Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, abbreviated VU Amsterdam or simply VU, is a public research university in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, founded in 1880 by Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper as the first Protestant university in the country.阿姆斯特丹自由大学（Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam，简称 VU Amsterdam 或 VU）是位于荷兰阿姆斯特丹的公立研究型大学，1880 年由亚伯拉罕·凯波尔（Abraham Kuyper）领导的加尔文派基督徒创办，是荷兰第一所新教大学。

The name Vrije Universiteit, literally Free University, proclaims independence from both the state and the Dutch Reformed Church, and the institution today enrols 31,548 students, employs 5,855 staff, and places joint 185th in the 2027 QS World University Rankings.校名中的「自由」（Vrije）宣示学校不受国家与荷兰改革宗教会干预，如今学校有注册学生 31548 人、雇员 5855 人，在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中并列第 185。

History

• The university was founded in 1880 by a group of Calvinists led by Abraham Kuyper, a theologian, journalist and politician who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905 and became the university's first rector.1880 年，神学家、记者与政治家亚伯拉罕·凯波尔率领一批加尔文派信徒创办本校，他后来于 1901 至 1905 年出任荷兰首相，并担任学校首任校长。

• Teaching began the same year in a few rooms rented at the Scottish Missionary Church on the Amstel, where Kuyper and four fellow professors lectured in three faculties of theology, law and the arts.同年，教学在阿姆斯特尔河畔苏格兰传教会教堂租用的数间房内开始，凯波尔与另外四位教授在神学、法学与艺术三个学院授课。

• Vrije Universiteit literally means Free University, signifying independence from both government and church, a principle rooted in Kuyper's Neo-Calvinist worldview.「自由大学」一名宣示学校脱离政府与教会独立，此原则源于凯波尔的新加尔文主义世界观。

• In 1884 the Scottish Missionary Church proved too small and the university bought its first building at Keizersgracht 162, acquiring more properties across the city in the following years.1884 年苏格兰传教会教堂已不敷使用，学校买下 Keizersgracht 162 号的首座建筑，此后数年在市内购入更多房产。

• The university was formally accredited in 1905 and granted the legal right to award academic degrees.1905 年学校获得正式认证，并取得授予学术学位的法定权利。

• A science faculty was added in 1930 and a medical faculty in 1950, complementing the original three.1930 年增设理学院，1950 年增设医学院，与最初的三个学院互补。

• Funding came through the VU Association founded by Kuyper, and by the end of the 1960s more than 200,000 private contributors supported the university, many giving coins collected door to door by some 10,000 mostly female fundraisers with green VU boxes.办学经费来自凯波尔创立的 VU 协会，到 1960 年代末已有逾 20 万名私人捐助者支持学校，其中许多小额捐款由约 1 万名以女性为主的募捐者携绿色 VU 募捐箱逐户募集。

• From 1968 the university relocated from the city centre to a new functional campus in the southern Buitenveldert neighbourhood, and the Main Building there was established in 1973.自 1968 年起学校从市中心迁往南部 Buitenveldert 街区的新功能主义校区，主楼于 1973 年落成启用。

• In 1970 the university began receiving government funding on a parity basis with public universities, a right guaranteed under the Dutch constitution, although it formally remains a private institution.1970 年学校开始按荷兰宪法保障的条款与公立大学同等地接受政府资助，尽管其正式身份仍是私立机构。

• The late 1960s and 1970s also brought a new openness, as the university stopped opposing non-Protestant professors and students while new student organisations pressed for a more democratic academic culture.1960 年代末至 1970 年代学校亦转向开放，不再排斥非新教背景的教授与学生，新成立的学生组织则要求更民主的学术文化。

• By the end of the 1970s the small, elitist Christian institution had all but disappeared, giving way to a broad, research-oriented university open to students of diverse backgrounds.到 1970 年代末，这所小型精英式教会学府已基本消失，转变为面向多元背景学生的研究型综合大学。

