List of oldest universities in continuous operation
This is a
list of the oldest universities in continuous operation. It includes universities founded before
1500.
- Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, founded 988
- University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, founded 1088
- University of Oxford, Oxford, England, founded about 1096
- University of Paris, Paris, France, founded 1150
- University of Modena, Modena, Italy, founded 1175
- University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, founded about 1208
- Salamanca University, Salamanca, Spain, founded 1218
- University of Padua, Padua, Italy, founded in 1222
- University of Naples, Naples, Italy, founded 1224
- University of Siena, Siena, Italy, founded 1240
- University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, founded 1285
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain, founded 1293
- University of Rome, Rome, Italy, founded 1303
- University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy, founded 1343
- University of Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, founded 1348
- University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, founded 1361
- Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland, founded 1364
- University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, founded 1365
- University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary, founded 1367
- University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany, founded 1386
- University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, founded 1388
- University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy, founded 1391
- University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, founded 1409
- St. Andrews University, St. Andrews, Scotland, founded 1412
- Universität Rostock, Rostock, Germany, founded 1419
- Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, founded 1425
- Poitiers University, Poitiers, France, founded 1431
- University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, founded 1450
- University of Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, founded 1457
- Basel University, Basel, Switzerland, founded 1460;
- Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, founded 1477
- University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, founded 1479
- Eberhard Karls University, Tubingen, Germany, founded in 1477
- University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, founded 1494
By contrast, the earliest university in the
Western Hemisphere is the National Autonomous University in Mexico, founded in
1551; the oldest in the United States is the
University of Pennsylvania, founded in
1749 (the oldest college is
Harvard College, founded in
1636); the oldest in Canada,
Université Laval, founded
1663; the oldest in
Australia is
University of Sydney, founded
1850.
See also: Medieval university