Its rich history exerts an influence over the present shape of our university. We think our school would not be so unique if its beginnings had not dated back as far. Obviously the tradition of military education is directly connected with the history of Poland, so we cannot speak about our University without its historical background.

In 1765 King Stanisław August Poniatowski established the School of Knights of the Corps of Cadets. It was located in the premises of today’s Warsaw University. Next, the Engineering and Artillery Application School was created. The educational goals were realized by the great professors, among them was Mikolaj Chopin – the French teacher and father of the great Polish romantic composer Frederic Chopin. Cadets and teachers of Application School did not tolerate the fact that Poland was partitioned. They initiated the idea of November Uprising and actively fought against the Russian Army. Unfortunately the Uprising collapsed and the school ceased to exist.Only after the First World War, when Poland regained independence, was Higher War College started. The aim of the school was to prepare officers for service in the new Polish military institutions, but in extremely difficult postwar times, when Poland lacked qualified teaching staffs, lecturers and trainings were conducted mostly by French officers, among them Charles de Gaulle, the future president of France.

Soon the Second World War broke out and the school had to relocate to England and Scotland where it functioned until July 1946. After the war the tradition of Polish military education continued. In 1947 The General Staff Academy of the Polish Armed Forces was founded. The main purpose of the Academy was to conduct research in the field of military sciences and educate officers for staff posts.

In 1990, the year which saw the collapse of communism, National Defence University was created and in 1st October, 2016, was renamed War Studies University.

War Studies University has the highest level in the military education system in Poland being under the direction of the Minister of National Defense. It means that WSU is in the top of the list among the other military universities. It is also the only University that runs specialized courses for officers that allow them to obtain a higher military rank and advance in the future.