Tilburg University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tilburg University

Motto in English	Understanding Society
Type	Public
Established	1927
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic
Rector Magnificus	Wim van de Donk
Total staff	2,973 FTE (2023)
Students	19,497 (2023)
Address	Warandelaan 2, Tilburg , Tilburg , Netherlands
Campus	Urban
School newspaper	Univers
Colours	Blue and Bronze
Affiliations	EUA / AACSB / VSNU / TPC
Website	www.tilburguniversity.edu

Tilburg University is a public research university in Tilburg, a city in the southern Netherlands. It focuses on subjects like social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business, theology, and humanities.

About 19,500 students attend Tilburg University. They can choose from 66 Bachelor's and Master's programs. Many of these programs (43) are taught in English. Each year, about 120 students earn their PhDs here. By 2023, over 92,000 people had graduated from the university.

The university has more than 2,900 staff members. Over half of them are academic staff, meaning they are teachers and researchers.

Tilburg University is well-known for its strong research and education. For example, in economics, it's ranked among the top universities in the world. It's also highly ranked for Business Administration and Finance. In Law, it has been ranked number one in the Netherlands for several years.

Discovering Tilburg University's Past

Tilburg University started in 1927. It was first called the Roomsch Katholieke Handelshoogeschool, which means "Roman Catholic University of Commerce." It was located in the Catholic part of the Netherlands.

Its name changed a few times over the years. In 1938, it became the Katholieke Economische Hogeschool (Catholic Economic University). Later, in 1963, it was called Katholieke Hogeschool Tilburg (Catholic University Tilburg). Even though the word "Catholic" is not in its current name, Tilburg University is still seen as a Catholic university.

Student Protests in 1969

On April 28, 1969, students at the university held protests. They blocked campus buildings to demand changes in how the university was run and what was taught. Before this, students had unofficially called the university "Karl Marx University." They even painted this name on campus buildings. This showed how important Marxist ideas were in the economics courses at the time.

These protests led to big changes in higher education across the Netherlands. A new law in 1971, called the Educational Reform bill, gave students more say in decisions at Dutch universities.

Students protesting at Tilburg University in 1969

University Rankings: How Tilburg Compares

Tilburg University is a special university that focuses a lot on Social Sciences and Economics. In 2020, three major university rankings placed Tilburg among the top 40 universities in the world for Economics. It was also in the top 10 in Europe for this subject.

In 2020, the US News ranking placed Tilburg University 17th worldwide and 4th in Europe for Economics & Business. Times Higher Education ranked it 28th globally for Economics & Business and Law in 2019. The Shanghai Ranking lists Tilburg as the 5th best university in the world for Business Administration. It's also 12th for Finance and 27th for Management.

Learning and Research at Tilburg

Tilburg University offers 73 Bachelor's and Master's programs. As mentioned, 43 of these are taught in English.

The University's Schools

Tilburg University has five main Schools, which are like different colleges within the university:

• Tilburg School of Economics and Management (TiSEM)
• Tilburg Law School (TLS)
• Tilburg School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (TSB)
• Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences (TSHD)
• Tilburg School of Catholic Theology (TST)

The Tilburg School of Economics and Management is the oldest and largest school. It was founded in 1927. The other four schools were started more recently. Besides these schools, the university also has many research centers and graduate schools.

Research Centers

You can find a full list of the university's research centers on the Tilburg University website.

Student Life and Activities

Student life at Tilburg University is active! Students can join many different study groups and student (sports) associations. You can see a full list of these groups on the university's website.

Famous People from Tilburg University

Many notable people have studied or taught at Tilburg University. Here are a few:

• 

  Sacha Prechal

• 

  John A. List

• 

  Eric van Damme

• 

  Max Euwe

• 

  Willem van Genugten

• 

  Jolande Sap

• 

  Dirk Bernard Joseph Schouten

• 

  Stefan Stremersch

• 

  Ruud Lubbers

• 

  Theo van de Klundert

• 

  Fatma Koşer Kaya

• 

  Uri Gneezy

• 

  Ralph Hamers

• 

  Klaas Dijkhoff

• 

  Bart le Blanc

• Wim de Bie – a writer, satirist, and comedian.
• Lans Bovenberg – an economist.
• Misha Charoudin - an automotive influencer and test driver.
• Wim van de Donk – a politician.
• Afshin Ellian – a law professor and philosopher.
• Max Euwe – a chess Grandmaster and mathematician. He was also a former President of FIDE, the world chess organization.
• Jackie Groenen - a Dutch footballer.
• Ernst Hirsch Ballin – a former Dutch Minister of Justice.
• Geert Hofstede – a social psychologist and anthropologist.
• Servais Knaven – a cyclist.
• Ruud Lubbers – a former Prime Minister of the Netherlands. He also worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
• Norbert Schmelzer – a former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.
• Max van der Stoel – a politician. He was the first High Commissioner of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
• Cees Veerman – a former Dutch Minister of Agriculture.
• Herman Wijffels – an economist and politician.
• In 2002, Tilburg University gave special honorary doctorates to Kofi Annan (former UN Secretary-General) and Prof. Ariel Rubinstein. This happened when Queen Beatrix and Crown Prince Willem-Alexander were present.
• Ralph Hamers – a Dutch businessman who was the CEO of ING Group.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad de Tilburg para niños