Central European University
| Type | Private research university |
|---|---|
| Established | 1991 |
| Founder | George Soros |
| Endowment | €554 million |
| President | Shalini Randeria |
| Rector | Shalini Randeria |
Academic staff | 200 (2022–23) |
Administrative staff | 775 (2018–19) |
| Students | 1,479 (2022–23) |
| Undergraduates | 176 (2022–23) |
| Postgraduates | 806 (2022–23) |
| 396 (2022–23) | |
| Location | 48°10′26″N 16°23′18″E / 48.17389°N 16.38833°E |
| Campus | Urban |
| Language | English |
| Colors | Turquoise |
| Affiliations | CIVICA Europaeum EUA |
| Website | www |
Central European University (CEU; German: Zentraleuropäische Universität, Hungarian: Közép-európai Egyetem) is a private research university in Vienna. The university offers graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, which are accredited in Austria and the United States. The university also has a non-degree research and civic engagement presence in Budapest.
CEU was founded in 1991 by Hungarian-American hedge fund manager, political activist, and billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who provided it with a $250 million endowment in 2001, making the university one of the wealthiest in Europe, especially on a per-student basis. The university is considered elite and prestigious.
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. A central tenet of the university's mission is the promotion of Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper's idea of open society, a result of its close association with the Open Society Foundations. It is a member of The European University of Social Sciences and Europaeum.