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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, Shang Hsiang (literally high school) originated before the 21st century BCE in China, and its evolution resulted in the foundation in 258 CE of Nanjing University. Nalanda University had been established by the 5th century BCE in India.

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.

Contents 1 Founded before 1500 2 Post-1500, oldest universities by country or region 3 Caveat 4 See also 5 References and notes

Year	Country	Name	Other notes
489	Gundishapur, Iran	Academy of Gundishapur	it is the oldest university in the world teaching medical sciences
859	Fes, Morocco	University of Al Karaouine	Considered as the "oldest existing educational institution in the world"[1],[2]
988	Cairo, Egypt	Al-Azhar University	Considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic learning
1088	Bologna, Italy	University of Bologna
1150	Paris, France	University of Paris	Now split among several autonomous universities
1167	Oxford, England, UK	University of Oxford	Exact date uncertain, founded before 1167
1175	Modena, Italy	University of Modena
1209	Cambridge, England, UK	University of Cambridge
1212	Valladolid, Spain	University of Valladolid	Claims continuity with University of Palencia, founded in 1212 in Palencia) [1]
1218	Salamanca, Spain	University of Salamanca
1220	Montpellier, France	University of Montpellier
1222	Padua, Italy	University of Padua
1224	Naples, Italy	University of Naples Federico II
1229	Toulouse, France	University of Toulouse
1240	Siena, Italy	University of Siena
1290	Coimbra, Portugal	University of Coimbra	Founded in Lisbon
1303	Rome, Italy	University of Rome La Sapienza
1308	Perugia, Italy	University of Perugia
1336	Camerino, Italy	University of Camerino
1343	Pisa, Italy	University of Pisa
1348	Prague, Czech Republic	Charles University of Prague
1361	Pavia, Italy	University of Pavia
1364	Kraków, Poland	Jagiellonian University
1365	Vienna, Austria	University of Vienna
1367	Pécs, Hungary	University of Pécs
1386	Heidelberg, Germany	Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg
1391	Ferrara, Italy	University of Ferrara
1402	Würzburg, Germany	University of Würzburg
1404	Turin, Italy	University of Turin
1409	Leipzig, Germany	University of Leipzig
1412	St. Andrews, Scotland, UK	University of St. Andrews
1419	Rostock, Germany	University of Rostock
1425	Leuven, Belgium	Catholic University of Leuven	Now split between the French-speaking Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve and the Dutch-speaking Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, still at Leuven
1431	Poitiers, France	University of Poitiers
1434	Catania, Italy	University of Catania
1451	Glasgow, Scotland, UK	University of Glasgow
1456	Greifswald, Germany	Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald
1457	Freiburg, Germany	Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg
1460	Basel, Switzerland	Basel University
1465	Bratislava, Slovakia	Academia Istropolitana
1472	Munich, Germany	Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
1477	Uppsala, Sweden	Uppsala University
1477	Tübingen, Germany	Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
1477	Mainz, Germany	Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz
1479	Copenhagen, Denmark	University of Copenhagen
1481	Genoa, Italy	University of Genoa
1494	Aberdeen, Scotland, UK	University of Aberdeen
1495	Galicia, Spain	University of Santiago de Compostela
1499	Madrid, Spain	Complutense University of Madrid	Claims continuity with Estudio de Escuelas Generales de Alcalá, founded in 1293 in Alcalá de Henares)
1499	Valencia, Spain	University of Valencia

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: 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: Universidade Federal do Paraná, 1921 (note: the oldest institution of higher learning in Brazil, though not a university, is the 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
• Chile: Universidad de Chile, 1842
• 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
• Cuba: Universidad de La Habana, 1728
• 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
  • Serampore College with university status (though not a university), 1818
• 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
• Lebanon: American University of Beirut, 1866
• Lithuania: University of Vilnius, 1579, successory to the Vilnius Academy 1570
• Malaysia: University of Malaya, 1905
• Malta: University of Malta, 1769, successory to Collegium Melitense 1592
• Mexico: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551 (or 1910 [2])
• Myanmar: Rangoon University,1878
• Netherlands: University of Leiden, 1575
• New Zealand: University of Otago, 1869
• North America: National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1551 (or 1910 [3])
• Norway: University of Oslo, 1811
• Spain:University of Oviedo,1608 [4]
• Pakistan: University of the Punjab, 1882
• Peru: National University of San Marcos, 1551
• Philippines: Disputed by two universities:
  • University of San Carlos, established 1595, closed in 1769, reopened in 1783 with different owners, received university charter in 1948.
  • University of Santo Tomas, established 1611, received university charter in 1645, closed during World War II, reopened during post-war rebuilding.
• Romania: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, 1860
• 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 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
• 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

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.

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