Central European University

Central European University is a private university in Vienna. It was founded in 1991 by the Hungarian-American investor and philanthropist George Soros, who gave it a large endowment, and it grew out of a series of lectures held at the Inter-University Centre Dubrovnik. The founding idea was an independent, international university for the region after the Revolutions of 1989, built around Karl Popper's idea of open society. It was set up in Budapest, Prague and Warsaw, moved to Budapest in 1993, and is now based in Vienna, with a non-degree research and civic engagement presence in Budapest. It is a member of The European University of Social Sciences and Europaeum.

Teaching is in the social sciences and humanities, with programmes accredited in both Austria and the United States. The academic approach combines regional studies with an international perspective and stresses comparative and interdisciplinary work. CEU began the region's first master's programmes in gender studies and environmental sciences. Its Center for Media, Data and Society became the independent Media and Journalism Research Center.

The Austrian register lists CEU as a Privatuniversität, a private university, seated in Vienna. It shows 46 English-taught degree programmes: 3 Bachelor's, 32 Master's and 11 PhD or doctorate. Subjects include History, Law and Law (JD), Philosophy, Public Policy, Economics, Sociology, Social Sciences and Psychology, Museum Studies, Humanities and Theology, Political Science, Environmental Science, International Relations and Data Analytics.

For an international student, the practical points are straightforward. You apply directly to CEU, which sets its own application period and entrance procedure, so check its website rather than a central Austrian portal. Students from outside the EU/EEA need a Residence Permit for Students. As a private university, CEU sets its own tuition, and the public university fee rules do not apply to it. Every student pays the student union fee.

Vienna is the seat and the campus base for the degree programmes. The city puts you in the middle of Central Europe, with the region the university was built to study within easy reach by train.