University of the Free State
Universiteit van die Vrystaat Yunivesithi ya Freistata | |
Former names | Grey University College (1904–1935) University College of the Orange Free State (1935–1950) |
|---|---|
| Motto | In Veritate Sapientiae Lux (In Truth is the Light of Wisdom) |
| Type | Public university |
| Established | 1904 |
| Chancellor | Prof Bonang Francis Mohale |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof Anthea Rhoda |
| Students | 41,169 (2023) |
| Undergraduates | 34,446 (2023) |
| Postgraduates | 6,396 (2023) |
| Location | , South Africa |
| Campus | Bloemfontein Campus South Campus (Bloemfontein) Qwaqwa Campus (Phuthaditjhaba, Free State) |
| Website | www |
The University of the Free State (Afrikaans: Universiteit van die Vrystaat; Sesotho: Yunivesithi ya Freistata) is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary section of Grey College. It was declared an independent Afrikaans-language university in 1950 and the name was changed to the University of the Orange Free State. The university has two satellite campuses. Initially a whites-only precinct, the university was fully de-segregated in 1996. The first black university vice-chancellor was appointed in 2010.