• Student numbers grew rapidly from 15,700 in 2002 to about 25,000 in 2011, and the resulting growing pains triggered campus renewal, austerity programmes and staff reorganisations opposed by trade unions and a grassroots movement of staff and students.学生人数从 2002 年的 15700 人猛增至 2011 年的约 25000 人，快速发展带来的阵痛催生了校园更新、紧缩计划与人事重组，并遭到工会和一个师生基层运动的反对。

• From September 2015 the institution has used the name Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam in all national and international contexts, retiring the older forms VU University, VU University Amsterdam and VUA.自 2015 年 9 月起，学校在国内外一切场合统一使用 Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam 一名，旧称 VU University、VU University Amsterdam 与 VUA 停止使用。

• The university is formally part of the VU-VUmc Foundation, whose other main member is the VU University Medical Center, which keeps a separate management structure.学校在体制上隶属 VU-VUmc 基金会，该基金会另一主要成员为 VU 大学医学中心，后者实行独立管理。

• Its Executive Board of a president, a vice-president and a rector answers to a Supervisory Board appointed by the members' assembly of the VU Association, while a College of Deans chaired by the rector awards doctoral and honorary degrees.由校长、副校长与学监组成的执行委员会向 VU 协会会员大会选任的监事会负责，学监主持的院长团则负责授予博士学位与荣誉博士学位。

• Neurobiologist Jeroen Geurts, professor of translational neuroscience, has been rector magnificus since 15 January 2022 and was reappointed for a second term from January 2026.神经生物学家、转化神经科学教授 Jeroen Geurts 自 2022 年 1 月 15 日起任学监，并自 2026 年 1 月起连任第二个任期。

• Margrethe Jonkman, trained as a food technologist, has served as president of the Executive Board since November 2023.食品技术专家出身的 Margrethe Jonkman 自 2023 年 11 月起担任执行委员会主席。

• The New University Building opened in 2018, adding teaching and research space, two cafes, an exhibition space and a film screening space.新大学楼于 2018 年启用，新增教学与研究空间、两间咖啡馆、一处展厅与一间放映厅。

• The university forms the Alliance VU-UT with the University of Twente, a strategic collaboration offering joint degrees such as Creative Technology and Mechanical Engineering, in which students study in both Amsterdam and Twente.学校与特文特大学结成 VU-UT 联盟这一战略协作，开设创意技术与机械工程等联合学位项目，学生在阿姆斯特丹与特文特两地就读。

• The ACTA school of dentistry, run jointly with the University of Amsterdam, moved into a new building on Gustav Mahlerlaan in 2010.与阿姆斯特丹大学合办的 ACTA 牙科学校于 2010 年迁入 Gustav Mahlerlaan 的新楼。

Academics

• As of 2015, after a series of mergers, the university comprised ten faculties, namely Behavioural and Movement Sciences, ACTA Dentistry, Earth and Life Sciences, the School of Business and Economics, Humanities, Law, Sciences, Social Sciences, Theology and the VUmc School of Medical Sciences.截至 2015 年，经多轮合并后学校设十个学院，即行为与运动科学学院、ACTA 牙科学院、地球与生命科学学院、商业与经济学院、人文学院、法学院、理学院、社会科学学院、神学院与 VUmc 医学院。

• The university's current website groups teaching and research into four broad areas of humanities, sciences, social sciences and medicine, and the medical faculty works alongside Amsterdam UMC on campus.学校官网现将教学与研究归入人文、理学、社会科学与医学四大板块，医学院则与驻校的阿姆斯特丹 UMC 协同运作。

• Together the faculties offer about 50 bachelor's programmes, almost 160 master's programmes and a number of PhD programmes, with 146 programmes counted in all by the university in 2026.各学院共开设约 50 个本科项目、近 160 个硕士项目与若干博士项目，2026 年学校自计项目总数为 146 个。

• Most bachelor's courses are taught in Dutch, while more than 130 master's programmes are offered entirely in English.多数本科课程以荷兰语授课，超过 130 个硕士项目则完全以英语授课。

