There are tens of thousands of universities worldwide, and many of them have long and distinguished pasts. But which is the oldest?
Bologna is famous for its astounding beauty and gastronomy, but the city boasts another impressive historical feat: the world’s oldest continuously operating university. Since 1088, the University of Bologna has been the site of study, with the organization then taking official shape in the 12th century.
Though the University of Bologna is the oldest official university, it is not the oldest institution of higher learning. That title goes to the University of Al Quaraouiyine, in Fez, Morocco. It has been in operation since 859 AD, for the vast majority of its life as a madras, and a university since 1963.
It was first founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri, the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and as a madrasa, it provided Islamic education. Over time, it expanded its curriculum, including subjects such as mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and law, attracting students from the wider Islamic world and beyond.
Al Quaraouiyine played a crucial role in the development of the Islamic world during the medieval period. It became a vital center for the exchange of knowledge between Islamic and European scholars, contributing to the preservation and transmission of ancient Greek and Roman texts. The university’s alumni include notable figures such as the philosophers Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Arabi and the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, all of whom were among the most important scholars and thinkers during the Middle Ages.
The University of Bologna, meanwhile, can also boast some impressive alumni. Its list of students includes Pope Alexander VI, Thomas Becket and the poet Frances Petrarch, all of whom went there in the university’s first few hundred years.
After being founded by Italian jurist, Irnerius, in 1088, the university only offered doctorate studies. It continued this way for centuries, but more recently they have broadened their scope, and had 81,220 students for the academic year 2017/18. Of these, 6,293 were international students.
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It also houses the oldest college in the world, the Collegio di Spagna, founded by Cardinal Gil Alvarez De Albornoz in 1364.
Soon after the University of Bologna, came the University of Oxford. There is evidence of teaching in Oxford, England all the way back to 1096, and its history is a large reason it is one of the most famous universities in the world.
The list of alumni is remarkable. In total, Oxford has educated 31 UK Prime Ministers, 20 Archbishops of Canterbury, 12 saints, 27 Nobel laureates and 50 Nobel Prize winners.
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