page_title: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam / History
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: buste van Abraham Kuyper in de VU in Amsterdam
context_page_description: The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is a university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880, and ranked among the world's top 150 universities by four major ranking tables. The VU is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being the University of Amsterdam. The literal translation of the Dutch name Vrije Universiteit is "Free University". "Free" refers to independence of the university from both the State and the Dutch Reformed Church. Both within and outside the university, the institution is commonly referred to as "the VU".
  Although founded as a private institution, the VU has received government funding on a parity basis with public universities since 1970. The university is located on a compact urban campus in the southern Buitenveldert neighbourhood of Amsterdam and adjacent to the modern Zuidas business district.
  In 2014, the VU had 23,656 registered students, most of whom were full-time students. That year, the university had 2,263 faculty members and researchers, and 1,410 administrative, clerical and technical employees, based on FTE units. The university's annual endowment for 2014 was circa €480 million.
caption: Bust of Abraham Kuyper, founder of the VU, in the Main Building.
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