The World's Oldest Universities

This article takes a look at the history of the modern university, a word that comes from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, or "community of teachers and scholars." 

Defined as an institute of higher learning that grants advanced degrees, the university has its origins in medieval Europe. The first institution to be called a university was the University of Bologna, founded in Italy in 1088. In the following centuries, dozens of universities were founded throughout Europe. Still, it is sometimes hard to determine which date should be used in judging age, as some universities received their official university designation years after they began offering educational programs. Indeed, it turns out that there are a whole host of reasons why ranking universities by age is more complicated than one might expect. 

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Twentieth-century higher education reforms added another twist. In France, the university reforms of 1968 led to the division of many historic institutions into several independent universities; for example, the most famous college of the University of Paris, the Sorbonne, became the University of Paris I (Pantheon-Sorbonne), the Univerity of Paris III (Nouvelle Sorbonne, or New Sorbonne), and the University of Paris IV (Paris-Sorbonne). Further complications arise in cases such as the University of Florence (Italy), which has its origins as early as 1321 but moved to Pisa for much of its medieval history and was not recognized as a university until the middle of the nineteenth century.

The 10 oldest universities

The list below includes the oldest universities in Europe, which are also the oldest in the world according to the standard definition of a university as an autonomous degree-granting institution.  

1. University of Bologna, Italy, founded 1088.
2. University of Oxford, England, usually dated to 1096, though the actual date of founding is unknown. Grew rapidly after 1167, when English students were forbidden to attend the University of Paris.
3. University of Paris, France, founded circa 1150. Divided into 13 autonomous universities since 1970.
4. University of Modena, Italy, founded 1175. Known since 1998 as the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
5. University of Cambridge, England, founded 1209.
6. University of Salamanca, Spain, founded 1218.
7. University of Montpellier, France, founded 1220. Now three separate universities.
8. University of Padua, Italy, founded 1222.
9. University of Naples Federico II, Italy, founded 1224.
10. University of Toulouse, France, founded 1229. Now three separate universities.

_{The Sorbonne, Paris}

Other historic universities in Europe

Universities proliferated rapidly in the countries with the strongest Latin heritage. In addition to thosee listed above, the oldest Italian universities include the University of Siena (founded 1240), the University of Rome (1303), the University of Perugia (1308), the University of Pisa (1343), and the University of Pavia (1361). On the Iberian Peninsula, the oldest universities include the University of Murcia (1272) and the Complutense University of Madrid (1293) in Spain, along with the University of Coimbra in Portugal (1290).

During the 14th century, the first Central European universities were founded in what is now the Czech Republic (Charles University, 1348), Poland (Jagiellonian University, 1364), Austria (University of Vienna, 1365), Hungary (University of Pecs, 1367), and Germany (Heidelberg University, 1386, and the University of Cologne, 1388).

Other historic European universities include the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium (founded in 1425), the oldest still-existing Catholic university in the world and the oldest in the Benelux region, and Uppsala University (founded in 1477), the oldest university in the Nordic countries. By 1500, most European countries had at least one university. 

The oldest universities elsewhere

Because the granting of degrees originated in Europe and the standard definition of a university encompasses only instutions of higher learning that grant advanced degrees, the oldest universities are all in Europe. However, there were various centers of higher learning both in Europe and other parts of the world that pre-date the University of Bologna and other medieval European institutions. Ancient Europe and the Middle East had established academic institutions that no longer survive, including the famous Mouseion at Alexandria and Plato's Academy in Athens. In late antiquity, the Academy of Gundishapur was established in what is now Iran to teach students medicine, philosophy, and other subjects. China and India have had centers of learning for thousands of years, though without the granting of formal degrees.

Although many older Chinese and Indian institutions resembled modern universities in many ways, with the degree-granting provision the title of oldest university in Asia is disputed between two Philippine institutions, the University of San Carlos (established in 1595 as a Jesuit college) and the University of Santo Tomas (founded in 1611 but chartered as a university in 1645, long before its rival).

In the Middle Ages, Islamic religious schools were established in North Africa. The University of Al-Karaouine in Morocco (founded in 859) and Al-Azhar University in Egypt (founded in 988) originated as Islamic religious schools that granted licenses issued by individual teachers, rather than by the institution as a certifying body. Both institutions pre-date the oldest European universities, though they did not begin granting formal, universally recognized degrees until later in their history.

In the Americas, the oldest university is the National University of San Marcos in Peru, founded in 1551. Almost as old is the National Autonomous University of Mexico, founded (as the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico) later that same year. An argument can be made for considering the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, the oldest university in the Americas, since it was established in 1538 (as the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas). However, it was not officially recognized until 1558 and was closed for long periods in the nineteenth century.

In the United States, Harvard University, established in 1636, is the oldest institution of higher education, but since it was founded as a college rather than a university, there is some dispute as to which institution can officially claim the status of "oldest university in the U.S." (Rival claimants include the University of Pennsylvania and the College of William and Mary.)

It's hard to find information on the oldest university in sub-Saharan Africa; the majority were founded in the twentieth century. The oldest university in Australia is the University of Sydney, founded in 1850.