Universiteit Utrecht | |
 | |
| Latin:Universitas Rheno-Traiectina[1] Universitas Ultraiectina[2] | |
| Motto | Sol Iustitiae Illustra Nos (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | May the Sun of Righteousness Enlighten Us[3] |
| Type | Public,research |
| Established | 26 March 1636 (389 years ago) (1636-03-26) |
Academic affiliation | CG,LERU,EUA,IAU,TPC,MISA,Utrecht Network |
| Endowment | € 677 million (2023)[4] |
| Budget | € 2.800 billion (2023)
|
| Rector | Wilco Hazeleger |
Academic staff | 4,499 |
Administrative staff | 4,430 |
Total staff | 8,929 |
| Students | 39,679 |
| Location | , Netherlands 52°05′07″N05°10′30″E / 52.08528°N 5.17500°E /52.08528; 5.17500 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colours | Yellow,red,black &white[5] |
| Website | uu.nl |
 | |
Utrecht University (UU;Dutch:Universiteit Utrecht, formerlyRijksuniversiteit Utrecht) is apublicresearch university inUtrecht, Netherlands. Established 26 March 1636 (389 years ago) (1636-03-26), it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, and employed 8,929 faculty members and staff.[4] More than 400PhD degrees were awarded and 7,765 scientific articles were published. The university's 2023 budget was €2.8 billion, consisting of €1.157 billion for the university[4] (income from work commissioned by third parties is 319 million euros) and €1.643 billion for theUniversity Medical Center Utrecht.[6]
The university's interdisciplinary research targets life sciences, pathways to sustainability, dynamics of youth, and institutions for open societies. Utrecht University is led by the University Board, consisting ofWilco Hazeleger (Rector Magnificus), Anton Pijpers (chair), Margot van der Starre (Vice Chair) and Niels Vreeswijk (Student Assessor). Close ties are harboured with other institutions internationally through its membership in theCoimbra Group (CG), theLeague of European Research Universities (LERU), theUtrecht Network and theEuropean University Association (EUA).
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Utrecht University was founded on 26 March 1636.[7] It has its roots in the Illustrious School of Utrecht, which founded two years earlier in 1634 before being elevated to the status of university in 1636. The influential professor of theologyGisbertus Voetius delivered the inaugural speech, and Bernardus Schotanus (professor of law and mathematics) became the university's firstrector magnificus.Anna Maria van Schurman, who became the university's first female student, was invited to write a Latin poem for the inauguration.[8] Initially, only a few dozen students attended classes at the university. Seven professors worked in four faculties: philosophy, which offered all students an introductory education, and three higher-level faculties (theology, medicine and law).
Utrecht University flourished in the seventeenth century, and contributed significantly to theDutch Golden Age, despite competition with the older universities, such asLeiden (1575) andGroningen (1614). Leiden, in particular, proved a strong competitor and made further improvement necessary; a rivalry that persists to this day. Abotanical garden was built on the grounds of the presentSonnenborgh Observatory, and three years later theSmeetoren added an astronomical observatory. The university attracted many students from abroad (especially from Germany, England and Scotland). They witnessed the intellectual and theological battle fought between proponents of the new philosophy (René Descartes lived for a few years in Utrecht) and proponents of the strictReformed theologianVoetius. They also witnessed the teachings of renowned Dutch jurist,Johannes Voet, a university alumnus and professor of law, whose works remain highly authoritative in modernRoman-Dutch law.
In 1806, theFrench occupying authorities of the Netherlands downgraded Utrecht University to anécole secondaire (high school), but after the establishment of theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1813 it regained its former status.[7] Leiden,Leuven, Groningen, Utrecht andGhent were the five universities (Dutch:hoge scholen) of the new state. Two of the universities (Leuven and Ghent) became part of the newBelgian state after their respective provincesseparated from theUnited Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1830. As a result, Utrecht University remained one of only three Dutch universities. During the French occupation,King Louis Napoleon ordered the construction of a palace in the centre of Utrecht, which eventually became the University Library City Centre.[7]
Utrecht University played a prominent role in the golden age of Dutch science. Around 1850 the "Utrechtian School" of science formed, withPieter Harting,Gerardus J. Mulder,Christophorus H. D. Buys Ballot andFranciscus Donders among the leading scientists. They introduced the educational laboratory (onderwijslaboratorium) as a practical learning place for their students. The National Veterinary School (Dutch:Rijks Veeartsenijschool) became Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1918.
As the university grew, the academic buildings in the historic city centre were unable to meet the university's increasing need for space. Therefore, starting from the 1960s, a significant part of the university moved to theDe Uithof campus, which occupies the easternmost part of the city and is located south ofDe Bilt. However, the university continued to retain its academic buildings and presence in the historic city centre.
