The oldest university in the Philippines is the University of Santo Tomas (UST) which was established by Spanish missionaries during the 16th century. UST is 25 years older than the oldest university in the USA – Harvard university. Compared to the oldest universities in the world, UST and Harvard University are much younger. Here are the 10 oldest universities in the world.
1. University of Padua: Italy
Image Source
The University is founded by a large group of students and professors leaving University of Bologna for more academic freedom. School operations were suspended in 1237-61, 1509-17 and 1848-50. This university is located in Padua, Italy and was founded in the year 1922.
2. University of Montpellier: France
Image Source
This university is founded in 1220 and located in Montpellier in France. The university was closed in 1793 due to the French Revolution, and its faculties reintegrated under the Imperial University of France in 1808. 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.
3. University of Salamanca: Spain
Image Source
The University of Salamanca is the oldest university in current operation of Spain. It is located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid and one of the oldest universities in Europe… It was founded by Alfonso IX Leon in1218 as a “General School”. This foundation did not last and the university was re-founded by Alfonso’s son, King St. Ferdinand III in 1243.
4. University of Cambridge: England
Image Source
The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209 by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute. It is located in Cambridge, England and is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world. It is considered as one of the world’s premier academic institutions. Academically, Cambridge is consistently ranked in the world’s top 5 universities.
5. University of Modena and Reggio Emilia: Italy
Image Source
The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Italy, founded in 1175, with a population of more than 16,000 students. The medieval university disappeared by 1338 and was replaced by “three public lectureships” which did not award degrees and were suspended in the 1590s “for lack of money”. The university was not reestablished in Modena until the 1680s and did not receive an imperial charter until 1685.
6. University of Oxford: England
Image Source
The exact date of the university’s founding is uncertain. Before 1167, teaching existed since 1096. Teaching had been suspended twice; in 1209 (due to town execution of two scholars) and 1355, due to the St. Scholastica riot. Oxford is regarded as one of the world’s leading academic institutions and considered as the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It has 38 independent colleges.
7. University of Paris: France
Image Source
There was no exact date on the foundation of this university but founded before 1150. Teaching was suspended in 1229 and was split into 13 universities in 1970. The historic University of Paris first appeared in the second half of the 12th century, but was in 1970 reorganized as 13 autonomous universities
8. University of Bologna: Italy
Image Source
The University of Bologna is the first university founded in the Western World and one of the oldest continually operating degree-granting universities in the world. The University of Bologna received a charter from Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158, but in the 19th century, a committee of historians traced the birth of the University back to 1088, making it arguably the longest-lived university in the West.
9. Al-Azhar University: Cairo, Egypt
Image Source
Al-Azhar University is an Egyptian institution of higher learning. It is connected to Al-Azhar mosque in Old Cairo. Al-Azhar (in Arabic: the most flourished and shining) was so called either because it was surrounded by great glittering places, or as a hopeful disposition, or after the name of Sayeda Fatima Al-Zahra’, daughter of the Prophet Mohammed. The mosque was built in two years from 969 AD, the year in which its foundation was laid. The Madrasah connected with it was founded in 988 AD. Studies began in Al-Azhar in Ramadan by October 975 AD, when Chief Justice Abul Hasan Ali ibn Al-No’man started teaching the book “Al-Ikhtisar”, on the Shiite jurisprudence.
10. University of Al-Karouine: Fes, Morocco
Image Source
This university is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest continuously-operating, degree-granting university.
The University of Al-Karaouine is located in Fes, Morocco. It was founded in 859 and the university is one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world and is considered the oldest continuously operating institution of higher learning in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records.
For more articles in History see
Top Ten Most Famous and Historically Significant Tombs in the World
Modern-day Heroes
11 Historic Events That Created the World’s Largest and Most Spectacular Mushroom Clouds
15 Notable Crucifixions in History
Archeological Finds with Great Significance to Mankind
Historic Trees From Around the World
The Month of June: History, Holidays and Personalities
The Month of May: History, Holidays and Personalities
Who is the Most Unforgettable and Unforgivable Leader in History
Peculiar Marriage Rites From Around the World in the Past
Unique Traditional Greetings in the World
The Suez and Panama Canals: Two Shipping Canals of Great Importance
10 Dynasties That Reigned the Longest in History
Unusual Amendments to the US Constitution
The Most Horrifying Mass Killings of Civilians (by Bombing) in History
The Most Horrifying Political Mass Murders in History
Why is Greenland Just an Island Not a Continent?
Philippine Events with Great Impact and Significance in World History
Written by nobertbermosa
I am a Secondary School Head Teacher III and currently enrolled for my doctorate degree at Araullo University. I also contribute to Triond and Factoid
The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world’s most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History. The new film, created by the Museum, is part of an exhibition, Visions of the Cosmos: From the Milky Ocean to an Evolving Universe, at the Rubin Museum of Art in Manhattan through May 2010. Data: Digital Universe, American Museum of Natural History www.haydenplanetarium.org Visualization Software: Uniview by SCISS Director: Carter Emmart Curator: Ben R. Oppenheimer Producer: Michael Hoffman Executive Producer: Ro Kinzler Co-Executive Producer: Martin Brauen Manager, Digital Universe Atlas: Brian Abbott Music: Suke Cerulo For more information visit www.amnh.org
Video Rating: 4 / 5