are important throughout the whole region. An important part is played in academic life by sport, and the sections of the UG Academic Sporting Union and the Physical Education and Sport Department win medals and awards at the most important sporting events both in Poland and abroad.

The most recent history of the University of Gdańsk includes the creation of new fields of study and the modification of its range of courses to serve the needs of the labour market. Archaeology was introduced in 2004 and was joined by Cultural Studies in 2005, Journalism in 2006 and in 2007 - Speech therapy. From the academic year 2008/2009, the University is introducing further new fields of study: Social Work, Geology and Spatial Management. In the next few years new subjects will include European Studies, International Relations, Modern Library Studies and Scientific and Technical Information.

In the 2005/2006 academic year, the University of Gdańsk introduced in almost all fields of full-time day studies the Bologna System of Education (three-cycle higher studies: vocational, master’s and doctoral studies) as the fundamental system of education at the university. The Bologna System of Education is characterised by great flexibility and it allows students to individualise their programme of studies. It enables students to study different fields and specialisations at the same time and to change their field after completion of the first cycle of studies. It allows students at the University of Gdańsk to take full advantage of the range of courses offered by institutions in Europe and the rest of the world. By introducing the Bologna System of Education, the University of Gdańsk identifies itself with the idea of creating the European Space for Higher Education and accepts as legitimate the aims included in the Common Declaration of European Ministers of Education, signed in Bologna in 1999

The University of Gdansk has excellent research stations with international reputations, such as the Marine Station of the Institute of Oceanography in Hel or the Bird Migration Research Station in Przebendowo. In this way the university is realising its motto in mari via tua and is helping the development of the Pomorze region, whose real wealth is the sea.

The current development strategy of the University of Gdańsk is concentrated on the expansion of the Gdańsk institution on three campuses: Gdańsk, Sopot and Gdynia. In 2003 the Gdańsk campus saw the beginning of the construction of the most modern library in the Pomeranian region. The Library was opened in 2006. The Main Library of the University of Gdańsk was conceived as a centre of scientific information for the whole community. Fully computerised, it will offer free access to over seven hundred thousand volumes. In order to meet the demands of the 21st century, the reading rooms and special rooms for individual work will serve the needs of students and the academic community of the whole region. Gdynia can boast the representative building of the Institute of Oceanography with its modern laboratories and workshops, auditorium and exhibition hall. On the Sopot camp in the course of 9 months was built modern conference and training centre for the University of Gdańsk.

The development of research activity, the initiation of new directions of studies giving the chance of comprehensive development and the rebuilding of the teaching and research base will allow the University of Gdansk to confirm its position as the leader among the institutes of higher education in Northern Poland.