Radboud University is a leading international university located in the Netherlands.
Radboud University was established in 1923 as the Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, or Catholic University of Nijmegen. It was the first Catholic university in the Netherlands. The university was founded by the Catholic church in order to train priests. However, the university soon began to offer other programs, and by the 1950s it had become a secular institution. The university grew rapidly in the second half of the 20th century. In the 1960s, the university began to offer programs in English, in order to attract international students. In the 1980s, the university began to offer programs in the social sciences and humanities. In the 1990s, the university added programs in economics and business. The current university has seven faculties and enrols over 19,000 students. Radboud University is consistently ranked among the top 100 universities in the world and is a member of the League of European Research Universities.
The university is home to a number of world–renowned research institutes, including the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, the Radboudumc and the Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology. Radboud University offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, taught in English and Dutch. The university is particularly strong in the fields of medicine, life sciences, languages and social sciences. Radboud University is located in the city of Nijmegen, in the eastern Netherlands. The city is home to a vibrant student population and is situated on the banks of the River Waal. Nijmegen is also home to a number of historical landmarks, including the Valkhof, a former palace of the Dutch royal family.