Our History
VU Amsterdam was founded in 1880 under the leadership of theologian, journalist and politician Abraham Kuyper. He received financial assistance through private donations from, among others, beer brewer Willem Hovy. The university started with three faculties—Theology, Law and Arts—and five students. Almost a century and a half later, we now have more than 200 programmes and 26,000 students, with 122 different nationalities on one campus where scholars and scientists work together daily on social research.
A free university for all
It is in our very name: "Vrije" means Freedom; freedom is the foundation of our university. Here, you are free to be who you are, develop on a personal and intellectual level, and go off the beaten track.
But freedom always entails a certain responsibility. Freedom is not self-evident for everyone. As a student, we make you aware of this during your studies and ensure that you also incorporate these values for life after you graduate. We focus on interdisciplinary work, meaning that you also learn to look beyond your field of expertise. For example, we have the A Broader Mind project, in which students from all study programmes come together to look at themselves and the world around them with a broader perspective. We also have many more projects, each of which ensures that you as a student develop in all areas and that you become acquainted with worlds outside of your familiar bubble. That, too, is freedom. This is how we contribute to an open and diverse society together.
Unique identity
VU Amsterdam was the first university in the Netherlands, established in 1880 by Abraham Kuyper without interference from the church or the state. This heritage is still very much a part of who we are. VU Amsterdam is a leading European research university with over 26,000 students and 3,000 academic staff.
Nine faculties share a single campus and cover a broad spectrum of arts, sciences and medicine, with more than 50 Bachelor’s degree programmes (of which 25 are entirely English-taught) and around 175 Master’s degree programmes (around 150 English-taught), VU Amsterdam offers a wide choice of study options. From the beginning, the university has determined its research areas, created its own study programmes and practised its own didactic methods. The teaching style can be described as student-centred: we stimulate students to develop their own opinions through independent and creative thinking.
Types of programmes
VU Amsterdam offers four types of programmes:
Quality of education
VU Amsterdam has a sterling reputation for the fine quality of its teaching. You work in relatively small groups, with considerable emphasis on interaction and a personal approach. The teaching is well organised and reflected, for instance, in the precise structure of the study programmes.
VU Amsterdam...
- is consistently listed among the world’s top universities in various rankings
- is located in one of the most dynamic and fastgrowing business districts in the Netherlands
- is a modern campus university with student housing just a five-minute bike ride away
- helps you with housing, visas and the administrative side of studying in the Netherlands
- offers an international environment. A quarter of the students in our English-taught programmes come from abroad
- provides high-quality education in small and highly interactive classes
- is located in lively and multicultural Amsterdam, the city with the largest concentration of students in the Netherlands and where English is the second language
- is open to all cultures, nationalities and religions