Freie Universität Berlin
The Free University of Berlin is a research university in Berlin, Germany. One of Germany's most distinguished universities, it is known for its research into the humanities, and social sciences, as well as into the natural and life sciences.
The Free University was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period as a de facto western continuation of the Frederick William University, which was in East Berlin and faced strong communist repression; its name refers to West Berlin’s status as part of the Western Free World, in contrast to the communist-controlled university in East Berlin.
The Free University of Berlin is one of eleven German elite universities in the German Universities Excellence Initiative.
In 2008, in a joint effort, The Free University of Berlin, along with the Hertie School of Governance, and WZB Social Science Research Center Berlin, created the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies.