University of the Free State

University of the Free State

Universiteit van die Vrystaat Yunivesithi ya Freistata
Former names	Grey University College (1904–1935) University College of the Orange Free State (1935–1950) University of the Orange Free State / Universiteit van die Oranje Vrystaat (1950–2001)
Motto	In Veritate Sapientiae Lux (In Truth is the Light of Wisdom)
Type	Public university
Established	1904; 120 years ago (1904)
Chancellor	Prof Bonang Francis Mohale
Vice-Chancellor	Prof Francis Petersen
Rector	Prof Francis Petersen[1]
Students	41,169 (2023) [2]
Undergraduates	34,446 (2023) [2]
Postgraduates	6,396 (2023) [2]
Location	Bloemfontein, Free State , South Africa
Campus	Bloemfontein Campus (Main Campus) South Campus (Bloemfontein) Qwaqwa Campus (Phuthaditjhaba, Free State)
Website	www.ufs.ac.za

The University of the Free State (Sesotho: Yunivesithi ya Freistata, Afrikaans: Universiteit van die Vrystaat) is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in 1904 as a tertiary section of Grey College.^[3] It was declared an independent Afrikaans-language university in 1950 and the name was changed to the University of the Orange Free State. The university has two satellite campuses. Initially a whites-only precinct, the university was fully de-segregated in 1996. The first black university vice-chancellor was appointed in 2010.^[4]