What is the oldest university in the world?

The University of Al Qarawiyyin, also known as Al-Karaouine or Al-Quaraouiyine, was founded in 859 and is considered by UNESCO and the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest in the world that is still in operation. It is the first to award higher education degrees, as well as the first advanced educational training institution in the world. It is located in the city of Fez, which was a leading place of spirituality and educational center of the Muslim world. What makes it even more remarkable is that it was founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri, a young Tunisian princess. Its creation took place exactly 200 years before the appearance of the first university in Europe, that of Bologna, in Italy, in 1088.

Despite the fact that there are other older historical and archaeological places related to education, such as the universities of India Taxila and Nalanda, this institution holds the world record because it continues to offer education since its origin. The complex is made up of a mosque, a university and a library and is connected to the labyrinth of streets and alleys on all four sides. Fatima al-Fihri devoted all her time, energy and money to provide a place of education. The project to build a Madrasa, a school, had the objective of encouraging young people from Morocco who wanted to study and train. Over the years it has become a world famous institution offering degrees in a wide variety of fields. During its early years, it focused on religious education, but later expanded to linguistics, grammar, law, music, medicine, and astronomy. In 1947, Al Qarawiyyin was integrated into the state educational system and in 1965, it was officially named Al Qarawiyyin University.

Notable students have passed through its classrooms, such as the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd or Pope Silvestre II, who is said to have been responsible for introducing Arabic numerals in Europe after spending time there in the 10th century. The university became known throughout the world as a place for great discussions and debates on religious, academic and political matters. Applications for admission came from all over the world, which is why they had to implement a very deep selection system. Some of the entry conditions are still in place today, such as those who want to study at Al-Qarawiyyin must have memorized the entire Qur’an just to be considered for admission.

Despite the fact that its founder was a woman, female students began studying at the institution in significant numbers in recent years, due to many centuries of social traditions. For a large part of society, the very negative public image that Islam now has in Europe often stems from the situation of women in Muslim countries. Currently, the majority of students continue to be men, however, some of the most remarkable changes in the education of women have taken place in recent years. The female gender is using Islamic education to advance their rights and social status. The library of this institution is also recognized as the oldest in the world, with more than 4,000 manuscripts, some of which date back to the 9th century.

In Spain, the oldest is the University of Salamanca

USAL is one of the first European universities, along with Paris, Oxford and Bologna, and the only Spanish one that has maintained its activity through the centuries. The Escuelas Mayores Building stands out with its plateresque façade, inside which is the Library with more than 2,500 manuscripts, nearly 480 incunabula and 62,000 volumes printed between the 16th and 18th centuries.

This university will go through a moment of success and expansion with the creation of the first American universities, which from 1551 begin to be founded following the footsteps of Salamanca by using its founding charters as a model. In relation to the number of students, it has gone through different stages. From 500 enrolled at the end of the fourteenth century, passing through 2,500 in the following century, until now that the figure reaches 30,000 university students. Currently, the USAL continues to maintain its capacity to attract and has nine campuses distributed between Salamanca, Ávila, Zamora, Béjar and Villamayor, among which are distributed the 26 faculties and higher schools and the 12 research centers that cover different areas. Another of the distinctive features of the University is the teaching of Spanish, which makes thousands of students come to study at this institution.