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CEU is an international university in the truest sense: Its students come from more than 80 countries; its faculty, from more than 30 countries--with the mix of nationalities increasing every year. The language of instruction and communication is English.
While the majority of students continue to represent Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, increasingly, CEU has been able to welcome students from Western Europe and North America, Africa, the Middle East, the Far East, and Latin America. Such an international profile is unusual in the sense that very few other universities can claim to have a student and a faculty body within which there is no particular national predominance: This relatively small CEU community of approximately 1,300 students and 200 faculty members offers a richly dense cross-section of nationalities.
 The university's unique combination of American, Western European and regional intellectual and academic traditions enables CEU to place emphasis on the shifting boundary between the local and the universal in the theoretical, as well as the practical, aspects of research and teaching. Following the American model in research, teaching methods, and above all, in the training of doctoral students, the university also strives to become part of the European academic sphere, embodying long-standing cultural traditions of Western Europe as well as the "Central European" region. This combination has an impact on the curriculum and puts emphasis on the span of historical awareness for comparative purposes.
CEU is a founding member of the European University Association (EUA). The EUA, as the representative organization of both the European universities' and the national rectors' conferences, is the leading voice of the higher education community in Europe. As a European university, CEU seeks to become part of the European higher education area envisioned by the Bologna process.
Incorporated in the State of New York, CEU is organized as a US-style graduate institution, governed by a Board of Trustees. The university has an absolute charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York, for and on behalf of the New York State Education Department. The Board of Regents sets overall education policy for the State of New York and heads The University of the State of New York. The concept of The University of the State of New York is a broad term encompassing all the institutions, both public and private, offering education in the State.
In the United States, CEU is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States; Tel: (1-215) 662-5606.
Central European University is in the process of applying for registration with the United States Department of Education, in order to participate in the Student Financial Assistance Program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act (Title IV, HEA Program). At the time of printing of this publication, this process has not yet been completed. For further information, US applicants interested in federal financial aid should contact the CEU Financial Aid Officer at finaid@ceu.hu.
In Hungary, the Parliament, on June 21, 2004, had passed an act on the recognition of the Central European University as a Hungarian private higher education institution under the name Közép-európai Egyetem (the Hungarian equivalent of Central European University). On April 9, 2005 based on accreditation of Közép-európai Egyetem by the Hungarian Accreditation Committee and the Higher Education and Research Council, the act entered into force. Further information on CEU's Hungarian accreditation is available here.
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Central European University (CEU) came into being along with the sweeping social, political and economic changes of the early 1990s in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (CEE/fSU). The university was established in 1991 by a group of visionary intellectuals (many of them prominent members of anti-totalitarian, democratic oppositions) led by the philanthropist George Soros. CEU was to be an unusual graduate school for this region, an independent international institution offering a curriculum in the social sciences and the humanities, committed to promoting a new model of learning: serious and morally responsible intellectual engagement inspired by, and in the service of, pressing and challenging social needs.
Beginning with 100 students in 1991, CEU has grown rapidly and now enrolls about 1,300 students from more than 80 countries.
When CEU was founded in 1991, its mission was to promote the values of democracy and open society in the countries of CEE/fSU, which were all in "transition." Broadly speaking, an open society is based on the recognition that no one has a monopoly on truth, that different people have different views and interests, and that there is a need for institutions to protect the rights of all people to allow them to live together in peace. It is characterized by reliance on the rule of law, the existence of democratically-elected governments, diverse and vigorous civil society, and respect for minorities and minority opinions. The university has also, from its beginnings, been part of the extensive network of foundations and other institutions in the framework of the New York-based Open Society Institute (OSI), founded by George Soros. This network has provided continuous and significant feedback about developments, needs, and realities throughout the region and beyond, which CEU has been able to take into account in developing its curriculum and research, its public outreach and social engagement activities.
CEU is a research-intensive graduate university which continues to be dedicated to the tradition of socially and morally responsible intellectual criticism. CEU aims at excellence in the mastery of established knowledge, excellence in the creation of new knowledge in the social sciences and the humanities, and excellence in developing the policy implications of both. In order to achieve this, the university has built on a combination of American and European, including regional, intellectual and academic traditions; on commitment to social service; and on its own academic and policy achievements in helping to transform the communist inheritance amidst strong regional inequalities.
Much of CEU's strength comes from an outstanding faculty, attracted by the university's academic excellence, its social values and its willingness to encourage intellectual risks. Both renowned senior scholars and talented young faculty have recognized CEU as an institution ready to organize resources and structures around promising new ideas. Over 200 professors from around the world teach at CEU. They come from countries including Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among the faculty are a large number of visiting professors who teach and give lectures and seminars, thus also giving students access to highly respected academics from other leading institutions.
View list of CEU Faculty (as pdf file)
CEU's international student body represents a multicultural group of talented and motivated young scholars, selected from an exceptionally competitive applicant pool. Students bring with them knowledge and experience that illuminate scholarly inquiry, with emphasis on the interplay between universal principles and local circumstances in shaping change. They debate highly-charged issues, such as human rights, with classmates whose families may have stood on the opposing sides of political debate, or even armed conflict. All find challenges, but also tolerance and respect for multiple points of view. In addition to the highest academic standards and demonstrated intellectual development, CEU's students share a commitment to working for open and democratic societies, and a desire to contribute to the public good.
View CEU Student Profile
Most CEU graduates (alumni) return to their home countries, where they frequently occupy important positions in academia or government, public agencies, NGOs, or the private sector. They are able to experience immediate, tangible continuity between their multi-cultural, socially-engaged, academic experience at CEU and their participation in intellectual, social and professional issues at home. As of 2007, the number of CEU graduates has grown to more than 6 500 individuals, residing in over 85 countries.
The CEU Alumni and Friends Association, founded in 2002, draws he active participation of many former students. The Association is committed to promoting CEU's values and mission. Among the more specific goals of the Association are: the enhancement of networking and career opportunities for students and alumni; the organization of activities and events dedicated to promotion of the university’s academic programs; public relations, academic conferences; development and fundraising; events and reunions.
CEU students will find a supportive network of alumni and friends who can be helpful with introductions to the university community, with academic pursuits, career advising and mentoring, and other types of support. Alumni clubs/chapters can be informal or formal and each will have a different view of its goals, but they all aim to incorporate the mission of the CEU Alumni and Friends Association and support for the overall mission of the university.
Information on alumni placement is available at: http://www.ceu.hu/alumni_placement.html
Further information: Alumni and Friends
Ask a Former Student
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