Founded in 1940, the University of Economics in Bratislava is the oldest university of economics in Slovakia.
It was established as a private university under the name Vysoká obchodná škola v Bratislave (College of Commerce in Bratislava), to serve Slovak students after the closure of colleges and universities in the German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. Nationalised in 1945, the university gained its current name in 1992.
The university has over 8,000 students enrolled in 61 study programmes at three levels of study from seven faculties: national economy; commerce; economic informatics; business management; international relations; applied languages, and the faculty of business administration, which is located separately, in the city of Košice.
Students are able to obtain a double degree from partner universities in study programmes conducted in English, German and French. The university has a has a network of over 100 partner universities in over 40 countries, including Bulgaria, Latvia, the UK, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Tunisia, Brazil, the USA and Australia among others. Each year, about 500 exchanges students come from abroad, most commonly from France, Spain and Mexico. About 400 students are sent abroad for exchanges and internships, mostly to Germany, France and Spain.
The university also provides winter and summer schools in cooperation with partner universities abroad, such as the International Business Consulting Program with the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the USA.
Facilities include dormitories and facilities for more than 20 types of sport.
Significant alumni include the first president of the Slovak Republic Michal Kováč, several prime ministers and ministers of finances.