• As of fall 2015 the English-taught bachelor's programmes included Business Analytics, Computer Science, International Business Administration, Liberal Arts and Sciences at Amsterdam University College, Literature and Society and Philosophy, Politics and Economics, with History and International Studies added in fall 2018.截至 2015 年秋季，全英语授课的本科项目包括商业分析、计算机科学、国际工商管理、阿姆斯特丹大学学院的文理课程、文学与社会以及哲学政治与经济，2018 年秋季又增设历史与国际研究项目。

• For the 2015/2016 academic year statutory tuition stood at 1,951 euros a year for students from the European Union and European Economic Area and 9,000 to 12,000 euros for students from elsewhere.2015/2016 学年的法定学费为欧盟与欧洲经济区学生每年 1951 欧元，其他地区学生每年 9000 至 12000 欧元。

• PhD candidates, known as promovendi, are salaried employees of the university rather than tuition-paying students, a common Dutch arrangement.博士研究生称为「promovendus」，是领取薪水的大学雇员而非缴纳学费的学生，这是荷兰的通行制度。

• Four interdisciplinary themes steer university-wide research, namely Human Health and Life Sciences, Science for Sustainability, Connected World and Professional Services, while the current institutional focus areas are health and well-being, climate and environment, and justice and resilience.全校性研究由四大跨学科主题引领，即人类健康与生命科学、可持续科学、互联世界与专业服务，现行机构重点领域则为健康与福祉、气候与环境、正义与韧性。

• The Amsterdam Institute of Molecules, Medicines and Systems, founded in 2010, gathers 17 research groups in pharmaceutical sciences, life sciences, computational life sciences and molecular sciences.2010 年创立的阿姆斯特丹分子、药物与系统研究所汇集了药学、生命科学、计算生命科学与分子科学领域的 17 个研究组。

• The VU School of Business and Economics belongs to the Tinbergen Institute, shared with Erasmus University and the University of Amsterdam, for economics and finance research and training.VU 商业与经济学院与鹿特丹的伊拉斯谟大学、阿姆斯特丹大学同为丁伯根研究所成员，共同开展经济与金融研究与人才培养。

• The university recorded 31,548 students in 2026, of whom 19,304 were bachelor students and 12,224 master students, and it counts 525 PhD defences and 5,855 employees in the same year.2026 年学校注册学生为 31548 人，其中本科生 19304 人、硕士生 12224 人，同年博士学位答辩 525 场、雇员 5855 人。

• Measured in full-time equivalents in 2021, the academic staff numbered 2,263 faculty members and researchers, supported by 1,410 administrative, clerical and technical employees.按 2021 年全时当量计算，教师与研究人员为 2263 人，另有行政、文书与技术人员 1410 人。

• In 2012 about 300 PhD dissertations were defended, 42 per cent of the academic staff were women, and the European Research Council awarded its researchers two starting and six advanced grants, alongside 11 VENI and two VICI grants from the national research council.2012 年学校完成约 300 篇博士论文答辩，学术人员中女性占 42%，欧洲研究委员会向学校研究人员授予 2 项启动基金与 6 项高级基金，国家研究理事会另颁 11 项 VENI 与 2 项 VICI 资助。

• The University Library holds more than one million printed items on five floors of the Main Building, while its special collections department keeps 70,000 manuscripts and printed items in 26 collections, rich in Reformation works, original English prints, pamphlets and portraits.大学图书馆藏书超过 100 万件，占据主楼五层，其特藏部另藏有 26 批共 7 万件手稿与印刷品，以宗教改革文献、英国原版印刷品、小册子与肖像画见长。

• The university's annual endowment for 2024 was about 798.1 million euros, roughly two thirds of it government funding and the rest tuition fees, research grants and private money.2024 年学校年度经费总额约 7.981 亿欧元，其中约三分之二为政府资助，其余来自学费、科研拨款与私人资金。

• The university lists AACSB among its affiliations and belongs to the Aurora network of European universities, the European University Association and the Santander Network.AACSB 列于学校的认证与联盟名录，学校还隶属欧洲 Aurora 大学网络、欧洲大学协会与桑坦德网络。

