TU Delft describes itself as the oldest and largest technical university in the Netherlands. Its forerunner was founded on 8 January 1842, when King William II signed a Royal Decree establishing a Royal Academy in Delft. The university is a public legal entity under the Dutch Higher Education and Research Act and has three administrative levels: the Executive Board, the faculties and the academic departments.
Its eight faculties cover almost 40 disciplines. The university reports more than 26,000 students, more than 7,500 staff in full-time equivalents and more than 4,600 publications a year, without a reference date, and is adding locations in The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Ingrid Thijssen began her first term as President of the Executive Board on 1 March 2026; Hester Bijl began hers as Rector Magnificus on 15 January 2026.