Yerevan State University (YSU; Armenian: Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran) is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest and most prestigious university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's "mother university" (Մայր ԲՈւՀ, Mayr Buh). Of its 3,150 employees, 1,190 comprise the teaching staff which includes 25 academicians, 130 professors, 700 docents (associate professors), and 360 assistant lecturers. The university has 400 researchers, 1,350 post-graduate students, and 8,500 undergraduates, including 300 students from abroad.