Medieval university (Asia)

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Medieval universities did not exist in Asia in the strict sense of the phrase. However, there were important centres of learning that can be compared to the universities of Europe. It must be noted that unlike the European universities, non-western institutions of higher learning were not autonomous corporations of scholars and were never known to issue degrees to their graduates and therefore do not meet what many hold to be the technical definition of university. This does not, however, bar their importance to the history of non-western cultures.

One of the most important Asian centres of learning was Nalanda, which had been established by the 5th century BC, in Bihar, India. The second century Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna was based there.

Nanjing University and Southeast University (Imperial Nanjing Institut) were founded in 258 in China. There were several other universities, called Guozijian, in ancient China.

In Persia, one notable institution was the Academy of Gundishapur.

In the Near East, such as the Islamic Al-Azhar University in Cairo, founded in 988.

In Vietnam, the Quoc Tu Giam (國子監, literally "National University"), functioned for more than 700 years, from 1076 to 1779.