The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning “community of teachers and scholars”. The term was coined by the Italian University of Bologna, which, with a traditional founding date of 1088, is considered the first university. The following list of ten oldest universities in the world shows, through their brief histories and trend.
Here is a list of the Top 10 oldest universities in the world which are in continuous operation.
10. University of Valladolid (Valladolid, Spain, Founded in 1241)
University of Valladolid, Salamanca, Spain and Canary Islands
The University of Valladolid is a public university in the city of Valladolid, province of Valladolid, in the autonomous region of Castile-Leon, Spain. The university currently has 31,780 undergraduate students and more than 2,000 teachers.
One hypothesis is that its foundation is the result of the transfer of Palencia General Survey between 1208 and 1241 by Alfonso VIII, king of Castile, and Bishop Tello Téllez de Meneses.
9. University of Siena (Siena, Italy, Founded in 1240)
University of Siena in Arezzo, Italy
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest universities and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University had around 20,000 students in 2006 nearly half of Siena’s total population of around 54,000. Today, the University of Siena is best known for its Schools of Law and Medicine.
8. University of Toulouse (Toulouse, France, Founded in 1229)
Université Toulouse 1 Capitole – The Oldest Universities
The Université de Toulouse is a consortium of French universities, grandes écoles and other institutions of higher education and research, named after one of the earliest universities established in Europe in 1229, and including the successor universities to that earlier university. This article describes the institutions that have been called the “Université de Toulouse”.
7. University of Naples Federico II (Naples, Italy, Founded in 1224)
The University of Naples Federico II is maybe one of the the oldest universities
Founded by Frederick II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
The University of Naples Federico II was founded by emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Frederick II on 5 June 1224. It is the most ancient state-supported institution of higher education and research in the world. One of the most famous students of this university was Roman Catholic theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas.
6. University of Padua (Padua, Italy, Founded in 1222)
University of Padua. Department of Structural and Transportation Engineering
Founded by scholars and professors after leaving Bologna.
The University of Padua (Italian Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second oldest in Italy. As of 2010 the university had approximately 65,000 students.
5. University of Salamanca (Salamanca, Spain, Founded in 1218)
The University of Salamanca, Spanish higher education institution
It is the oldest university in operation in Spain. Although there are records of the University granting degrees many years before (James Trager’s People’s Chronology sets its foundation date in 1134), it only received the Royal chart of foundation as “Estudio General” in 1218, making it possibly the fourth or even the third oldest European university in continuous operations. However, it was the first European university to receive the title of “University” as such, granted by king of Castile and León Alfonso X and the Pope in 1254. Having been excluded from the University in 1852 by the Spanish government, the Faculties of Theology and Canon Law became the Pontifical University of Salamanca in 1940.
4. University of Cambridge (Cambridge, England, Founded in 1209)
The University of Cambridge is one of the world’s oldestuniversities
Founded by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute caused by the execution of two scholars in 1209, and royal charter was granted in 1231. The university takes 1209 as its official anniversary.
The university grew out of an association of Cambridge scholars that was formed in 1209, early records suggest, by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute with townsfolk. The two “ancient universities” have many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. In addition to cultural and practical associations as a historic part of British society, they have a long history of rivalry with each other.
3. University of Oxford (Oxford, England, Founded in 1167)
Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
2. University of Paris (Paris, France, Founded in 1150)
The Old Sorbonne on fire in 1670.
1. University of Bologna (Bologna, Italy, Founded in 1088)
The College of Bologna, founded in 1088, may be the earliest academic institution from the Civilized world. At top the Oldest Universities
The Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna is a university located in Bologna, Italy founded in 1088. As of 2000 the University’s motto is Alma mater studiorum (Latin for “nourishing mother of studies”) The University has about 100,000 students in its 23 schools. It has branch centers in Imola, Ravenna, Forlì, Cesena and Rimini and a branch center abroad in Buenos Aires. Moreover, it has a school of excellence named Collegio Superiore di Bologna.
The date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088. The university received a charter from Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158, but in the 19th century, a committee of historians led by Giosuè Carducci traced the founding of the University back to 1088, which would make it one of the oldest universities in the world.