This is a list of all 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 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever since. The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning "community of teachers and scholars" in Latin countries such as France.

Because the awarding of academic degrees for advanced studies was historically most prevalent in Europe and the Middle East, and the modern definition of a university includes the ability to grant degrees, most of the oldest institutions of higher learning that have always satisfied the modern definition were either European or Near Eastern. If, however, the definition is broadened and changed today to include ancient institutions that did not originally grant degrees but now do, then this list would expand significantly to include many other institutions from both Europe and other parts of the world. For instance, Nanjing University (Imperial Nanjing Institute), which exists to this day, founded in 258 in China, as well as many other newly defined universities. However, they did not award degrees in the strictest sense, instead, it prepared students for standardized exams that would bestow upon them a rank in the scholar-gentry.

Regarding the precise definition of the original Latin word university, which includes the ability to grant degrees in a wide range of fields, the categorization of many of the oldest learning institutions as de facto ancient universities in continuous operation could be controversial and problematic. For example, if the definition were broadened to include ancient institutions that did not originally grant degrees, were strictly religious schools for centuries or vanished without trace for long periods of time, then such categorization may agree with specific points of view which are not widely accepted.

Universities in the Islamic world

The university as an autonomous, self-governing educational institution was preceded by the religious college/university, whose origins lie in the medieval Islamic world. The madrasah was a medieval Islamic college of law and theology, usually affiliated with a mosque. Philosophy and the secular sciences were often excluded from the curriculum, which was mainly focused on religion, but this varied among different institutions, with some only choosing to teach the "religious sciences", and others teaching both the religious and the "secular sciences", usually logic, mathematics and philosophy. Some madrasahs further extended their curriculum to history, politics, ethics, music, metaphysics, medicine, astronomy and chemistry. In contrast to the madrasah, the Jami`ah was an institution that had individual faculties for different subjects and could house a number of madrasahs within it, with the most notable example being Al-Azhar University, which had individual faculties for a theological seminary, law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, astronomy, philosophy, and logic. Professors at Al-Azhar also delivered lectures on medicine during the time of Saladin. Another notable example was Mustansiriya University which offered courses dealing with philosophy, mathematics and the natural sciences.

The madrasahs differed from medieval universities of Europe in several important respects, e.g., in that instruction was presented by a small group of teachers or even by a single teacher. The crucial difference is that the degree took the form of a license (ijazah) which "was signed in the name of the teacher, not of the madrasa". In other words, "the authorization or licensing was done by each professor, not by a group or corporate body, much less by a disinterested or impersonal certifying body". As a result, the concept of a degree from a specific university was replaced with multiple licenses from individual scholars working within the same religious college/university. Islamic universities that operated within this framework of multiple licenses include:

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Year	Current Location	Name	Other notes
859	Fes, Morocco	University of Al-Karaouine	Considered the oldest continuously-operating degree-granting university in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.
975	Cairo, Egypt	Al-Azhar University	A degree-granting Jam'iah ("university" in Arabic) with individual faculties for a general college and theological seminary, Law and Jurisprudence, Grammar, Astronomy, Philosophy, and Logic. Professors at Al-Azhar also delivered lectures on Medicine during the time of Saladin.
1065	Isfahan, Iran	Nizamiyya	One in Isfahan and another in Baghdad.
1233	Baghdad, Iraq	Mustansiriya University	Established by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustansir in 1233, and, in addition to the religious subjects, offered courses dealing with philosophy, mathematics and the natural sciences. The college/university was incorporated into the Baghdad University in 1962, and, in 1963, it was reopened as Al-Mustansiriya University.
1327	Timbuktu, Mali	University of Sankore	Foundation of the school was financed by Kankan Musa who paid for the Granada architect Abu Ishaq es Saheli from Egypt to build mosques and palaces throughout the empire.
1453	Istanbul, Turkey	Istanbul University	Founded as a philosophical and theological higher education institution, founded on 1453 after the conquest of the city, and refounded on 1 August 1933 as a Üniversite. It has no direct religious affiliation with Islam.
1780	Calcutta, India	Calcutta Madrasah College	The oldest continuously running Islamic seminary in India; it attained university status in 2008
1851	Tehran, Iran	Dar al-Funun	This university was opened by Amir Kabir, the royal vizier of the Prime Minister of Iran in 1851.
1866	Deoband, India	Darul Uloom Deoband	It was founded as an institution for the revival of Islamic scholarship in India. From its inception, it has been a center of both the Sharia and the Tariqah schools of thought.

Western universities founded before 1500

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Year	Contemporary location	Current location	Name	Notes
1088	Holy Roman Empire	Bologna, Italy	University of Bologna	The first western university, the term 'university' being coined at its foundation. [44937] [44938]
1090	Kingdom of France	Paris, France	University of Paris	Exact date uncertain, founded before 1100. Teaching suspended in 1229. Split into 13 universities in 1970.
1096	Kingdom of England	Oxford, England, UK	University of Oxford	Exact date uncertain, teaching existed since 1096 ("There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris."). Teaching suspended in 1209 (due to town execution of two scholars) and 1355 (due to the St. Scholastica riot). All Souls College and University College have repeatedly claimed that they own documents proving that teaching in Oxford started in the year 825, but these documents have never seen the public light (allegedly, John Speed dated his famous 1605 Oxford maps based in these documents).
1150	County of Toulouse Seigneurs de Montpellier	Montpellier, France	University of Montpellier	The university is considerably older than its formal founding date, associated with a bull («Quia sapientia»)issued by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289, combining all the long-existing schools into a university. The oldest school of Medicine of Europe(teaching existed at Montpellier in some form in 1137) The school of law was founded by Placentinus, from the school of law at Bologna, who came to Montpellier in 1160.
1209	Kingdom of England	Cambridge, England, UK	University of Cambridge	Founded by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute.
1218	Kingdom of León	Salamanca, Spain	University of Salamanca	It is the oldest university in operation of 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 in 1218, making it possibly the fourth or even the third oldest European university in continuous operations. 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.
1222	Commune of Padua	Padua, Italy	University of Padua	Founded by a large group of students and professors leaving University of Bologna for more academic freedom. Suspended in 1237–61, 1509–17, 1848–50.
1224	Kingdom of Sicily	Naples, Italy	University of Naples Federico II	Founded by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. Closed in 1435–51, 1451–65, 1474–78, 1480–87, 1496–1507, 1527–29, 1531, 1547, 1562, 1585, etc.
1229	County of Toulouse	Toulouse, France	University of Toulouse	Founded in 1229 by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. There was no university in Toulouse between 1793 and 1896; see Université de Toulouse on the French Wikipedia. In 1969 the university was split between numerous institutions.
1240	Commune of Siena	Siena, Italy	University of Siena	Originally called 'Studium Senese'. Closed in 1402–04 and 1808–14.
1290	Portugal Lisbon	Portugal Coimbra	University of Coimbra	Begun its existence in Lisbon with the name Studium Generale (Estudo Geral). Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis, the royal charter announcing the institution of the University was dated 1 March of that year, although efforts had been made at least since 1288 to create this first University in Portugal. The Papal confirmation was also given in 1290 (on 9 August of that year), during the Papacy of the Pope Nicholas IV.
1300	Crown of Aragon-Catalonia	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain	University of Lleida	Founded between 1297 and 1301, probably with the name of Estudi General (Studium Generale). Closed down through a royal law or in 1717 along with the banning of the rest of Catalan Universities. It was refounded on December 12, 1991 by a law passed by the Catalan Parliament, and since then, besides the historical central edification, in what is nowadays the town district called Universitat, new buildings have been added to it.
1303	Papal States	Rome, Italy	University of Rome La Sapienza	Founded by Pope Boniface VIII, but became a state university in 1935. According to the Catholic Encyclopaedia, the university "remained closed during the entire pontificate of Clement VII".
1308	Commune of Perugia	Perugia, Italy	University of Perugia	Attested by the Bull of Pope Clement V.
