List of oldest universities in continuous operation

Map of medieval universities

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be included in this table, an educational institution must satisfy a traditional definition of university at the time of its founding. Chronologically it must have been founded before 1500 in Europe or be the oldest university derived from the medieval European model in a region.

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 origin of many medieval universities can be traced to the Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools which appear as early as the 6th century AD and were run for hundreds of years as such before their formal establishment as university in the high medieval period.

Although there were other institutions of higher learning, like those of ancient Greece, China, the Arab World, and other civilizations, due to their cultural dissimilarities from the medieval European university, they are not included in this article.

Medieval origins

Main article: Medieval university

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 origin of many medieval universities can be traced to the Christian cathedral schools or monastic schools which appear as early as the 6th century AD and were run for hundreds of years as such before their formal establishment as university in the high medieval period.

The university as an institution was historically rooted in that medieval society which it in turn influenced and shaped:

The university is a European institution; indeed, it is the European institution par excellence. There are various reasons for this assertion. As a community of teachers and taught, accorded certain rights, such as administrative autonomy and the determination and realization of curricula (courses of study) and of the objectives of research as well as the award of publicly recognized degrees, it is a creation of medieval Europe, which was the Europe of papal Christianity...

No other European institution has spread over the entire world in the way in which the traditional form of the European university has done. The degrees awarded by European universities – the bachelor's degree, the licentiate, the master's degree, and the doctorate – have been adopted in the most diverse societies throughout the world. The four medieval faculties of artes variously called philosophy, letters, arts, arts and sciences, and humanities – law, medicine, and theology have survived and have been supplemented by numerous disciplines, particularly the social sciences and technological studies, but they remain none the less at the heart of universities throughout the world...

Moreover, the university is a European institution because it has, in its social role, performed certain functions for all European societies. It has developed and transmitted scientific and scholarly knowledge and the methods of cultivating that knowledge which has arisen from and formed part of the common European intellectual tradition.

Modern spread

From the early modern period onwards, the university gradually spread from the medieval Latin west across the globe, eventually replacing all other higher-learning institutions and becoming the preeminent institution for higher education everywhere. This process occurred in the following chronological order:

• Western Europe (since 11th/12th century)
• Eastern Europe (since 14th/15th century)
• Americas (since 16th century)
• Australia (since 19th century)
• Asia and Africa (since 19th/20th century)

Founded before 1500

Main article: List of medieval universities

The earliest and only universities before the colonization of the Americas were established and run in medieval Europe.

