Utrecht
Founded in 1636
Utrecht University, located in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, was founded in 1636 and is the fourth oldest university in the Netherlands (after Leiden University, University of Groningen, and the University of Amsterdam). Utrecht University is the most comprehensive university in the Netherlands and one of the best research universities in Europe, consistently ranked as the top university in the Netherlands according to U.S. News. Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands and the most populous city in the Utrecht province, with over 300,000 residents, a significant portion of whom are students. The university is located less than an hour's drive from Amsterdam. Every year, around 1,500 international students come to Utrecht University for exchange programs or to earn their degrees. Utrecht University consists of seven faculties: the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Geosciences, the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Faculty of Humanities. These faculties offer a wide range of disciplines and courses. Some unique programs offered include Veterinary Medicine, Meteorology, Physical Oceanography, Science Policy, General Social Sciences, Portuguese, Celtic Studies, Modern Turkish, and Arabic. These programs are exclusive to Utrecht University. Over the past 380 years, the university has produced many notable figures, including 12 Nobel Prize laureates.