1321	Republic of Florence	Florence, Italy	University of Florence	moved to Pisa from 1473 to 1497 and from 1515 to 1860
1343	Republic of Pisa	Pisa, Italy	University of Pisa
1346	Crown of Castile and León	Valladolid, Spain	University of Valladolid	Claims continuity with University of Palencia, founded in 1208 in Palencia. Accepting that claim, it would be the oldest one on the Iberian Peninsula.
1348	Kingdom of Bohemia Holy Roman Empire	Prague, Czech Republic	Charles University of Prague	Three of four faculties closed in 1419, joined with Jesuit university and renamed Charles-Ferdinand University in 1652, split into German and Czech part in 1882, Czech branch closed during Nazi occupation (1939-1945), German branch closed in 1945.
1361	Lordship of Milan	Pavia, Italy	University of Pavia	Closed for short periods during the Italian Wars, Napoleonic wars, and Revolutions of 1848.
1364	Kingdom of Poland	Kraków, Poland	Cracow Academy	Development stalled early, re-established from 1400 onwards. Closed after the German occupation of Poland in 1939 but reopened clandestinely three years later.
1365	Holy Roman Empire	Vienna, Austria	University of Vienna	Modelled on the University of Paris.
1386	Holy Roman Empire	Heidelberg, Germany	Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg	Transferred to Neustadt an der Haardt in 1576–83, suppressed between 1632 and 1652, and moved out to Frankfurt am Main and elsewhere in 1689–1700.
1391	Marquisate of Ferrara	Ferrara, Italy	University of Ferrara	There was no teaching in 1794–1824 and 1848–50.
1409	Holy Roman Empire	Leipzig, Germany	University of Leipzig	Founded when German-speaking staff left Prague due to the Jan Hus crisis.
1410	Kingdom of Scotland	St Andrews, Scotland, UK	University of St Andrews	Founded by a Papal Bull
1419	Holy Roman Empire	Rostock, Germany	University of Rostock	During the Reformation, "the Catholic university of Rostock closed altogether and the closure was long enough to make the refounded body feel a new institution".
1425	Holy Roman Empire	Leuven, Belgium	Catholic University of Leuven	The oldest university in the Low Countries and oldest still existing Catholic university in the world. Transferred to Brussels in 1788, shut down by the French Republic in 1797, reopened in 1816, reorganized in 1834. Since 1968 split between the French-speaking Université Catholique de Louvain and the Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
1434	Kingdom of Naples	Catania, Italy	University of Catania	The oldest in Sicily.
1450	Crown of Aragon-Catalonia	Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain	University of Barcelona	The University of Barcelona was closed by the Bourbon dynasty and transferred to Cervera after the War of the Spanish Succession (from 1714 until 1837). Plans to open the University of Cervera did not get underway until 1715 and it did not start its academic work until 1717.
1451	Kingdom of Scotland	Glasgow, Scotland, UK	University of Glasgow	Founded by a Papal Bull
1456	Holy Roman Empire	Greifswald, Germany	University of Greifswald	Teaching had started 1436. Closed down during the Protestant Reformation (1527–39).
1457	Holy Roman Empire	Freiburg, Germany	Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg	Temporarily transferred to Constance in 1686–98 and 1713–15.
1460	Holy Roman Empire	Basel, Switzerland	University of Basel
1472	Holy Roman Empire	Munich, Germany	Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich	Founded in Ingolstadt in 1459, transferred to Landshut in 1800, moved to Munich in 1826.
1477	Holy Roman Empire	Tübingen, Germany	Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
1479		Copenhagen, Denmark	University of Copenhagen
1495	Kingdom of Scotland	Aberdeen, Scotland, UK	University of Aberdeen	King's College was founded in 1495 and Marischal College in 1593; they merged in 1860
1495	Kingdom of Spain	Santiago de Compostela, Spain	University of Santiago de Compostela	The university traces its roots to 1495, when a school was opened in Santiago. In 1504, Pope Julius II approved the foundation of a university in Santiago, and the bull for its creation was granted by Clement VII in 1526.
1499	Kingdom of Spain	Madrid, Spain	Complutense University of Madrid	Claims continuity with Estudio de Escuelas Generales de Alcalá, founded in 1293 in Alcalá de Henares
1499	Kingdom of Spain	Valencia, Spain	University of Valencia

Post-1500, oldest universities by country or region

The majority of European countries had universities by 1500. After 1500, universities began to spread to other countries all over the world:

• Algeria: University of Algiers, 1909
• Americas: Officially: National University of Saint Mark, Perú, 1551. Unofficially: Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1538 or 1558.
• Angola: Agostinho Neto University (as Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola), 1962
• Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 1613
• Armenia: Yerevan State University , 1919
• Asia: disputed by two Philippine universities founded in 1595 and 1611 respectively. (See below)
• Australia: University of Sydney, 1850
• Azerbaijan: Baku State University, 1919
• Bangladesh: University of Dhaka, 1921
• Belarus: Belarusian State University, 1921
• Bolivia: Royal and Pontificial Major University of St. Francis Xavier of Chuquisaca, 1624
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: University of Sarajevo, 1940, successor to the Islamic Madrasah founded in 1531
• Brazil:Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho, 1699; Faculdade de Direito do Lgo São Francisco, 1827.
• Bulgaria: University of Sofia, 1888
• Canada:
  • Seminaire de Quebec, 1663, precursor to Laval University, 1852 (oldest French language university in North America)
  • University of New Brunswick, 1785 (oldest English language university in Canada)
  • University of King's College, 1789, (oldest chartered university in Canada)
• Chile: Universidad de Chile, 1622, 19 August, as Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino, then Real Universidad de San Felipe (1738)
• China:
  • Nanking University, the first school officially called university in English in China, 1888.
  • Beiyang University, the first university called 大學堂 (Daxuetang, modern translation of university in Chinese), 1896.
  • Imperial University of the Capital, China's first modern university directly initiated by the Chinese Emperor, 1898.
  • St. John's University, Shanghai, the first school granting bachelor's degree in China, 1907.
  • National Central University (Nanjing University), the first Chinese university granting doctor's degree, 1932.
• Colombia: Saint Thomas Aquinas University, 1580
• Croatia: University of Zagreb, 1669; University of Zadar, not in continuous operation, 1396
• Cuba: Universidad de La Habana, 1728
• Dominica: Ross University, 1978
• Dominican Republic: Santo Tomas de Aquino University, Santo Domingo, unofficially founded in 1538, and officially founded in 1558; it could be or not consider the first university in the American continent. Today it operates as the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo. (Due to a 35 year hiatus from 1824-1859, it is not the oldest continuously operating university in America)
• Ecuador: Central University of Ecuador, 1622, 19 May, as Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gregorio Magno.
• Egypt:
  • Cairo University, 1908, public university; The American University in Cairo established in 1919 as a private university.
• Estonia: University of Tartu, 1632, successor to Academia Gustaviana (1632-1710)
• Finland:
  • University of Helsinki, 1640, originally the Academy of Turku, but moved to Helsinki in 1827
  • University of Turku, 1920, world's oldest Finnish language university
• Georgia: Tbilisi State University, 1918
• Ghana: University of Ghana, 1948
• Greece: University of Athens, 1837
• Grenada: St. George's University, 1976
• Guatemala: Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 1676
• Honduras: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, 1847
• Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, 1910, evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887
• Hungary: Eötvös Loránd University, 1635
• Iceland: University of Iceland, 1911
• India:
  • Serampore College, 1818, first institution with university status (although not a university) to grant degrees in theology
  • Thomason College of Civil Engineering, 1847, the oldest autonomous engineering school in Asia (now known as Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee), attained university status in 1949 (as the College of Engineering, Guindy, 1794 never awarded its own degrees).
  • University of Calcutta, 1857, first full fledged multi disciplinary university in South Asia,
• Indonesia: University of Indonesia, 1849, founded as the School of Javanese Doctor.
• Iran:
  • University of Tehran, 1934
  • Dar al-Funun, 1851
  • Nizamiyya, 1065
• Ireland: University of Dublin, 1592
• Iraq:
  • Mustansiriya University, 1233
  • University of Baghdad, 1956 - Although the Iraqi Royal College of Medicine was established in 1928.
• Israel: Technion, 1924
• Japan:
  • Keio University, 1858 as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan
  • University of Tokyo, 1877 as Imperial University, and 1684 as Temmonkata (The Observatory)
• Korea:
  • Korea University, 1905
  • Sungkyunkwan University, 1398
  • Yonsei University, 1885 - Hospital established in 1885, college founded in 1915
• Latvia: Riga Technical University, 1862
• Lebanon: American University of Beirut, 1866
• Liechtenstein: Hochschule Liechtenstein, 1992, successory to the Abendtechnikum Vaduz established in 1961
• Lithuania: University of Vilnius, 1579, successory to the Vilnius Academy 1570, although its operation was not continuous: the university was closed from 1832 to 1919 and again in 1943-44
• Luxembourg: University of Luxembourg, 2003
• Malaysia: University of Malaya, 1905
• Mali: University of Sankore, 1327
• Malta: University of Malta, 1769, successory to Collegium Melitense 1592
• Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551 as Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (in 1910 changes its name to National University of Mexico [44939])
• Mozambique: Eduardo Mondlane University (as Estudos Gerais Universitários de Moçambique), 1962
• India: Kuvempu University, 1987, a full-fledged university name after a great poet Kuvempu from Karnataka a state of India
• Myanmar: Rangoon University,1878
• Nepal: Tribhuvan University, 1959
• Netherlands
  • University of Leiden, 1575
  • University of Groningen, 1614
• New Zealand: University of Otago, 1869
• Nigeria: University of Ibadan, 1948
• North America: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551 as Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (in 1910 changes its name to National University of Mexico [44940])
• Northern Ireland: Queen's University Belfast, 1810 (Royal Charter 1845)
• Norway: University of Oslo, 1811
• Pakistan: University of the Punjab, 1882 (British India)
• Peru: National University of San Marcos, Lima, 1551, "dean university of America” (the oldest, and the first "official"), since it is the only university on the American continent that survives, uninterruptedly, since the XVIth century
• Philippines: Disputed by two universities:
  • University of San Carlos, established as the Colegio de San Ildefonso 1595 by the Jesuits, closed in 1769, reopened in 1783 by the local bishop, transferred ownership to the Dominicans (1852), then to the Vincentians (1867), and finally to the Society of the Divine Word fathers in 1935. Closed in 1941 during World War II; reopened in 1945. Received university charter in 1948.
  • University of Santo Tomas, established as the Colegio de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario in 1611, received university charter in 1645, closed during World War II, reopened during post-war rebuilding. Owned by the Dominicans in its entirety of existence.
• Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras 1903
• Romania:
  • Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 1581;
  • University of Bucharest, formerly Princely Academy of Saint Sava, Bucharest, 1694
  • Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, 1860; successor to the Mihaileana Academy (1834 - 1847); successor to the Princely Academy from Iaşi (1707-1821); successor to the Vasilian College (1634 - 1653)
• Russia: either Moscow State University, 1755 or Saint Petersburg State University (1724-1803, 1819) or Kant Russian State University (1544-1945, 1967)
• Serbia: Belgrade University, 1905, successor to the Great School, 1808; Orthodox Christian Lyceum in 1794; Teacher's college in 1778
• Scotland: University of Edinburgh, 1582
• Singapore: National University of Singapore, 1905
• Slovenia: University of Ljubljana, 1919
• South Africa: University of Cape Town, 1829
• South America: National University of San Marcos, Peru, 1551
• Sri Lanka: Vidyodaya University, now known as University of Sri Jayawardenepura, 1778; Vidyalankara Pirivena, now known as University of Kelaniya, 1778. Although Sunethradevi Pirivena, founded by King Prakramabahu I circa 1415 was an institute of university standard throughout history, it never awarded conventional degrees.
• Sudan: University of Khartoum, 1902, formerly known as Gordon Memorial College, public university.
• Surinam: Anton de Kom University, 1968
• Syria: University of Damascus was founded in 1923 through the merger of the School of Medicine (established 1903) and the Institute of Law (established 1913).
• Sweden: Uppsala University, founded 1477
• Switzerland:
  • University of Basel, 1460
  • University of Lausanne, 1537
• Taiwan: National Taiwan University, 1898, as The Medical School of the Governor-General of Formosa.
• Thailand: Chulalongkorn University, 1917
• Uganda: Makerere University, 1922
• Ukraine:
  • National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, 1632
  • University of Lviv, 1661
  • V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, 1805
• U.S.: see First university in the United States
• Venezuela: Central University of Venezuela, 1721
• Wales: University of Wales, Lampeter, 1822
• Vietnam:
  • Hanoi Medical University 1902,
  • Vietnam National University, Hanoi 1904,
  • Hanoi College of Fine Arts 1925,
• Zimbabwe: University of Zimbabwe, 1952

See also

• Ancient university
• Medieval university
• Medieval university
• Studium Generale
• Third oldest university in England debate

References and notes

1. Toby E. Huff. The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West. Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pages 77-78.
2. William J. Courtenay, Jürgen Miethke, David B. Priest. Universities and Schooling in Medieval Society. Brill Academic Publishers, 2000. ISBN 9004113517. Page 96.
3. The Guinness Book Of Records, Published 1998, ISBN 0-5535-7895-2, P.242
4. A brief history of the University of Oxford, Oxford University
5. Grenler, Paul F. The Universities of the Italian Renaissance. John Hopkins University Press, 2004. Pages 43–44.
6. Universities of Toulouse I, II, and III, Encyclopædia Britannica
7. Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings 2007 - World's oldest universities
8. Tradition and Progress since the 13th century, University of Valladolid
9. See: Ridder-Symoens, Hilde de. A History of the University in Europe. Cambridge University Press, 2003. Page 83.
10. Ferrara, The new American cyclopædia, ed G. Ripley and C.A. Dana, 1859
11. Quoted from: Chadwick, Owen. The Early Reformation on the Continent. Oxford University Press, 2003. Page 257.
12. "http://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/gen03/b03_02_j.html"