Year	Contemporaneous location	Current location	Name	Notes
1088	Papal States	Bologna, Italy	University of Bologna	The first university in the sense of a higher-learning, degree-awarding institute, the word university having been coined at its foundation.
1150	Kingdom of France	Paris, France	University of Paris	It was founded in the mid-12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1170 (or, possibly, as early as 1150). After many changes, including a century of suspension (1793–1896), it ceased to exist as such in 1970 and 13 autonomous universities (University of Paris I–XIII) were created from it. The university is often referred to as the Sorbonne or La Sorbonne after the collegiate institution (Collège de Sorbonne) founded about 1257 by Robert de Sorbon. In fact, the university as such was older and was never completely centered on the Sorbonne. Of the 13 current successor universities, the first 4 have a presence in the historical Sorbonne building, and three include "Sorbonne" in their names.
1167 (probably older)	Kingdom of England	Oxford, England	University of Oxford	"Claimed to be the oldest university in the world, there is no clear date of foundation of Oxford University, 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), but was continuous during the English Civil War (1642–1651) - the University was Royalist. 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 on these documents). However, it was not until 1254 that Pope Innocent IV granted to Oxford the University charter by papal bull ("Querentes in agro").
1175	Commune of Modena	Modena, Italy	University of Modena	Founded by professor Pillio of Medicina after leaving University of Bologna. Closed in the 1590s, the university was not reestablished in Modena until the 1680s and did not receive an imperial charter until 1685.
1209 (1231)	Kingdom of England	Cambridge, England	University of Cambridge	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.
1215	Commune of Arezzo	Arezzo, Italy	University of Arezzo	Closed in 15th century.
1218 (probably older)	Kingdom of León	Salamanca, Spain	University of Salamanca	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.
1222 (probably older)	Commune of Padua	Padua, Italy	University of Padua	Founded by scholars and professors after leaving Bologna.
1224	City of Naples	Naples, Italy	University of Naples Federico II	Founded by Frederick II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
1229	Kingdom of France	Toulouse, France	University of Toulouse
1240	Commune of Siena	Siena, Italy	University of Siena	Originally called Studium Senese, was founded by Commune of Siena in 1240. In 1321, the studium was able to attract a larger number or pupils due to a mass exodus from the prestigious neighbouring University of Bologna. Closed temporarily in 1808–1815 when Napoleonic forces occupied Tuscany. On November 7, 1990 the university celebrated its 750th anniversary.
1241	Kingdom of Castile, Crown of Castile	Valladolid, Spain	University of Valladolid	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.
1272	Kingdom of Murcia, Crown of Castile	Murcia, Spain	University of Murcia	It was founded as the Universitas Studiorum Murciana by Alfonso X of Castile around 1272. The current University of Murcia was founded in 1915, making it the tenth oldest university in Spain, but its seal carries the date of the thirteenth century founding.
1289	Kingdom of France	Montpellier, France	University of Montpellier	The university is considerably older than its formal founding date, associated with a bull issued by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289, combining all the long-existing schools into a university.
1290	Papal States	Macerata, Italy	University of Macerata	The University of Macerata (Italian: Università degli Studi di Macerata) is a university located in Macerata, Marche, Italy. It was founded in 1290 and is organized into 7 faculties.
1290	Kingdom of Portugal Lisbon	Coimbra, Portugal	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 Pope Nicholas IV.
1293	Crown of Castile	Madrid, Spain	Complutense University of Madrid	The Complutense University of Madrid was founded by King Sancho IV of Castile as Studium Generale in 1293. It was granted Papal Bull in 1499, and quickly gained international fame thanks to the patronage of Cardinal Cisneros and the production of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible in 1517, which is the basis for most of the current translations. The University moved to Madrid in 1836 by Royal Decree. The Moyano Law of 1857 established Complutense as the sole university in Spain authorized to confer the title of Doctor on any scholar. This law remained in effect until 1954.
1300	Crown of Aragon	Lleida, Spain	University of Lleida	The University of Lleida has its roots in the Estudi General de Lleida, which was created in 1300 by virtue of a charter granted to the city of Lleida by King James II of Aragon. He based his decision on a papal bull issued in Rome on 1st April 1297, by Pope Boniface VIII.
1303	Papal States	Rome, Italy	La Sapienza University of Rome	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	The University of Florence evolved from the Studium Generale, which was established by the Florentine Republic in 1321. The Studium was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349.
1336	Papal States	, Camerino, Italy	University of Camerino	The great literate and jurist Cino from Pistoia, living in Marche in the years 1319-21, and in Camerino in the spring of 1321, remembers the territory blooming with juridical schools. Camerino has been a center of learning since no later than 1200, offering degrees in civil law, canonical law, medicine, and literary studies. Gregory XI took the decision upon the request of Gentile III da Varano with the papal edict of 29 January 1377, directed to the commune and to the people, authorizing Camerino to confer (after appropriate examination) bachelor and doctoral degrees with apostolic authority.
1343	Republic of Pisa	Pisa, Italy	University of Pisa	It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century. Nowadays is one of the most important universities in Italy.
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	House of Visconti	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	Jagiellonian University	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 Karl University of Heidelberg	Founded by Rupert I, Elector Palatine. The oldest in Germany.
1391	House of Este	Ferrara, Italy	University of Ferrara	Founded by Marquis Alberto d'Este.
1409	Holy Roman Empire	Leipzig, Germany	University of Leipzig	Founded when German-speaking staff left Prague due to the Jan Hus crisis.
1413	Kingdom of Scotland	St Andrews, Scotland	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".
1434	Kingdom of Sicily	Catania, Italy	University of Catania	The oldest in Sicily.
1450	Crown of Aragon	Barcelona, Spain	University of Barcelona	Founded by Alfonso V of Aragon as Estudi general de Barcelona after the unification of all university education. For forty-nine years prior to that foundation, however, the city had had a fledgling medical school founded by King Martin of Aragon, and in the 13th century Barcelona already possessed several civil and ecclesiastical schools.
1451	Kingdom of Scotland	Glasgow, Scotland	University of Glasgow	Founded by a Papal Bull
1456	Holy Roman Empire	Greifswald, Germany	University of Greifswald	Teaching had started by 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	Founded in 1460 (Schola Basiliensis), the University of Basel is the oldest university in Switzerland. [10]
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
1477	Kalmar Union	Uppsala, Sweden	Uppsala University	Uppsala's bull, which granted the university its corporate rights, was issued by Pope Sixtus IV in 1477, and established a number of provisions. Among the most important of these was that the university was officially given the same freedoms and privileges as the University of Bologna.
1479	Kalmar Union	Copenhagen, Denmark	University of Copenhagen
1481	Republic of Genoa	Genoa, Italy	University of Genoa	Founded in 1481 (Genuense Athenaeum).
1495	Kingdom of Scotland	Aberdeen, Scotland	University of Aberdeen	King's College was founded by Papal Bull in 1495 and Marischal College in 1593; they merged in 1860
1495	Kingdom of Galicia	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	Crown of Aragon	Valencia, Spain	University of Valencia

Oldest universities by country or region after 1500 still in operation

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

Europe

• Belarus: Belarusian State University, 1921
• Belgium
  • Ghent University, 1817.
  • University of Liège, 1817.
  • Catholic University of Mechlin, 1834, then called Catholic University of Louvain, 1835.
  • Free University of Brussels, 1834.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: University of Sarajevo, 1949
• Bulgaria: University of Sofia, 1888
• Croatia: University of Zagreb, 1669
• Czech Republic (apart from the Charles University 1348, see above)
  • Palacký University of Olomouc, 1573, as Olomouc Jesuit University
  • Czech Technical University, 1707, being the oldest non-military technical university in Europe
• Denmark: Technical University of Denmark, 1829
• England: University of Oxford, 1096 or earlier
• Estonia: University of Tartu, 1632, the university was closed from 1710 to 1802
• Finland:
  • University of Helsinki, 1640, originally the Academy of Turku, but moved to Helsinki in 1827
• Georgia: Tbilisi State University, 1918
• Greece:
  • University of Athens, 1837
  • NTUA, 1836
• Iceland: University of Iceland, 1911
• Ireland
  • Trinity College
  • University of Dublin, 1592
  • University College Dublin, 1854
• Hungary:
  • Eötvös Loránd University, 1635
  • Budapest University of Technology and Economics, 1782
• Latvia: Riga Technical University, 1862
• Malta: University of Malta, 1768, first established as the Collegium Melitense by the Jesuits 1592
• Netherlands
  • University of Leiden, 1575
  • University of Groningen, 1614
  • University of Amsterdam, 1632, as Athenaeum Illustre
  • Utrecht University, 1636
• Northern Ireland: Queen's University Belfast, 1810 (Royal Charter 1845)
• Norway: University of Oslo, 1811
• 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
• Portugal
  • University of Évora, second oldest university in Portugal, 1559–1759, resumed work in 1973
  • University of Lisbon, 1911
  • University of Porto, 1911
  • Technical University of Lisbon, 1930
  • New University of Lisbon, 1973
• Romania:
  • Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, 1872/1918; teaching existed in Cluj-Napoca since the Jesuits College, 1581, and the Jesuits Academy, 1688
  • Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iaşi, 1860; successor to Vasilian College, 1640, Princely Academy, 1707, and Academia Mihăileană, 1834
  • University of Bucharest, Bucharest, 1864; successor to the Princely Academy, 1694, and Saint Sava College, 1822
• Russia
  • Moscow State University, 1755
  • Saint Petersburg State University 1724–1803, 1819
  • Kant Russian State University 1967 (claims continuity from University of Königsberg, 1544)
• Scotland: University of Edinburgh, 1583
• Serbia: Belgrade University,Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School , by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university, under current name from 1905; Orthodox Christian Lyceum in 1794; Teacher's college in 1778
• Slovenia: University of Ljubljana, 1919
• Turkey:
  • Istanbul Technical University founded in 1773 as Naval Engineer's School
  • Istanbul University founded in 1874 but closed 1881 and re-established in 1900
• Ukraine
  • University of Lviv, 1661
• Wales: St David's College, Lampeter now University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, 1822

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Mexico:Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco - approved in 1534 opened in 1536 was the first university opened in the New World.[11]
• Dominican Republic: Santo Tomas de Aquino University, Santo Domingo, founded by papal bull in 1538, and by royal bull in 1747. Closed in 1824. It is not the longest continuously operating university in the Americas.^{[citation needed]}
• Dominican Republic: Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, founded in 1538. The longest continuously operating university in the Americas.
• Peru: National University of San Marcos, Lima, May 12, 1551, as the Royal and Pontifical University of San Marcos. Also known as the "dean university of the Americas".
• Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico, September 21, 1551, as Royal and Pontifical University of México (in 1920 changes its name to National Autonomous University of Mexico, when has given it the freedom to define its own curriculum and manage its own budget without interference from the government).
• Colombia: Saint Thomas Aquinas University, 1580
• Mexico: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, founded 1587 as Colegio del Espíritu Santo (it was sponsored by Jesuits until its conversion into a public college in 1825, and a public university in 1937).
• Argentina: National University of Córdoba, 1613
• Ecuador: Central University of Ecuador, 1622, 19 May, as Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gregorio Magno
• Chile: Universidad de Chile, 1622, 19 August, as Universidad de Santo Tomás de Aquino, then Real Universidad de San Felipe (1738)
• Bolivia: Royal and Pontificial Major University of St. Francis Xavier of Chuquisaca, 1624
• Colombia: Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario - Universidad del Rosario, 1653
• Guatemala: Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, 1676
• Peru: National University of San Antonio Abad in Cuzco or Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco - 1 June 1692
• Venezuela: Central University of Venezuela, 1721
• Cuba: Universidad de La Habana, 1728
• Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara, founded October 12, 1791; legally established October 12, 1925.
• Brazil: Real Academia de Artilharia, Fortificação e Desenho, 1792 (today Military Institute of Engineering (pt: Instituto Militar de Engenharia))
• Honduras: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, 1847
• Uruguay: Universidad de la República, 1849
• Paraguay: Universidad Nacional de Asunción, 1889
• Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras 1903
• Jamaica: University of the West Indies, Mona 1948 and University of Technology, Jamaica 1958
• Surinam: Anton de Kom University, 1968
• Grenada: St. George's University, 1976
• Dominica: Ross University, 1978

North America

• Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico, September 21, 1551, as Royal and Pontifical University of México (in 1920 changes its name to National Autonomous University of Mexico, when has given it the freedom to define its own curriculum and manage its own budget without interference from the government).
• Mexico: Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, founded 1587 as Colegio del Espíritu Santo (it was sponsored by Jesuits until its conversion into a public college in 1825, and a public university in 1937).
• Mexico: Universidad de Guadalajara, founded October 12, 1791; legally established October 12, 1925.
• United States:
  • Harvard University, founded 1636, chartered 1650
  • The College of William & Mary, chartered 1693
  • Yale University, chartered 1701 (as "Collegiate School")
  • University of Pennsylvania, founded 1740 (as "Church and Charity School of Philadelphia"). Penn's claim is three-fold: The 1765 founding of the first medical school in America made Penn the first institution to offer both "undergraduate" and professional education; the 1779 charter made it the first American institution of higher learning to take the name of "University"; and existing colleges were established as seminaries.

See also: First university in the United States

• Canada:
  • Université Laval, 1663, first institution of higher education (Not a university until 1852)
  • University of New Brunswick, 1785 (oldest English language university)
  • University of King's College, 1789 (oldest chartered university)

Africa

• Sierra Leone: Fourah Bay College - University of Sierra Leone, 1827
• South Africa:
  • University of Cape Town, 1829 (University status: 2 April 1918).
  • Stellenbosch University, 1866 (University status: 2 April 1918).
• Sudan: University of Khartoum, 1902 (renamed from Gordon Memorial College in 1956).
• Egypt: Cairo University, 1908, public university; The American University in Cairo established in 1919 as a private university
• Algeria: University of Algiers, 1909
• Uganda: Makerere University, 1922
• Kenya: Egerton University, 1939 (as Egerton Farm School)
• Ghana: University of Ghana, 1948
• Nigeria: University of Ibadan, 1948
• Zimbabwe: University of Zimbabwe, 1952
• Angola: Agostinho Neto University (as Estudos Gerais Universitários de Angola), 1962
• Mozambique: Eduardo Mondlane University (as Estudos Gerais Universitários de Moçambique), 1962
• Cape Verde: Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde, 2001
• Tunisia: University of Ez-Zitouna 737

Asia

• Afghanistan:
  • Kabul Medical University, 1946
  • Kabul University, founded in 1931, formally opened 1932
• Armenia: Yerevan State University, 1919
• Azerbaijan: Baku State University, 1919
• Bahrain: University of Bahrain. Founded in 1986.
• Bangladesh: University of Dhaka, 1921
• Cambodia:
  • Royal University of Fine Arts, 1918
  • Royal University of Law and Economics, 1948
  • Royal University of Phnom Penh, 1960
• China:
  • Peking University (Imperial University of Peking), China's first university chartered by central government as 大学堂 (word "university" in Chinese), 1898. It was also served as the highest administration for education at the beginning of its founding.
  • Nanyang Public University (Xi'an Jiaotong University), second institute providing 4 year degree modern higher education, 1896.
  • Nanjing University (National Central University), the first Chinese university providing doctoral degree, 1927.
  • Saint John's University, Shanghai, the first school granting bachelor's degree in China, 1907. But it was not chartered by China government until 1947.
• Hong Kong: The University of Hong Kong, 1910, evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887
• India:
  • Calcutta Madrasah College, 1781, in Calcutta, which was upgraded to university status in 2007
  • Serampore College, 1818, first institution with university status (although not a university) to grant degrees in theology
  • College of Engineering, Guindy, 1794, the oldest engineering college in Asia
  • University of Calcutta, 1857, first full fledged multi-disciplinary university in South Asia
• Indonesia:
  • University of Indonesia, 1947, founded as the School of Javanese Doctor in 1851.
  • Bandung Institute of Technology, 1959, founded as Technische Hogeschool in 1920.
• Iran: University of Tehran, 1934
• Iraq: University of Baghdad, 1956 - Although the Iraqi Royal College of Medicine was established in 1928.
• Israel:
  • Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1918
  • Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, founded in 1912, but formal teaching began in 1924
• Japan:
  • University of Tokyo, Its origins include a private college of Confucian studies founded by Hayashi Razan in 1630, Tenmonkata (The Observatory, 1684) and Shutōsho (Smallpox Vaccination Centre, 1849). It was later organised in 1867 as the Imperial University.
  • Keio University, 1858 as the oldest modern institute of higher education in Japan (To be noted, Japan's oldest academic institution is Ashikaga Gakko)
• Lebanon:
  • American University of Beirut, 1866
  • Lebanese American University, 1924
• Macau: University of Macau, established as University of East Asia in 1981, renamed 1991.
• Malaysia: University of Malaya, as Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School in 1905 in Singapore
• Mongolia:
  • Mongolian Academy of Sciences, 1921, as part of the Institute of Literature and Script
  • Institute of finance and economics of Mongolia, 1924 as the School of Custom's Officers in Ulaanbaatar.
  • National University of Mongolia, 1942
• Myanmar: Rangoon University, 1878
• Nepal: Tribhuvan University, 1959
• Pakistan:
  • Forman Christian College, now Forman Christian College University, Lahore, 1864
  • Government College, Lahore, now Government College University, Lahore, 1864
  • University of the Punjab, 1882 (Pakistan)
  • Edwardes College, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1900
• Philippines:
  • University of San Carlos, traces roots to 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, founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides. Elevated by Pope Innocent X to a university on November 20, 1645. Owned by the Dominicans in its entirety of existence. It has the oldest extant university charter in the Philippines and in Asia.
  • Ateneo de Manila University, originally the Escuela Municipal de Manila began in 1859 by the Jesuits as a primary school for boys, later added secondary school for boys and renamed Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1865. Changed name to Ateneo de Manila upon withdrawal of government subsidy by the American colonial government.
• Saudi Arabia: King Fahad University of Petroleum and Minerals founded in 1963, one of the main current universities in KSA, though not the oldest one. The oldest one is King Saud University.
• Singapore: National University of Singapore, as Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School in 1905
• South Korea:
  • Sungkyunkwan University, 1398
  • Ewha Womans University, 1886
  • Korea University, 1905
  • Yonsei University, 1915 - College founded in 1915, hospital established in 1885.
• Sri Lanka:
  • University College Colombo, 1920 - Although the Ceylon Medical College was established in 1870.
  • University of Ceylon, 1942 - First full fledged multi disciplinary university in Sri Lanka
• 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).
• Taiwan:
  • National Taiwan University, 1898, as The Medical School of the Governor-General of Formosa
  • National Taipei University of Technology, 1912, as School of Industrial Instruction
• Thailand: Chulalongkorn University, 1917
• Vietnam:
  • Hanoi Medical University 1902
  • Vietnam National University, Hanoi 1904
  • Hanoi College of Fine Arts 1925

Australia and Oceania

• Australia
  • University of Sydney, 1850 (oldest in Australia and Oceania)
  • University of Melbourne, 1853 (oldest in Victoria)
  • University of Adelaide, 1874 (oldest in South Australia)
  • University of Tasmania, 1890 (oldest in Tasmania)
  • University of Queensland, 1909 (oldest in Queensland)
  • University of Western Australia, 1911 (oldest in Western Australia)
  • Australian National University, 1946 (oldest in Australian Capital Territory)
  • Northern Territory University, 1989 (amalgamated as part of Charles Darwin University in 2004)

• New Zealand: University of Otago, 1869

See also

• List of medieval universities
• List of oldest madrasahs in continuous operation

References

Notes

Sources

• Riché, Pierre (1978). Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. ISBN ISBN 0-87249-376-8