The university is represented in theStichting Academisch Erfgoed, a foundation with the goal of preserving the university's heritage and collections.
The university consists of sevenfaculties, which offer 58 undergraduate degree programmes and over 150 graduate programmes.[9]
| Faculty | School/Department |
|---|---|
| Faculty ofGeosciences |
|
| Faculty ofHumanities |
|
| Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance[10] |
|
| Faculty ofMedicine | |
| Faculty ofScience |
|
| Faculty ofSocial andBehavioural Sciences |
|
| Faculty ofVeterinary Medicine |
There are also three interfaculty units:
The two large faculties of Humanities and Law & Governance are situated in the inner city of Utrecht. The other five faculties and most of the administrative services are located inUtrecht Science Park De Uithof, a campus area on the outskirts of the city. University College Utrecht, along with the Utrecht School of Economics, are situated in the former Kromhout Kazerne, which used to be a Dutch military base. University College Roosevelt is located off-campus in the city ofMiddelburg in the south-west of the Netherlands.
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| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| Global – Overall | |
| ARWU World[11] | 55 (2024) |
| QS World[12] | =103 (2026) |
| THE World[13] | 66 (2023) |
| USNWR Global[14] | 49 (2025–26) |
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| National – Overall | |
| ARWU National[15] | 1 (2024) |
| QS National[16] | =3 (2026) |
| THE National[17] | 3 (2023) |
| USNWR National[18] | =2 (2025–26) |
In the 2024Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the University of Utrecht was ranked 55th globally, the highest in the Netherlands but down from 40th in 2003. Top subjects include public administration (2nd), water resources (10th), and pharmacy (10th). Other notable rankings are in Earth sciences (11th), veterinary sciences (16th), psychology (16th), oceanography (17th), law (29th), education (38th), environmental science and engineering: (41st), geography: (42th), atmospheric science: (45th), public health: (45th), biological sciences (51-75), clinical medicine (51-75), medical technology (51-75), economics (51-75), physics (76-100), ecology (76-100), biotechnology (76-100), chemistry (101-150), biomedical engineering (101-150), statistics (101-150).[11]
In the 2024U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Ranking, Utrecht University was ranked 46th in the world. Its top-performing subjects included microbiology (6th), geosciences (14th), meteorology and atmospheric sciences (15th), surgery (18th), infectious diseases (21st), public health (21st), education and educational research (22nd), psychiatry/psychology (22nd), pharmacology and toxicology (25th), plant and animal science (28th), radiology, nuclear medicine, and medical imaging (31st), cardiac and cardiovascular systems (42nd), water resources (45th), marine biology (46th), environment/ecology (46th), cell biology (48th), immunology (53rd), and biology and biochemistry (60th).[14]
In the 2023Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the university was ranked 66th.[17] Best-ranked subjects were education (24th), psychology (26th), medicine and dentistry (67th), biological sciences (63rd), veterinary sciences (63rd), physical sciences (59th), and law (36th).[19]
In the 2025QS World University Rankings by subject, the rankings are as follows: veterinary science (8th), geophysics (17th), geology (19th), public administration (22nd), geography (22nd), Earth & marine sciences (27th), psychology (30th), pharmacy & pharmacology (44th), life sciences and medicine (48th), environmental sciences (48th), education (51st), biological sciences (61st), medicine (64th), law (73rd), natural sciences (84th), nursing (51-100), development studies (51-100), chemistry (133rd), computer science (142nd), economics and econometrics (143rd), statistics and operational research (101-150), and chemical engineering (101-150).[20]
In 2024 the analytics company Clarivate ranked Utrecht University 44th in the world and 7th in Europe, with 29 highly cited researchers in the top 1% by citations for their field(s) and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade.[21]
Utrecht University was also mentioned in the BlueSky Ranking Of University Rankings 2022/23 published byMatt Symonds, co-founder ofQS. BlueSky Ranking Of University Rankings considers the aggregation of the performance of schools across four major rankings:AWRU,QS,THE, andUSNWR. In this ranking, Utrecht University was placed 60th worldwide, 18th in Europe, and 1st in the Netherlands.[22]
Utrecht University is a member of:
Utrecht University operates strategic international partnership withKU Leuven,University College London,Chinese University of Hong Kong,University of Toronto,University of Sydney.[23]
Utrecht University counts a number of distinguished scholars among itsalumni and faculty, including 12Nobel Prize, 1Pulitzer Prize, 2Wolf Prize, 2National Medal of Science, 22Spinoza Prize and 4Stevin Prize laureates. The university counts several heads of state and government amongst its graduates, including: 4 members ofDutch royal house, 6 Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, 6 foreign heads of state or government, and 35 Ministers of theCabinet of the Netherlands.
Utrecht University alumni have won a total of 13 goldOlympic medals.[24]
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