About University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is a public university in Bloemfontein which was founded in 1904.
It was founded as English-only and began to offer its first classes in Afrikaans in 1911. From 1948 was Afrikaans-only and in 1993 adopted a Parallel Language policy. It declared English its main language in 2016 and in 2021 formed the academy of multingualism, promoting in particular Sesotho, Afrikaans and isiZulu.
Students can study at the faculties of health science, law, education, theology and religion, humanities, economics and management science.
The undergraduate microscope laboratory is the largest in Africa and the robotic telescope at the observatory is one of only seven of its type.
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Explore rankings data for University of the Free State
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Key statistics
- 31,831Number of FTE Students(1)
- 26%Proportion of ISR Publications(1)
- 2%Percentage of International Students(1)
- 34.6No. of students per staff(1)
- 64 : 36Student Ratio of Females to Males(1)
Based on data collected for the (1) 2025 World University Rankings
Subjects taught at University of the Free State
Social sciences
- Geography
- Communication & Media Studies
- Politics & International Studies (incl Development Studies)
- Sociology
Arts & humanities
- Languages, Literature & Linguistics
- Archaeology
- History, Philosophy & Theology
- Art, Performing Arts & Design
- Architecture
Psychology
- Psychology
Physical sciences
- Geology, Environmental, Earth & Marine Sciences
- Physics & Astronomy
- Mathematics & Statistics
- Chemistry
Life sciences
- Biological Sciences
- Agriculture & Forestry
- Sport Science
Computer science
- Computer Science
Education
- Education
Business & economics
- Business & Management
- Accounting & Finance
- Economics & Econometrics
Law
- Law
Clinical, pre-clinical & health
- Medicine & Dentistry
