List of early modern universities in Europe


The list of early modern universities in Europe comprises all universities that existed in the early modern age in Europe. It also includes short-lived foundations and educational institutions whose university status is a matter of debate. The operation of the degree-awarding university with its corporate organization and relative autonomy, which had emerged in the Christian medieval world, was continued into the new era. The number of universities which had been in existence at one time during the period rose from around eighty medieval universities to nearly two hundred. While the universitas arrived in Eastern Europe as far as Moscow, many were established further west either by the new Protestant powers or the Catholic Counter-Reformation spearheaded by the Jesuits. At the same time, the Spanish founded colonial universities and the British colonial colleges in the New World, thus heralding the spread of the university as the center of higher learning around the globe.

Definition

A short definition of the university and its defining characteristics as they evolved in the medieval and early modern era is offered by the multi-volume History of the University in Europe of the European University Association:

List of universities existing in the early modern age, but created before

The list is sorted by the date of recognition. Note that the date of recognition is not necessarily the date of creation : for example, a community of teachers and students existed per se in Paris during the 11th century. At places where more than one university was established, the name of the institution is given in brackets.
There were other institutions of higher education in the medieval and early modern period outside of the list such as: the Esztergom and the Kalocsa Universities the Boldogasszony College of Buda, Gyula, Nagybánya s or the Nagyőr Colleges but little information has survived beyond their existence.

13th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
Beginning of 13th c.ParisFrance
Beginning of 13th c.MontpellierFrance
1209–25CambridgeEngland
1212PalenciaSpain
1215ArezzoItaly
Before 1218/9SalamancaSpain
1222PaduaItaly
1224NaplesItaly
1229ToulouseFrance
1231SalernoItaly
c.1235OrléansFrance
1241ValladolidSpain
1246SienaItaly
c.1250AngersFrance
1261NorthamptonEngland
1272MurciaSpain
1290MacerataItaly
1290LisbonPortugal
1293MadridSpain
1300LleidaSpain

14th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
1303AvignonFrance
1303Rome (Sapienza)Italy
1304-1305Dominican College of BudaHungary
1308CoimbraPortugal
1308PerugiaItaly
1332Cahors France
1333StamfordEngland
1336CamerinoItaly
1339GrenobleFrance
1343PisaItaly
1347Prague (Charles University, in German and Czech)Czech Republic
1349FirenzeItaly
1350PerpignanFrance
1354Huesca Spain
1361PaviaItaly
1364CracowPoland
1365OrangeFrance
1365ViennaAustria
1367PécsHungary
1369Lucca Italy
1386HeidelbergGermany
1388CologneGermany
1389ErfurtGermany
1391FerraraItaly
1395BudapestHungary
1396ZadarCroatia

15th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
1402WürzburgGermany
1404TurinItaly
1409LeipzigGermany
1409Aix-en-ProvenceFrance
1412ParmaItaly
1413St AndrewsScotland
1419RostockGermany
1422DoleFrance
1425LeuvenBelgium
1431PoitiersFrance
1432CaenFrance
1434CataniaItaly
1441BordeauxFrance
1450BarcelonaSpain
1451GlasgowScotland
1452ValenceFrance
1453IstanbulTurkey
1454TrierGermany
1456GreifswaldGermany
1457FreiburgGermany
1459BaselSwitzerland
1459IngolstadtGermany
1460NantesFrance
1464BourgesFrance
1465BratislavaHungary
1470VeniceItaly
1471GenoaItaly
1474ZaragozaSpain
1476MainzGermany
1476TübingenGermany
1477UppsalaSweden
1479CopenhagenDenmark
1483Palma, MajorcaSpain
1489SigüenzaSpain
1495Old AberdeenScotland
1498Frankfurt on the OderGermany
1499Alcalá de HenaresSpain
1500ValenciaSpain

