Centers of higher education have been around for hundreds of years, and even millennia in some cases, but not all withstand the test of time. Over the centuries, many of the world’s oldest universities have disbanded, split into autonomous colleges or become modernized beyond all recognition. The ancient institutions that are here today are significant for their historic legacies and for proving their ability to adapt to modern contexts and remain relevant in a globalized world in spite of intense competition. Here we cover some of the oldest universities in the world, all of which feature in one of the QS rankings. Most are located in Europe, due to the particularly impressive number of longstanding and prestigious universities in this region, but there’s also an African representative to consider.
