Central European University

Not to be confused with University of Central Europe.

Central European University
TypePrivate research university
Established1991; 33 years ago (1991)
FounderGeorge Soros
Endowment€554 million[1]
PresidentShalini Randeria
RectorShalini Randeria
Academic staff
200 (2022–23)[2]
Administrative staff
775 (2018–19)[2]
Students1,479 (2022–23)[3]
Undergraduates176 (2022–23)[3]
Postgraduates806 (2022–23)[3]
396 (2022–23)[3]
Location
Vienna, Austria

48°10′26″N 16°23′18″E / 48.17389°N 16.38833°E / 48.17389; 16.38833
CampusUrban
LanguageEnglish
ColorsTurquoise  [4]
Websitewww.ceu.edu Edit this at Wikidata

Central European University (CEU; German: Zentraleuropäische Universität, Hungarian: Közép-európai Egyetem) is a private research university with a campus in Vienna and a non-degree, research and civic engagement presence in Budapest. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities. Admissions are classified as highly selective with an acceptance rate of 13%.[5][6][7][8] All CEU programs and courses are accredited in Austria and the United States.

CEU was founded in 1991 by hedge fund manager, political activist, and billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who provided it with a $250 million endowment in 2001,[9] making the university one of the wealthiest in Europe, especially on a per-student basis. The university was founded in Central Europe because of a perceived need for an independent and international university for the region, in light of the fall of the Socialist Bloc and concomitant democratisation.[10][11] A central tenet of the university's mission is the promotion of open societies, a result of its close association with the Open Society Foundations.[12]

CEU is a part of The European University of Social Sciences (CIVICA).[13][14] The CIVICA Alliance is a group of 10 prestigious European higher education institutions in the social sciences, humanities, business management and public policy, such as Sciences Po, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Bocconi University and the Stockholm School of Economics.[15]

  1. ^ "Stichtung CEU Foundation Holland". 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via Central European University website.
  2. ^ a b "CEU Facts and Figures – Central European University". Central European University. 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Students – Central European University". Central European University. 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  4. ^ "CEU Refreshes Its Visual Identity". Central European University. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  5. ^ Lydia Gall (25 October 2018). "Central European University". Human Rights Watch. The CEU, one of the most prestigious universities in Central Europe...
  6. ^ "Politics & International Studies". Top Universities. 25 February 2020.
  7. ^ Abbott, Alison (2017). "Elite Hungarian university may be saved". Nature News. doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22761 – via www.nature.com.
  8. ^ "Elite university could close | DW | 20.04.2017". Deutsche Welle.
  9. ^ Bollag, Burton (2 November 2001). "George Soros will give $250-million to Central European University". Retrieved 16 April 2024 – via The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  10. ^ Laczó, Ferenc (1 March 2020). "The Tragedy of Central European University" (PDF). Current History. 119 (815). University of California Press: 83–88. doi:10.1525/curh.2020.119.815.83. S2CID 219803889. Retrieved 7 August 2020. The idea was that this small but highly complex part of the world, whose tragic experiences typically had been studied from a safe distance, would finally come to possess its own international hub of academic excellence in a Western-dominated and increasingly liberal world. After the sudden implosion of communist regimes, the great expectation was that the yawning gap which had opened in the region's scholarship in the twentieth century—between experience and reflection, or perhaps rather between intellects and institutions—could finally be closed.
  11. ^ "EVROPAEUM SUMMER SCHOOL SPEAKERS BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES" (PDF). europaeum.org/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  12. ^ "Rethinking Open Societies: Schools and Departments". Central European University. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". info.lse.ac.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Central European University". www.ceu.edu. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. ^ "About CIVICA - CIVICA". www.civica.eu.