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An educational institution must provide both undergraduate and postgraduate education for it to have a “University” status. There are thousands of universities around the globe but only five (5) landed in our list . Below are five of the world’s  oldest universities that are still operational as of this writing.

University of Bologna (921 years old)

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The University of Bologna in Italy was established at the end of the eleventh century, when masters of Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic began to devote themselves to the law. In the nineteenth century a committee of historians, led by Giosuè Carducci, attributed the birth of this University in the year 1088.

Considered as the longest-lived university in the world, the University of Bologna is also known for its notable teachings in the areas of canon and civil law and has been ranked as one of the world’s top 50 universities.

The University counts about 100,000 students and currently has 23 faculties/colleges.

University of Paris I-XIII (859 years old)

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The (University of Paris I–XIII) was established in the 12th century specifically in the year 1150. But in 1970, the institution was reorganized and resulted into the establishment of 13 autonomous universities. The university is often referred to as the Sorbonne or La Sorbonne after Robert de Sorbon who founded the collegiate institution “Collège de Sorbonne” in 1257. Even though the thirteen universities are already independent, some residual administrative functions are formally supervised by a common chancellor. The following are the thirteen universities under the University of Paris:

• Pantheon-Sorbonne University

• Pantheon-Assas University

• University of the New Sorbonne

• Paris-Sorbonne University

• Rene Descartes University

• Pierre and Marie Curie University

• Denis Diderot University

• University of Vincennes in Saint-Denis

• Paris Dauphine University

• University of Nanterre

• University of Paris-Sud

• University of Val-de-Marne

• University of Paris-Nord

University of Oxford (842 years old)

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The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford, England, is currently the third oldest university in the world which was established in 1167. This university is also considered as one of the world’s leading academic institutions and is consistently ranked in the world’s top 10 universities. The University has 38 independent colleges, and 6 permanent private halls.

University of Cambridge (800 years old)

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The University of Cambridge located in Cambridge, England, is the fourth oldest university in the world. The university was established in 1209. This University has produced more than 80 Nobel Laureates and is consistently ranked in the world’s top 5 universities. It has a long history of rivalry with the University of Oxford as a result of an event in 1209 when some scholars of Oxford had a dispute with local town folks and decided to leave the school and most of them transferred to Cambridge University.

University of Salamanca (791 years old)

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And lastly, the University of Salamanca located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid, is the oldest university in Spain and the fifth oldest University in the world. It was established in 1218 by Alfonso IX of Leon. Today, the University of Salamanca is an important centre for the study of humanities and is particularly noted for its language studies.

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