Campus

• The main campus and the medical centre occupy about 0.4 square kilometres in the Buitenveldert neighbourhood of southern Amsterdam, built along the east-west thoroughfare De Boelelaan and served by metro line 51, a number of tram lines and bus routes within walking distance of Amsterdam Zuid railway station.主校区与医学中心位于阿姆斯特丹南部 Buitenveldert 街区，沿东西干道 De Boelelaan 展开，占地约 0.4 平方公里，由 51 号地铁线、多条有轨电车与公交线路服务，距阿姆斯特丹南站步行可达。

• Once a fairly isolated site surrounded mostly by fields, the campus now borders the modern Zuidas business district, home to headquarters of Philips, ABN AMRO and ING.这里原是田野环绕的僻静之地，如今紧邻汇聚飞利浦、ABN AMRO 与 ING 等总部的现代化 Zuidas 商务区。

• The Main Building, established in 1973 at the corner of De Boelelaan and Buitenveldertselaan, has sixteen storeys and underwent major renovation in the early 2010s.主楼 1973 年建于 De Boelelaan 与 Buitenveldertselaan 街角，高 16 层，2010 年代初经过大规模翻修。

• It houses the faculties of Arts, Social Science, Philosophy, Economics and Business and Theology, the University Library on five floors plus closed stacks, the Aula auditorium, the university restaurant and the VU bookstore.楼内设人文、社会科学、哲学、经济与商业及神学等学院，图书馆占五层并另有闭架库房，还容纳大礼堂 Aula、学校餐厅与 VU 书店。

• The Main Building opens south onto the Campusplein, where student organisations keep offices and the university bar The Basket, volleyball fields, a campus supermarket and an Italian coffeehouse cluster around the 1970s Sciences Building.主楼南向通往校园广场 Campusplein，学生组织在此办公，大学酒吧 The Basket、排球场、校园超市与一间意式咖啡馆环绕着 1970 年代建成的科学楼。

• The Institute for Health and Wellness occupies a modern building nicknamed the Red Potato for its shape and colour, the Initium Building along Buitenveldertselaan houses the Faculty of Law, and an arch-shaped structure opened in 2010 forms the eastern entrance.健康与福祉研究所所在的现代楼因外形与颜色被昵称为「红土豆」，沿 Buitenveldertselaan 的 Initium 楼容纳法学院，一座 2010 年启用的拱形建筑构成校园东入口。

• The Faculty of Social Sciences sits in the Metropolitan Building just off campus across Buitenveldertselaan, and the medical faculty stands at the western end of the campus next to Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc.社会科学学院位于街对面的 Metropolitan 楼，医学院则坐落于校园西端，毗邻阿姆斯特丹 UMC 的 VUmc 院区。

• The New University Building of 2018 and the ACTA Building of 2010 on Gustav Mahlerlaan, home to the joint dentistry school with the University of Amsterdam, are the newest campus landmarks.2018 年落成的新大学楼与 2010 年建成的 ACTA 楼是校园最新的地标，后者位于 Gustav Mahlerlaan，承载与阿姆斯特丹大学合办的牙科学校。

• The satellite campus Uilenstede in the municipality of Amstelveen, built mainly between 1966 and 1970, holds large student housing complexes, the VU Sports Centre, a campus cafe and several administrative departments.卫星校区 Uilenstede 位于阿姆斯特尔芬市，主要建于 1966 至 1970 年间，设有大型学生宿舍区、VU 体育中心、一间校园咖啡馆与若干行政部门。

• A new apartment block for visiting staff and international PhD students opened there in 2012 and won the municipality's architecture prize, and a grant from the Schiphol Foundation funded a public space renovation from September 2013 that added three new squares.2012 年启用的客座教师与国际博士生公寓新楼获得阿姆斯特尔芬市建筑奖，史基浦基金会资助的公共空间改造自 2013 年 9 月起展开，新建了三处广场。

Reputation

• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam places joint 185th in the 2027 QS World University Rankings, joint 176th in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and in the 151-200 band of the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities.阿姆斯特丹自由大学在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中并列第 185，在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中并列第 176，在 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名中处于 151 至 200 区间。

• It is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in Amsterdam, the other being the University of Amsterdam.学校与阿姆斯特丹大学同为阿姆斯特丹两所大型公立资助研究型大学。

