Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 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. 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, 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 2024 was circa €798 million. About two thirds of this endowment is government funding; the remainder is made up of tuition fees, research grants, and private funding.
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.
History
Origins (1880)
The VU was founded in 1880 by a group of Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper as the first Protestant university in the Netherlands. Kuyper was a theologian, journalist, politician, and prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905. He was a professor of theology at VU as well as the university's first rector magnificus. Kuyper's worldview and philosophy is referred to as Neo-Calvinism. As a reflection of his beliefs, Vrije Universiteit literally means 'Free University' to signify independence from both government and church. Teaching at the Vrije Universiteit started in 1880 in a few rooms rented at the Scottish Missionary Church, along the Amstel river in Amsterdam's city centre. Here, Kuyper and four fellow professors began lecturing in three faculties: theology, law, and the arts.Expansion (1900s–1960s)
In 1884, the Scottish Missionary Church became too small for the growing number of students and the university bought its first building, located at Keizersgracht 162. In the following years, the university acquired more buildings throughout the city. In 1905, VU was formally accredited and granted the legal right to award academic degrees. New faculties were subsequently added to the original three, including a science faculty and a medical faculty.Funding for the university was provided through the VU Association, an organization founded by Abraham Kuyper which was firmly rooted within the Calvinist community in the Netherlands. By the end of the 1960s, the university received financial support from more than 200,000 private contributors. Many were making small coin donations collected by some 10,000 fundraisers, who were going door to door with the quintessential green VU collecting box.
Change (1970s-2000s)
It was in the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s, that the university's profile changed significantly in many respects. From 1968 onwards, the university relocated from Amsterdam's city centre to a new, functional campus in the southern Buitenveldert neighbourhood. In order to strengthen academic research, university administrators decided to apply for public funding on parity with public universities, which is guaranteed under the Dutch constitution, and no longer opposed admitting non-Protestant professors and students. As a result, the number of students grew substantially. Against the background of increasing student activism at universities around the world, new student organizations were formed demanding a more democratic academic culture at VU. By the end of the 1970s, the small, elitist Christian institution had all but disappeared and had become a broad, research-oriented university, open to students of diverse backgrounds.Expansion and reform (2000s–present)
Student numbers continued to grow rapidly in the 21st century: from 15,700 students in 2002 to about 25,000 in 2011, causing growing pains which have resulted in lower student satisfaction and budgetary constraints. The university has embarked on a reform agenda, including a large-scale renewal of campus facilities, austerity programmes and staff reorganizations, which in turn were met with opposition and legal action from trade unions as well as a newly formed grassroots movement of staff and students.Campus and academic life
Buitenveldert
The university's main campus and medical centre are situated in the Buitenveldert neighbourhood, part of the southern district of Amsterdam. The campus occupies about and is built along the 'De Boelelaan', a large east–west thoroughfare. Initially a fairly isolated location surrounded mostly by fields, the campus is now adjacent to the modern Zuidas business district housing some of the largest banks, accounting and law firms in the Netherlands. The VU campus is served by the 51 metro line as well as a number of tram lines and bus routes. It is also within walking distance of the Amsterdam Zuid railway station.The university's Main Building, established in 1973, is located at the intersection of the Boelelaan and the Buitenveldertselaan. In the early 2010s, the sixteen-story building underwent major renovation works. The Main Building is home to the faculties of Arts, Social Science, Philosophy, Economics and Business, and Theology. The University Library occupies five floors as well as several floors with closed stacks. In addition, the Main Building houses the Aula, the university restaurant, several kiosks, a fair trade store, and the VU bookstore.
On the south side, the Main Building provides access to the campus square. Many student organizations have their offices along the campus square entrance. South of the square is the Sciences Building, another 1970s building. The W&N is housing the faculties of Sciences and Earth and Life Sciences. In the middle of campus square is The Basket, the university bar, as well as a number of volleyball fields. Recent additions to the campus square area include a campus supermarket and an Italian coffeehouse. Also adjacent to the campus square is the modern building of the Institute for Health and Welness, which has been nicknamed the Red Potato after its distinct shape and color.
