About Us

Central European University (CEU; German: Zentraleuropäische Universität, Hungarian: Közép-európai Egyetem) is a private research university with campuses in Vienna, Budapest, and New York. The university offers intensive graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, and is known for its low student-faculty ratio, and a highly diverse international student body. Admissions are classified as highly selective with an acceptance All CEU programs and courses are accredited in Austria, Hungary and the United States.

CEU was founded in 1991 by 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 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 open societies, a result of its close association with the Open Society Foundations.

CEU is a part of The European University of Social Sciences (CIVICA). The CIVICA Alliance is a group of 10 prestigious European higher education institutions in the social sciences, humanities, business management and public policy, such as Sciences Po, The London School of Economics and Political Science, Bocconi University and the Stockholm School of Economics.