Stockholm University (Swedish: Stockholms universitet) is a state university in Stockholm, Sweden. It has over 50,000 students at four faculties, making it one of the largest universities in Scandinavia. The institution is also frequently regarded as one of the top 100 universities in the world. Stockholm University was granted university status in 1960 and is therefore the fourth oldest Swedish university. In 1878, the university college Stockholms högskola started its operations with a series of lectures on natural sciences, open to curious citizens (a tradition still upheld by yearly publicly open lectures). Notable in the university's early history is the appointment of Sofia Kovalevskaya to hold a chair in mathematics in 1889, making her the third female professor in Europe. In 1904 the college became an official degree granting institution. In 1960, it was granted university status, becoming Sweden's fourth state university. The university premises was situated in central Stockholm at Observatorielunden but as enrollment increased, lack of space made it necessary to move.