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.

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 European and non-European institutes predate the University of Bologna. For example, Shangyang (literally high school) originated before the 21st century BCE in China, and its evolution resulted in the foundation in 258 CE of Nanjing University, an education and research institution that had five faculties by 470. Nalanda University had been established by the 5th century BCE in India, and Al-Azhar University founded in 988 in Egypt.

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 it is generally accepted that the University of Bologna came first.

Founded before 1500

• University of Al Karaouine, Fez, Morocco, founded in 859 (the oldest university according to the Guinness Book of World Records)
• University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088
• University of Paris, Paris, France, founded c. 1150 (now split among several autonomous universities)
• University of Oxford, Oxford, England, founded before 1167 (1117)
• University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, founded c. 1209
• University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, founded in 1218
• University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France, founded in 1220
• University of Padua, Padua, Italy, founded in 1222
• University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, founded in 1224
• University of Toulouse, Toulouse, France, founded in 1229
• University of Siena, Siena, Italy, founded in 1240
• University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, founded in 1290 in Lisbon
• Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, founded in 1293 in Alcalá de Henares
• University of Lleida, Lleida, Spain, founded in 1300
• University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome, Italy, founded in 1303
• University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy, founded in 1308
• University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy, founded in 1336
• University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, founded in 1343
• University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain, founded in 1347
• Charles University of Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1348
• University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, founded in 1361
• Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, founded in 1364
• University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, founded in 1365
• University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary, founded in 1367
• Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, founded in 1386
• University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, founded in 1391
• University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, founded in 1402
• University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, founded in 1409
• University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland, founded in 1412
• University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany, founded in 1419
• Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, founded in 1425, now split between the French-speaking Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve and the Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, still at Leuven
• University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France, founded in 1431
• University of Catania, Catania, Italy, founded in 1434
• University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1451
• Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany, founded in 1456
• Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, founded in 1457
• Basel University, Basel, Switzerland, founded in 1460
• Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, founded in 1477
• Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany, founded in 1477
• University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, founded in 1479
• University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, founded in 1494
• University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, founded in 1495

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:

• Americas: Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1538
• Argentina: Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, 1610
• Armenia: Yerevan State University , 1919
• Australia: University of Sydney, 1850
• Azerbaijan: Baku State University, 1919
• Baltic States: Vilnius University, 1579, twice closed and reopened
• Bangladesh: University of Dhaka, 1921
• Bosnia-Herzegovina: University of Sarajevo, 1940, successor to the Sharia Law School founded in 1531
• Brazil: Instituto Militar de Engenharia, founded under the name of Academia Real Militar 1811
• Bulgaria: University of Sofia, 1888
• Canada: Université Laval, 1663; University of New Brunswick is the oldest English language university in Canada, founded in 1785
• China:
  • Nanking University, the first school officially called university in English in China, 1888. It's also the first to offer doctoral education in China, 1913.
  • Beiyang University, the first school called 大學堂(Daxuetang or Daxue, today's Chinese translation of university), 1896. Beijing University to be the second, 1898.
  • St. John's University, Shanghai, the first school granting bachelor's degree in China, 1907.
• Colombia: Universidad del Rosario, 1653
• Croatia: University of Zagreb, 1669
• East Timor: National University of Timor-Leste, 2000
• Estonia: University of Tartu, 1802, successor to Academia Gustaviana (1632-1710)
• 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
• Hong Kong: University of Hong Kong, 1912, evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine, founded in 1887
• India: University of Calcutta, 1857, the oldest full fledged university in South Asia
• Indonesia: Institut Teknologi Bandung, 1920, founded as the Technische Hogeschool te Bandoeng
• Iran: University of Tehran, 1934
• Iraq: University of Baghdad, 1956 - Although the Iraqi Royal College of Medicine was established in 1928.
• Ireland: Trinity College, Dublin, 1592
• Israel: Technion, 1924
• Japan: University of Tokyo, 1877
• Korea: Soongsil University, 1897
• Lebanon: American University of Beirut, 1866
• Malaysia: University of Malaya, 1905
• Malta: University of Malta, 1769, successory to Collegium Melitense 1592
• Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551
• Myanmar: Rangoon University,1878
• Netherlands: University of Leiden, 1575
• New Zealand: University of Otago, 1863
• North America: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551
• Norway: University of Oslo, 1811
• Pakistan: University of the Punjab, 1882
• Peru: National University of San Marcos, 1551
• Philippines: Disputed by two universities:
  • University of San Carlos, established 1595, became a university on 1948.
  • University of Santo Tomas, established 1611, became a university on 1645.
• Russia: either Moscow University, 1755 or St Petersburg University (1724-1803, 1819) or Kant University (1544-1945, 1967)
• Serbia: Belgrade University, 1905, successor to the Great School, 1808; Orthodox Christian Academy in 1794; Teacher's college in 1778
• Singapore: National University of Singapore, 1905
• Slovenia: University of Ljubljana, 1810
• South America: National University of San Marcos, Peru, 1551
• South Africa: University of Cape Town, 1829
• South Asia: Serampore College with university status (though not a university), 1818
• Thailand: Chulalongkorn University, 1917
• Turkey: Istanbul Technical University (1773)
• Ukraine: University of Lviv, 1661
• U.S.: see First university in the United States
• Venezuela: Central University of Venezuela, 1721

Caveat

The actual date a university started to function is often rather hazy and differs a good deal from legend, or from the date its ancestor-institution was founded. For example, it is generally admitted today that Oxford's foundation cannot be precisely dated, but must lie somewhere in the mid-to-late 12th century. However, the notion that a college could be empowered to give the bachelor's degree is a modern American one; by European terms, Harvard College had already adopted the powers (if not the style) of a university in 1642. The University of Pennsylvania was simply the first American institution to call itself a university; but neither it, Harvard, or any of the seven other Colonial American colleges were nearly as large or diverse as European universities of the time. The first American university to create a modern graduate school and award a Ph.D. degree was Yale University, in 1861.

See also

• Ancient university
• Medieval university
• Medieval university (Asia)