MSc in Economic Systems

The Free University Berlin was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period as a Western continuation of the Friedrich Wilhelm University, or the University of Berlin, whose traditions and faculty members it retained. The Friedrich Wilhelm University (which was renamed the Humboldt University), being in East Berlin, faced strong communist repression; the Free University's name referred to West Berlin's status as part of the Western Free World, in contrast to communist-controlled East Berlin.

In 2008, as part of 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.

As one of Germany's most prestigious institutions of higher education, the Free University of Berlin was conferred the title of "University of Excellence" under the German Universities Excellence Initiative, of which it is part.