Historic Universities Quiz: 10 Questions That Test What You Know

This historic universities quiz covers Bologna, Oxford, Cambridge, Al-Qarawiyyin, Al-Azhar, the Sorbonne, Salamanca and Harvard. Ten questions test what you know about the world's oldest places of higher learning and how they began.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Morocco
Which institution in Fez, founded in 859, is often called the oldest existing university?
Italy
Which is the oldest university in the Western world, founded in 1088?
England
Which is the oldest university in the English-speaking world?
England
Cambridge was founded in 1209 by scholars leaving which town?
Egypt
Which Cairo university, founded around 970, is a center of Islamic learning?
India
Which ancient Buddhist university in Bihar attracted students from across Asia?
France
The Sorbonne was founded in 1257 by whom?
USA
Which is the oldest university in the United States?
Spain
Which Spanish university is the oldest still operating in Spain?
Scotland
Which is Scotland's oldest university?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which institution in Fez, founded in 859, is often called the oldest existing university?
Answer: Al-Qarawiyyin
It was founded by Fatima al-Fihri, a wealthy merchant's daughter who funded a mosque and school.
Q2: Which is the oldest university in the Western world, founded in 1088?
Answer: University of Bologna
Bologna grew from student guilds that hired teachers of law.
Q3: Which is the oldest university in the English-speaking world?
Answer: Oxford
Teaching at Oxford existed by 1096 and grew quickly after 1167.
Q4: Cambridge was founded in 1209 by scholars leaving which town?
Answer: Oxford
A dispute with townspeople drove scholars to move to Cambridge.
Q5: Which Cairo university, founded around 970, is a center of Islamic learning?
Answer: Al-Azhar
Al-Azhar remains one of the most respected institutions in the Sunni Muslim world.
Q6: Which ancient Buddhist university in Bihar attracted students from across Asia?
Answer: Nalanda
Nalanda flourished from the 400s until its destruction around 1200.
Q7: The Sorbonne was founded in 1257 by whom?
Answer: Robert de Sorbon
It began as a college for poor theology students.
Q8: Which is the oldest university in the United States?
Answer: Harvard
Harvard was founded in 1636 and named after donor John Harvard.
Q9: Which Spanish university is the oldest still operating in Spain?
Answer: University of Salamanca
It received its royal charter in 1218.
Q10: Which is Scotland's oldest university?
Answer: St Andrews
St Andrews was founded around 1413.

Historic Universities Quiz – Centers of Learning

Universities grew from older traditions of scholarship in monasteries, mosques, temples and royal courts. Places like Nalanda in India, Al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco and Al-Azhar in Egypt taught students long before the first European universities appeared, drawing scholars from far away.

In Europe, universities emerged in the 1000s and 1100s. Bologna began as an association of students, Paris as a guild of teachers and Oxford and Cambridge as communities of scholars studying theology, law, medicine and the liberal arts in Latin.

Over the centuries, universities spread worldwide and broadened their subjects to include science, engineering and the humanities. Their old buildings, traditions and gowns still recall medieval roots, even as modern universities lead research in every field.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for students and history fans exploring the world's oldest universities.

Which university is often called oldest
Who founded Al-Qarawiyyin
How Cambridge began
What Nalanda was
Which US university is oldest

Did You Know?

Padua taught Galileo for 18 years.
Coimbra is Portugal's oldest university.
Heidelberg is Germany's oldest university.
The word university comes from Latin universitas.
Women were admitted to Oxford degrees in 1920.