University
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2 See also 3 Related terms 4 External links |
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.
Colloquially, the term University is used around the world for a phase in one's life: "when I was at universityÃÂà"; the American equivalent is college: "when I was in collegeÃÂà". See college, ÃÂç3, for further discussion.
See also
Related terms
External links