Along the Buitenveldertselaan is the Initium Building, housing the Faculty of Law.
The arch-shaped building, opened in 2010, now forms the eastern entrance of the VU campus. The Faculty of Social Sciences is located in the Metropolitan Building, technically just off-campus, on the other side of the Buitenveldertselaan. The medical faculty is located on west end of campus, adjacent to the sprawling Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc.
In 2018, the New University Building was opened hosting teaching and research spaces as well as two caffès, an exhibition space, and a film screening space.
Uilenstede
The satellite campus 'Uilenstede' is located further south, in the municipality of Amstelveen. Uilenstede, built mainly between 1966 and 1970, is home to several large student housing complexes and apartment buildings and the VU Sports Centre. and a campus café. Several of the university's administrative departments are also located at the Uilenstede campus. Uilenstede is served by tram 25 and tram 5. Many of the residential halls at Uilenstede are currently undergoing major renovation works. A new apartment complex for visiting staff and international PhD students on the eastern side of the campus was opened in 2012. The new building was awarded the municipality's architecture prize. A large renovation of the public space, made possible with a grant from the Schiphol Foundation, started in September 2013 and includes the construction of three new squares at the campus.Organizational structure
The Vrije Universiteit is made up of several faculties, responsible for teaching and research, as well as a number of interdisciplinary research institutes. As of 2015, after a number of mergers, these faculties are: Behavioural and Movement Sciences; ACTA Dentistry; Earth and Life Sciences; School of Business and Economics; Humanities; Law; Sciences; Social Sciences; Theology; and the VUmc School of Medical Sciences.The Vrije Universiteit is formally a private institution, part of the VU-VUmc Foundation. The other main institution within this foundation is the VU University Medical Center, which has a separate management structure.
The university is governed by the Executive Board, consisting of a president, a vice-president and a rector. The Executive Board has general management responsibilities and appoints the deans and professors of the faculties. The Executive Board is accountable to a Supervisory Board, appointed by the members' assembly of the VU Association, a private organization which founded the university in 1880.
The university's Works Council, a body of elected representatives of faculty and staff, as well as the Student Council, have consultation and co-decision rights in some areas of university policy and management. The College of Deans, consisting of all faculty deans and chaired by the rector, acts as a coordinating and consulting body at the central level and is responsible for awarding doctoral degrees and honorary doctorates.
Academic profile
Teaching is organized within the several faculties. Together, the faculties offer 50 bachelor's, almost 160 master's, and a number of PhD programmes.The language of instruction for most bachelor's courses is Dutch. As of fall 2015, the university offers five bachelor's programmes fully in English: Business Analytics ; Computer Science ; International Business Administration ; Liberal Arts and Sciences, Literature and Society ; and Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Fall 2018 the English-taught Bachelor programme History and International Studies was launched. Additionally, the university-wide VU Honours Programme is taught in English.
Over 130 master's programmes at VU are offered entirely in English. In some master's programmes, international students outnumber the Dutch students by a large margin. The university also maintains a number of bilateral exchange agreements with foreign universities, allowing foreign students to spend one or two semesters at the Vrije Universiteit.
As with all publicly funded universities in the Netherlands, bachelor's and master's students pay tuition fees determined by law. For the academic year 2015/2016, regular tuition fees for bachelor's and master's programmes amount to €1,951 per year for students from the European Union or European Economic Area and €9,000 to €12,000 per year for students from non-EU/EEA countries. Most Dutch students and long-term Dutch resident EU citizens are eligible for government loans or grants to cover tuition and living expenses.
PhD programmes are organized differently. Rather than applying to the university for admission, prospective students must find a professor who has a position for a PhD candidate, called a 'promovendus', and contact him or her directly. Most faculties advertise open positions on their websites. As is common in Dutch universities, 'promovendi' are paid a salary and are considered university employees, therefore they do not pay tuition.