Free University of Berlin

Free University of Berlin (German Freie Universität Berlin), autonomous institution of higher learning that was founded in 1948 in the western zone of Berlin by former students and faculty members of the University of Berlin (see Berlin, University of). It is supported financially by the city government and is the largest university in Germany, with about 60,000 students and an annual budget of more than $1 billion. The university consists of the departments of classics and archaeology, dentistry, economics and business administration, education, German language and philology, history, law, mass communications, medicine, modern languages and literatures, the natural sciences, philosophy and social sciences, political science, and veterinary medicine. Among the institutes that comprise the university are the Osteuropa-Institut and the John F. Kennedy-Institut für Nord-Amerikastudien. The usual four- to six-year course of study leads to the Diplom or similar degrees, about the equivalent of a master's degree in the United States. The degree of Doktor is also awarded.

Reviewed by: Free University of Berlin