The Centre for Urban Studies houses one of 15 designated “Research Priority Areas” at the University of Amsterdam, combining longstanding expertise across departments in the social sciences and humanities. With 29 academic staff and over 40 PhD students, it is among the largest programmes of its kind in the world. In 2011 alone, the Centre’s academic staff published more than 100 refereed articles and external research funding exceeded €4 million. The Centre stimulates cutting edge interdisciplinary research on urban questions, maintains close relations with governmental and non-governmental institutions, and offers selective degree programmes at the Master’s and PhD level.