She began her musical education at the age of six, eventually graduating in violin, vocal–instrumental ensemble conducting (Music Academy in Bydgoszcz), and symphony and opera conducting (in the class of Ryszard Dudek at the Music Academy in Warsaw). She has participated in masterclasses led notably by Kurt Masur, Pierre Boulez, Antoni Wit, and Gabriel Chmura. In 2015, she completed her postgraduate studies in management at the University of Warsaw. She is Assistant Professor at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, where she heads the symphony and opera conducting class. 

She made her conducting debut in 2004 at the Lucerne Festival, where she worked with Pierre Boulez. For many years, she has been assistant to Jerzy Semkow, as well as Krzysztof Penderecki for the 2007/8 season. In 2003–9 she cooperated with the Warsaw Music Academy Symphony Orchestra. In the 2007/8 season, she was the permanent conductor of the Sinfonia Iuventus. In 2012, she made her recording debut with the Sinfonia Varsovia, with an album of the complete symphonic poems of Eugeniusz Morawski that garnered universal praise and was nominated to a 2013 Fryderyk Award. 

In 2013–17, she was artistic director and conductor of the Gorzów Philharmonic Orchestra, with which she recorded the Bronisław Kaper / Jan A.P. Kaczmarek – Meeting CD in 2015. In 2016, she received the Success Award of the Rotary Club in Gorzów Wielkopolski for promoting the city in Poland and abroad. In 2018, she received the special prize of the Mayor of Chełm for lifetime achievement. In 2017, she was shortlisted with five other female conductors from around the world to attent the 2017 Hart Institute for Women Conductors at the Dallas Opera. In 2011 she was awarded with the Medal of Merit for Polish Culture, and in 2020 she received the prestigious Gloria Artis Medal from the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage. 

Monika Wolińska is active on concert stages throughout the world, working with many renowned orchestras in Europe, Asia, and America. She is an active promoter of modern music, appearing on many occasions at Warsaw Autumn Festival and concerts from the Generation cycles. Between 2013 and 2017, she was the artistic director of the Wojciech Kilar Contemporary Music Festival.