University
A university is an institution of highereducation and of research , which grants academic degrees . A university provides both tertiary and quaternaryeducation .
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History
Arguably the first university was the Academy founded in 387 BC by the Greek philosopher Plato in the grove of Academos near Athens , where students were taught philosophy, mathematics and gymnastics.
The first European medieval universities were established in Italy and France in the Middle Ages for the study of law , medicine , and theology . Before that, similar institutions already existed in the Islamic world, notably in Cairo . The most important Asian university was Nalanda , in Bihar, India , where thesecond century Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna was based.
In Europe young men proceeded to the university when they had completed the study of the trivium : the preparatory arts of grammar , rhetoric , and logic ; and the quadrivium : arithmetic , geometry , music , and astronomy .
Universities are generally established by statute or a charter. In the United Kingdom , a university is instituted by RoyalCharter and only institutions with such a charter can award degrees of any kind.
In the last decades of the 20th century , a number of mega universities have been created, teaching with distance learning techniques.
Colloquial usage
Colloquially, the term University is used around the world for a phase in one's life: "when I was atuniversity…"; the American equivalent is college: "when I was in college…". See college , §3, for further discussion.
See also
- List of colleges anduniversities
- List of oldest universities in continuous operation
- List of medieval universities
- School and university inliterature
- UCAS - University and College Admissions Service
Related terms
- academia - academy - admission - alumnus - aula - Bologna process - business schools - campus - college - college and university rankings - dean - degree - diploma - discipline - dissertation - faculty - fraternities andsororities - graduate student - graduation - perpetual student - Privatdozent - professor - provost - rector - research - scholar - student - tenure - tuition - universalaccess
External links
- Web site about Nalanda University - Pictures of Nalanda ruins
- Using Video and CD-ROM to Reach New Students Before They Arrive on Campus
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