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A university is an institution of higher
education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary
education.
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 the
second 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 Royal
Charter 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 at
university…"; the American equivalent is college: "when I was in college…". See college, §3, for further discussion.
See also
Related terms
- academia - academy - admission - alumnus - aula - Bologna process - business schools - campus - college - college and
university rankings - dean - degree - diploma - discipline - dissertation - faculty -
fraternities and sororities - graduate student - graduation - perpetual student - Privatdozent - professor -
provost - rector - research - scholar - student - tenure - tuition -
universal access
External links
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