Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Not to be confused with University of Amsterdam or Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Seal: Maiden in the Garden[1]
Latin: Universitas Libera
(Reformata Amstelodamensis)
MottoAuxilium nostrum in nomine Domini (Latin)
Motto in English
Our help is in the name of the Lord
TypePublic
Established1880; 144 years ago (1880)[2]
Endowment€ 482.6 million[3]
PresidentMargrethe Jonkman
RectorJeroen Geurts [nl]
Academic staff
2,976 (2.263 fte)[3]
Administrative staff
1,662 (1,410 fte)[3]
Students29,796 [4]
Location
Amsterdam
,
North Holland
,
Netherlands
CampusUrban
NewspaperAdvalvas (Independent)
ColorsVU Blue and Black[5]
   
AffiliationsAurora
EUA
Santander
AACSB
Websitevu.nl

The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam[a] (abbreviated as VU Amsterdam or simply VU when in context)[6] is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, being founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The literal translation of the Dutch name Vrije Universiteit is "Free University". "Free" refers to independence of the university from both the State and the Dutch Reformed Church. Both within and outside the university, the institution is commonly referred to as "the VU". Although founded as a private institution, the VU has received government funding on a parity basis with public universities since 1970. The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern Buitenveldert neighbourhood of Amsterdam and adjacent to the modern Zuidas business district.

As of October 2021, the VU had 29,796 registered students,[7] most of whom were full-time students. That year, the university had 2,263 faculty members and researchers, and 1,410 administrative, clerical and technical employees, based on FTE units. The university's annual endowment for 2014 was circa €480 million. About three quarters of this endowment is government funding; the remainder is made up of tuition fees, research grants, and private funding.[7]

The official university seal is entitled The Virgin in the Garden. Personally chosen by Abraham Kuyper, the Reformed-Protestant leader and founder of the university, it depicts a virgin living in freedom in a garden while pointing towards God, referring to the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th century. In 1990, the university adopted the mythical griffin as its common emblem.[8]

  1. ^ Flipse, Ab. "De maagd in de tuin" (PDF) (in Dutch).
  2. ^ VU University. "History of VU University".
  3. ^ a b c VU University Amsterdam (2014). "Jaarverslag 2014" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam".
  5. ^ Bouwstenen Visuele Identiteit: Huisstijl 2016 – styleguide of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  6. ^ a b Using the name Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam - website of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
  7. ^ a b "About VU".
  8. ^ Flipse, Ab. "De maagd in de tuin" (PDF) (in Dutch).


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