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The first geographic unit at the University of Warsaw was the Department of Geography, founded on April 1, 1918, the second was the Department of Human Geography created in 1938. The functioning of the units was stopped in 1939 by the outbreak of the II World War and the German occupation. The Department of Geography was reactivated in 1945 and the Department of Human Geography in 1947. Bath departments entered into the Institute of Geography, founded in 1952 and initially located at the Faculty of Biology and the Sciences of the Earth. The Institute of Geography consisted of 5 chairs: the first and the second evolved from the existing departments (the Chair of Physical Geography and the Chair of Economic Geography) and the others were created in 1950-1951 (the Chair of Cartography, the Chair of Regional Geography, and the Chair of Climatology). In 1969 the Faculty of Biology and the Earth Sciences split into the Faculty of Biology and the independent Institute of Geography, consisting of 5 departments corresponding to the previous chairs. In 1977 the Institute of Geography had been merged with the Institute of African Studies, from the Faculty of Modern Languages, and thus the first geographical unit of this rank in Poland emerged: the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Warsaw. It consisted of 3 institutes divided into departments and few other units subordinated directly to the dean. At its beginning the structure of the Faculty was as follows: I. Institute of Physico-Geographical Sciences 1. Department of General and Regional Physical Geography ( with the Laboratory of Geoecological Methods) 2. Department of Geomorphology 3. Department of Climatology 4. Department of Hydrology II. Institute of Social, Economic and Regional Geography 1. Department of Economic Geography 2. Department of Regional Geography 3. Department of Socio-Political Geography 4. Department of Spatial Management III. Institute of Developing Countries 1. Department of Regional and Comparative Studies 2. Department of Economic Development 3. Department of Social Development 4. Department of Political and Legal Studies IV. Chair of Cartography V. Department of Didactics VI. Geographical Field Station at Murzynowo VII. Library with Information Center and Editorial Office During 30 years of the Faculty existence its structure changed many times. The reorganisation undertook in 2006 was the most substantial. Currently the Faculty comprises the following units: I. Institute of Physical Geography 1. Department of Geoecology Laboratory of Landscape Geochemistry Laboratory of Geoecology 2. Department of Geomorphology 3. Department of Climatology 4. Department of Hydrology II. Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Spatial Management 1. Department of Urban Geography and Spatial Organization 2. Department of Tourism Geography and Recreation 3. Department of Local Development and Policy III. Institute of Regional and Global Studies 1. Department of Geography of Africa, Asia and Oceania 2. Department of Geography of Latin America 3. Department of Global Processes 4. Department of Development Studies Laboratory of Economic Development Laboratory of Political Issues 5. Department of Regional Geography IV. Chair of Geoinformation and Remote Sensing V. Chair of Cartography VI. Chair of Geographical and Touring Education VII. Laboratory of Computer Education VIII. Masovian Geographical Centre (Field Station in Murzynowo) IX. Library and Editorial Office The Library of the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies is the largest among all university faculties. The collection contains over 300,000 catalogue items and the number of its users varies from 20,000 to 30,000 yearly. The editorial activity of the Faculty is very fruitful, it publishes „Prace i Studia Geograficzne” („Studies in Geography”) which volumes are mostly thematic and present the scientific output of the particular research areas at the Faculty. A foreign language series „Miscellanea Geographica” started in 1984 and its biennial volumes are dedicated to the congresses and regional conferences of the International Geographical Union. Besides, the Faculty publishes the series: „Africana Bulletin” (in English and French), „Afryka Azja Ameryka Łacińska” („Africa, Asia, Latin America”, partially bilingual), „Actas Latinoamericanas de Varsovia” (in Spanish), and „Asia and Pacific Studies” (in English). The Editorial Office also prepares scientific monographs, textbooks, manuals, and various brochures. In 2006 the Faculty employment was at 165 people, including 99 university teachers, with 13 full professors and 26 associate professors among them. In the academic year 2006-2007 the courses for the Bachelor's and Master's degree in geography and in spatial management were provided both as full-time and part-time studies. The Faculty also provides various post-graduate studies and the doctoral studies. The latter currently educating approx. 50 graduates. The whole number of students at the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies exceeds 1350. The Faculty conducts research upon the structure and dynamics of changes of the natural environment; upon the socio-economic structures during the transformation period in Poland and in other countries; upon socio-economic changes in the Latin American, African, and Asian countries and in the global scale; as well as upon cartography, remote sensing, and geography didactics.