List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever since.

Related Topics:
Definition of a university - 1500

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Note that because the awarding of academic degrees for advanced studies was historically a European custom, and the modern definition of a university includes the ability to grant degrees, the oldest institutions of higher learning that have always satisfied the modern definition of a university were in Europe. If, however, the definition is broadened to include ancient institutions that did not originally grant degrees but now do, then some non-European institutes predate the early European ones (for example, Nalanda University had been established by the 5th century BCE, Nanjing University founded in 258 in China, and Al-Azhar University founded in 988 in Egypt).

Related Topics:
Academic degree - Europe - Nalanda University - Nanjing University - China - Al-Azhar University - Egypt

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Finally, even within the purview of European universities, there is still some minor, albeit good-natured controversy over who was really "first". The University of Bologna, while it predates the University of Paris, was a university organized by students who then sought out tutors while the latter institution was organized by faculty who then solicited students. Some (especially at Paris) still quibble over which began as a "genuine" university, but for all intents and purposes, it is generally accepted that the University of Bologna came first.

Related Topics:
University of Bologna - University of Paris

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