About CEU and the Department of Philosophy
The Central European University is an English-speaking private university in Vienna, Austria. It offers BA, MA and PhD programs in the social sciences and humanities. CEU’s programs are accredited both in the United States and in Austria. CEU is one of the most international universities in the world, with students from more than 100 countries and no dominant nationality.
CEU’s Department of Philosophy is internationally recognized as one of the top analytic philosophy departments in continental Europe. The Department was ranked #34 in the QS World University Subject ranking in 2023. It offers 1 and 2 year MA programs and a 4-year PhD program in Philosophy. CEU also has a BA program in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, taught jointly by several departments.
History
The Central European University was founded in 1991, by the Hungarian-American financier and philanthropist, George Soros. The university’s mission was not only to pursue academic excellence, but also to train future generations of scholars, professionals, politicians, and civil society leaders to contribute to building open and democratic societies that respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law.
From 1995, the main campus of CEU was in Budapest, Hungary. In 2017, as part of a motivated political attack, the Hungarian government passed a law to make the operation of the university illegal in Hungary. Despite major national and international protest (see here), the law remained in place, and CEU moved its main campus to Vienna, Austria in 2020.
The Department
The Department of Philosophy at CEU is a community of over 50 graduate students (MA and PhD), 12 permanent faculty, and several postdoctoral fellows and visiting researchers. The Philosophy PhD program normally admits 5 students a year. All PhD positions are fully funded (with a full tuition waiver and a monthly stipend). The MA program admits 20-30 students a year. All MA students are eligible for merit-based financial aid, including (partial) tuition waivers and monthly stipends. The BA PPE program admits 30-40 students a year.
Excursion to Kirchberg am Wechsel, 2022
Excursion to the Abbey of Melk, 2023