List of universities created in the early modern age

16th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
1502WittenbergGermany
1505Seville (Santa María de Jesús)Spain
1506Frankfurt (Oder)Germany
1516Seville Spain
1521ToledoSpain
1526Santiago de CompostelaSpain
1527MarburgGermany
1531GranadaSpain
1534SahagúnSpain
1537LausanneSwitzerland
1538DebrecenHungary
1539NîmesFrance
1540MacerataItaly
1540Oñate Spain
1542BaezaSpain
1544Königsberg Poland, Prussia
1547GandíaSpain
1548ReimsFrance
1548MessinaItaly
1548TournonFrance
1548/9OsunaSpain
c.1550IracheSpain
1550Almagro Spain
1550Osma (Santa Catalina)Spain
1551TortosaSpain
1551National University of San MarcosPeru
1552Orihuela Spain
1553DillingenGermany
1556MilanItaly
1556Prague (Collegium Clementinum)Czech Republic
1556Rome (Gregorianum)Italy
1557/8JenaGermany
1558/9ÉvoraPortugal
1559GenevaSwitzerland
1559NiceFrance
1559/60DouaiFrance
1560MondovìItaly
1562AnconaItaly
1565EstellaSpain
1568BraunsbergPoland
1570OlomoucCzech Republic
1572Pont-à-MoussonFrance
1574OviedoSpain
1574TarragonaSpain
1575LeidenNetherlands
1575/6HelmstedtGermany
1576ÁvilaSpain
1576OstrohUkraine
1577Rome, Collegium Divi Thomae, (Angelicum)Italy
1578PalermoItaly
1579VilniusLithuania
1581Cluj-Napoca, Babeș-Bolyai UniversityPrincipality of Transylvania
1582/3EdinburghScotland
1583OrthezFrance
1585FermoItaly
1585FranekerNetherlands
1585/6GrazAustria
1587El EscorialSpain
1587GironaSpain
1592Valletta (Collegium Melitense)Malta
1592Trinity College DublinIreland
1592FraserburghScotland
1593Marischal CollegeScotland
1594ZamośćPoland
1596/1604SaumurFrance
1598Montauban France
1599VicSpain
1599/1602SedanFrance

17th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
1601/4DieFrance
1603Aix-en-Provence France
1607GiessenGermany
1612/4GroningenNetherlands
1614SolsonaSpain
1615Kyiv (Mohyla Academy)Ukraine
1614/6PaderbornGermany
1617SassariItaly
1617/8MolsheimFrance
1619PamplonaSpain
1620Germany
1620/5SalzburgAustria
1620CagliariItaly
1621StrassburgFrance
1622/3AltdorfGermany
1625MantuaItaly
1629/32OsnabrückGermany
1632Tartu (Dorpat)Estonia
1633Germany
1634IașiMoldavia
1635Trnava Hungary
1636UtrechtNetherlands
1640TurkuFinland
1647/8HarderwijkNetherlands
1648BambergGermany
1652KielGermany
1653DurhamEngland
1654DuisburgGermany
1655NijmegenNetherlands
1657KošiceHungary
1661LvivUkraine
1665PrešovHungary
1666/8LundSweden
1668InnsbruckAustria
1669ZagrebCroatia
1671UrbinoItaly
1671MontbéliardFrance
1674LinzAustria
1685StrasbourgFrance
1691BesançonFrance
1693/4HalleGermany

18th century

RecognizedUniversityModern country
1701La LagunaSpain
1702BreslauPoland
1707IașiRomania
1710Charité (University of Medicine)Germany
1714/7CerveraSpain
1722DijonFrance
1722PauFrance
1724Saint PetersburgRussia
1727CamerinoItaly
1732/4FuldaGermany
1733/7GöttingenGermany
1735RennesFrance
1742/3ErlangenGermany
1745Braunschweig Germany
1748AltamuraItaly
1755MoscowRussia
1760Bützow Germany
1765CorteFrance
1765Freiberg Germany
1768NancyFrance
1769MaltaMalta
1770Berlin Germany
1771MünsterGermany
1772/3ModenaItaly
1773Istanbul Technical UniversityTurkey
1775Clausthal Germany
1777BonnGermany
1781StuttgartGermany
1782Budapest University of Technology and EconomicsHungary