Central European University keeps tradition of social responsibility

Aspiring for a society that prioritizes free inquiry, democracy, social justice and equity

After the Ukraine War started in 2022, Central European University (CEU) created the online Invisible University for Ukraine (IUFU) to support the education of Ukrainian students affected by the war. The initiative is a testament to the university’s tradition of responding to humanitarian and social problems in the region and the world.

CEU’s mission is based on the ideal of an open society: a society that prioritizes free inquiry, democracy, social justice and equity,” says Professor Shalini Randeria, president and rector of CEU. “Our faculty and students address some of today’s biggest intellectual challenges, including bioethics and corporate responsibility, climate change and environmental security, economic inequalities and labor market transformations, and geopolitical challenges and rising authoritarianism.

Offering PhD, master’s and undergraduate programs, CEU boasts of a low student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1. All of its degree programs are accredited in the United States and Austria, and they include the humanities and social sciences, cognitive science, and data and network science. CEU can offer these programs at affordable rates while extending financial support to many students as its world-class research-led pedagogy has attracted many grants worth millions of euros.

Its dedication to academic excellence has not gone unnoticed. According to the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject, two CEU programs ranked among the top 50 worldwide, with four more in the top 100. In Austria, three programs were ranked No. 1, six were No. 2 and one was No. 3.

“CEU combines the best of American and European academic traditions with all instruction and administration done in English,” says Professor Randeria, who received her PhD and habilitation from the Free University of Berlin. “Although there are many English-language degree programs in continental Europe, there are very few research-driven universities which function entirely in the English language. This linguistic focus makes CEU’s extraordinary international profile possible.”

Learn more about Central European University (CEU) at www.ceu.edu.