The University of Amsterdam is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). Established in 1632 by municipal authorities and later renamed for the city of Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam is the third-oldest university in the Netherlands.
It is one of the largest research universities in Europe with 31,186 students, 4,794 staff, 1,340 PhD students and an annual budget of €600 million.
It is the largest university in the Netherlands by enrollment. The main campus is located in central Amsterdam, with a few faculties located in adjacent boroughs. The university is organised into seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, Dentistry.
The University of Amsterdam has produced six Nobel Laureates and five prime ministers of the Netherlands. The University of Amsterdam has been placed in the top 100 universities in the world by five major ranking tables. By the QS World University Rankings it was ranked 61st in the world, 14th in Europe, and 2nd in the Netherlands in 2021. The university was placed in the top 50 worldwide in seven fields in the 2011 QS World University Rankings in the fields of linguistics, sociology, philosophy, geography, science, Economics and econometrics, and accountancy and finance.
In 2018 and 2019 the two departments of Media and Communication were commonly ranked 1st in the world by subject by QS Ranking.
Close ties are harbored with other institutions internationally through its membership in the League of European Research Universities (LERU), the Institutional Network of the Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA), European University Association (EUA), the International Student Exchange Programs (ISEP), and Universitas 21.
Organisation and administration
Faculties
The university is divided into seven faculties, with each faculty headed by a dean. The faculties include the Faculties of Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Science, Law, Medicine, and Dentistry. Students must be admitted to the faculty of their program before beginning their studies.
Faculty of Science
The Faculty of Science (Dutch: Faculteit der Natuurwetenschappen, Wiskunde en Informatica) (FNWI) consists of four departments with 1200 researchers and lecturers operating in eight research institutes. The main faculty buildings are located on the Science Park Amsterdam campus. The faculty was ranked number one in the Netherlands and 47th internationally in 2011. In terms of research, the faculty produced 1,445 academic publications in 2009.[5]The Amsterdam Academic Medical Center
Faculty of Humanities
The Faculty of Humanities (Dutch: Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen) (FGw) comprises six departments: Dutch studies, History, European Studies and Religion, Archaeology and Classics, Language and Literature, Media studies, Philosophy, and Art and Cultural studies. With over 6000 students and about 1000 employees, it is the largest humanities faculty in the Netherlands. It was established in 1997 after a merger of the Faculty of Language and Culture, the Faculty of Theology and the Faculty of Philosophy. In 2011, the faculty was ranked number one in the Netherlands for Philosophy and Linguistics with international ranking in these areas of 37th and 22nd respectively. In terms of research, the faculty produced 726 academic publications in 2009.
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (Dutch: Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen) (FMG) is the largest educational and research institution in the social and behavioural sciences in the Netherlands. The faculty has approximately 10,000 students and 1,200 staff members.
The Faculty is home to six departments: Political Science, Sociology and Anthropology, Communication Science, Psychology, Social Geography, Planning and International Development Studies, and Educational sciences.
The faculty was ranked the best in the Netherlands in 2011 for Sociology and Geography with international rankings in these areas of 33rd and 40th respectively. In terms of research, the faculty produced 1,366 academic publications in 2009.
Faculty of Economics and Business
The Faculty of Economics and Business (Dutch: Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfskunde) (FEB) was established in 1922. The FEB, which includes the Amsterdam School of Economics (ASE) and the Amsterdam Business School (ABS), currently has around 4,000 students and nearly 600 staff. It was ranked 44th in Economics & Econometrics and 45 in Accountancy & Finance among world universities. In terms of research, the faculty produced 517 academic publications in 2009.
Faculty of Law
The Faculty of Law (Dutch: Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid) (FdR) is based in the newly redesigned Roetersiland campus. It was earlier housed in the Oudemanhuispoort, a historic building dating from 1602 situated in the center of Amsterdam. It has approximately 3,700 students and 330 academic staff members. 58% of academic staff is female. The Faculty offers nine LLM programs, of which two are taught in English. In addition the Faculty offers three advanced LLM programs, which are all taught in English. Research at the Faculty is undertaken by five research institutes which specialize in the following areas: International law, Private law, Environmental law, Labor law, and Information law. In terms of research, the faculty produced 451 academic publications in 2018. In the 2018 academic year, there were 41 PhD candidates, 67% of whom were female.
In 2015, a bequest from Trudie Vervoort-Jaarsma to the University established the Julia Henriëtte Jaarsma-Adolfs scholarship fund for assisting students pursuing an LLM in the law faculty. The bequest of €4 million was the largest single donation left to a Dutch university by a private citizen and was made to honor her mother’s legal career. A second scholarship in the name of Vervoort-Jaarsma’s daughter, Madeleine Vervoort, provides travel funds to students.
Faculty of Medicine
The Faculty of Medicine (Dutch: Faculteit der Geneeskunde) (FdG), each year, approximately 350 first-year students begin their study of medicine at the Academic Medical Center. The first, three-year phase consists mainly of thematic teaching. The second, also three-year phase consists of training internships in and outside of the AMC. In terms of research, the faculty produced 3,206 academic publications in 2009.
Faculty of Dentistry
The Academic Center for Dentistry in Amsterdam (Dutch: Faculteit der Tandheelkunde) (ACTA) was founded in 1984 through a merger of the two dentistry faculties of the Universiteit of Amsterdam and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. ACTA conducts scientific research, teaches, and provides patient care in the field of dentistry. ACTA is one of the largest dentistry education and training programmes in the world, with 500 staff members, an annual new-student enrolment of 128 and a total student body of 1000. It consists of three departments. In terms of research, the faculty produced 228 academic publications in 2009.