• OpenAlex records 146,408 works by the university that have drawn 14,528,981 citations.OpenAlex 收录学校论文 146408 篇，被引 14528981 次。

• In the 2023 QS World University Rankings it stood 214th overall and placed in the global top fifty for sport-related subjects at 23rd, theology at 32nd, philosophy at 34th and psychology at 43rd.在 2023 年 QS 世界大学排名中学校总列第 214，体育相关学科位列第 23、神学第 32、哲学第 34、心理学第 43，均居全球前五十。

• Its theology and sport-related programmes have long ranked first in the Netherlands, and medicine, law, psychology and communication are counted among its traditional strengths.学校的神学与体育学科长期居荷兰第一，医学、法学、心理学与传播学亦被视为传统强项。

• The 2021 Shanghai Ranking placed the university in the 101-150 band overall, with communication 12th, psychology 22nd, geography 26th, law 29th, nursing 36th, dentistry 38th, public administration 42nd and economics 45th in the world.2021 年软科排名将学校列入 101 至 150 区间，其传播学位列世界第 12、心理学第 22、地理学第 26、法学第 29、护理学第 36、牙医学第 38、公共管理第 42、经济学第 45。

• In the 2023 Times Higher Education rankings it placed 121st, with arts and humanities 87th, social sciences 81st, business and economics 91st, computer science 96th, law 91st and psychology 49th.2023 年泰晤士高等教育排名中学校位列第 121，艺术与人文第 87、社会科学第 81、商业与经济第 91、计算机科学第 96、法学第 91、心理学第 49。

• US News and World Report ranked the university 84th in the world, with economics and business 44th and social sciences and health 35th, while the citation-based CWTS ranking placed it 79th and the Tilburg economics research ranking 39th for 2016-2020.《美国新闻与世界报道》将学校列为全球第 84，经济与商业第 44、社会科学与健康第 35，基于引文的 CWTS 排名列第 79，蒂尔堡大学 2016 至 2020 年经济学研究排名则列第 39。

• The university has produced no Nobel laureates of its own, and its highest scientific honours are the Spinoza Prizes, the Netherlands' top award, won by its researchers including Peter Nijkamp in 1996, Ronald Plasterk in 1999, Dorret Boomsma in 2001 and Piek Vossen in 2013.学校未曾产出诺贝尔奖得主，其最高层级科学荣誉是荷兰最高科学奖斯宾诺莎奖，获奖的学校研究人员包括 1996 年的 Peter Nijkamp、1999 年的 Ronald Plasterk、2001 年的 Dorret Boomsma 与 2013 年的 Piek Vossen。

Student life

• The university's motto is the Latin Auxilium nostrum in nomine Domini, translated as Our help is in the name of the Lord.学校校训为拉丁文「Auxilium nostrum in nomine Domini」，意为「我们的帮助在于主之名」。

• The official seal, The Virgin in the Garden, was personally chosen by Abraham Kuyper and depicts a virgin living in freedom in a garden while pointing towards God, an allusion to the Protestant Reformation, and in 1990 the university adopted the mythical griffin as its common emblem.学校正式校徽「园中贞女」由凯波尔亲自选定，描绘一位在园中自由生活、手指上帝的贞女，呼应尼德兰的宗教改革，1990 年学校又将神话中的狮鹫定为通用徽记。

• The university colour is VU Blue, and the cultural centre Griffioen at Uilenstede runs a theatre course centre, a chamber choir and a dance group that perform at university ceremonies.学校代表色为 VU 蓝，位于 Uilenstede 的文化中心 Griffioen 设有戏剧课程中心，其室内合唱团与舞蹈团常在大学典礼上演出。

• The Dies Natalis, the annual anniversary celebration first held in 1881, marked its 145th edition on 20 November 2025 with an honorary doctorate for the philosopher and jurist Maxim Februari.始于 1881 年的校庆典礼 Dies Natalis 于 2025 年 11 月 20 日迎来第 145 届，典礼上向哲学家与法学家 Maxim Februari 授予荣誉博士学位。

• The independent university newspaper Ad Valvas has been in print since 1952, gained editorial independence in 1979, turned from a weekly into a biweekly magazine in fall 2012 and had a circulation of 12,226 copies in 2008-2009.独立的校报 Ad Valvas 自 1952 年印行，1979 年获得编辑独立，2012 年秋季由周刊改为双周刊，2008 至 2009 年度发行量为 12226 份。

• Student housing clusters at the Uilenstede campus, where several large residential halls are undergoing major renovation, while The Basket bar and the VU Sports Centre anchor daily social life on the main campus.学生宿舍集中于 Uilenstede 校区，多栋宿舍楼正大规模翻修，The Basket 酒吧与 VU 体育中心则构成主校区日常社交生活的中心。

• A Works Council of elected faculty and staff representatives and a Student Council hold consultation and co-decision rights in university policy and management.由教职员选举产生的教职工委员会与学生会就大学政策与管理享有咨询与共同决定权。

Notable people

• Abraham Kuyper, the founder and first rector, was a theologian and Neo-Calvinist philosopher who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905.创办人、首任校长亚伯拉罕·凯波尔是神学家与新加尔文主义哲学家，1901 至 1905 年出任荷兰首相。

• Herman Bavinck, one of the university's early theologians, became a leading voice of the Neo-Calvinist movement in the Netherlands.本校早期神学家之一 Herman Bavinck 后来成为荷兰新加尔文主义运动的代表人物。

• Piek Vossen, professor of computational lexicology, won the 2013 Spinoza Prize for research on how computers can understand language and was made a Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2015.计算词典学教授 Piek Vossen 因计算机理解语言的研究获 2013 年斯宾诺莎奖，2015 年获封荷兰狮级骑士勋章。

• Dorret Boomsma, professor of biological psychology, received the 2001 Spinoza Prize for her twin studies of the genetics of behaviour.生物心理学教授 Dorret Boomsma 因行为遗传学的双生子研究获 2001 年斯宾诺莎奖。

• Peter Nijkamp, emeritus professor of regional and urban economics, won the 1996 Spinoza Prize and served as president of the governing board of the Netherlands Research Council from 2002 to 2009.区域与城市经济学荣誉教授 Peter Nijkamp 获 1996 年斯宾诺莎奖，2002 至 2009 年任荷兰研究理事会管理委员会主席。

• Ronald Plasterk, professor of molecular biology from 1993 to 1997, won the 1999 Spinoza Prize and later served as Minister of Education and Minister of the Interior.1993 至 1997 年任分子生物学教授的 Ronald Plasterk 获 1999 年斯宾诺莎奖，后出任荷兰教育大臣与内政大臣。

• Andrew S. Tanenbaum, professor of computer science, wrote the MINIX operating system that inspired Linux and authored textbooks translated into more than 20 languages.计算机科学教授 Andrew S. Tanenbaum 撰写了启发 Linux 的 MINIX 操作系统，所著教材被译成 20 多种语言。

• Werner Vogels took his PhD in computer science at the university and became Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Amazon.com.Werner Vogels 在母校获计算机科学博士学位，后任亚马逊首席技术官兼副总裁。

• Jan Peter Balkenende, who studied history and law at VU, was Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 2002 to 2010 and has been extraordinary professor of Christian social thinking there since 2010.曾在 VU 攻读历史与法学的 Jan Peter Balkenende 于 2002 至 2010 年任荷兰首相，2010 年起受聘为母校基督教社会思想特聘教授。

• Jelle Zijlstra, professor of economics from 1948 to 1952, served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1966 to 1967.1948 至 1952 年任经济学教授的 Jelle Zijlstra 于 1966 至 1967 年出任荷兰首相。

• Gerrit Zalm studied and taught economics at the university, served as Minister of Finance in four cabinets and later became chief executive of ABN AMRO.Gerrit Zalm 在母校攻读并教授经济学，历任四届内阁的财政大臣，后成为 ABN AMRO 首席执行官。

• Frits Goldschmeding, an alumnus of the university, founded Randstad NV, the second largest staffing company in the world.本校校友 Frits Goldschmeding 创立了全球第二大人力资源公司 Randstad NV。