Ancient university is a term used to describe seven medieval and renaissance universities of the United Kingdom and Ireland that exist today.[1] Six of those universities are currently located in the United Kingdom and one in the Republic of Ireland. The ancient universities in the British Isles are amongst the oldest extant universities in the world.
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The ancient universities in England, Scotland and Ireland are, in order of formation:
| Year | Contemporary location | Current location | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1096 | Kingdom of England | Oxford, England, UK | University of Oxford | Exact date uncertain, teaching existed since 1096 ("There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris."[2]). Teaching suspended in 1209 (due to town execution of two scholars) and 1355 (due to the St. Scholastica riot). All Souls College and University College have repeatedly claimed that they own documents proving that teaching in Oxford started in the year 825, but these documents have never seen the public light (allegedly, John Speed dated his famous 1605 Oxford maps based on these documents). |
| 1209 | Kingdom of England | Cambridge, England, UK | University of Cambridge | Founded by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute caused by the execution of two scholars in 1209. |
| 1413 | Kingdom of Scotland | St Andrews, Scotland, UK | University of St Andrews | Founded by a Papal Bull |
| 1451 | Kingdom of Scotland | Glasgow, Scotland, UK | University of Glasgow | Founded by a Papal Bull |
| 1495 | Kingdom of Scotland | Aberdeen, Scotland, UK | University of Aberdeen | King's College was founded in 1495 by Papal Bull and Marischal College in 1593; they merged in 1860 |
| 1582 | Kingdom of Scotland | Edinburgh, Scotland, UK | University of Edinburgh | |
| 1592 | Kingdom of Ireland | Dublin, Republic of Ireland. | University of Dublin | Trinity College, Dublin[3][4][5] is the only constituent college of the university. |
These universities often find themselves governed in a quite different fashion to more recent additions. The ancient universities of Scotland also share several distinctive features and are governed by arrangements laid down by the Universities (Scotland) Acts.
In addition to these universities, a number of now-obsolete universities were found during this period including the University of Northampton (1261-1265) and the predecessor institutions to the University of Aberdeen founded in 1495 and 1593 (discussed below).
Following the creation of the ancient universities, no more universities were created in the British Isles until the 19th century. Precisely which was the first of these 19th century institutions constitutes the earliest post-ancient university is a matter of debate. In brief, the main university-level foundations after this time are:
The more recent red brick universities of the later 19th century such as the University of Birmingham were soon to follow. Thereafter a number of new universities were formed in the late 20th century, many from the conversion of polytechnical colleges.
The University of Aberdeen is considered an ancient university and was formed by a union, in 1860, of King's College (formally the University and King's College of Aberdeen), founded in 1495, and Marischal College (formally Marischal College and University of Aberdeen), founded in 1593. While both institutions were universities and would be considered ancient in their own right, the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 provided for an ancient form of governance and that:
the said united University shall take rank among the Universities of Scotland as from the date of erection of King’s College and University, viz., the year one thousand four hundred and ninety-four
Aberdeen was unusual at the time by having two universities in one city. As 20th century University of Aberdeen prospectuses observed, this was the same number as existed in all of England at the time (being the period from the founding of Marischal College in 1593, to the founding of the first of the nineteenth-century universities discussed above).
The University of Dundee was established as an independent university by Royal Charter in 1967, but has a long history going back well into the 19th century, being founded as an independent University college in 1881. For most of its existence, Dundee formed a fully incorporated college of the University of St Andrews, known as University College Dundee and Queen's College at various periods.
Dundee shares all organisational features in common with the other ancient universities of Scotland by virtue of its descent through St Andrews, such as awarding the undergraduate MA degree and electing a Rector. Upon attaining its independence, Dundee also gained a number of significant schools from its parent university, including law, dentistry and the main medical school.
As a result, the University of Dundee is usually considered alongside the ancient universities, particularly those in a Scottish context.
The ancient universities are distinctive in offering the Magister Artium/Master of Arts (MA) as an undergraduate academic degree. This is commonly known as the Oxbridge MA, or the Scottish MA.
The ancient MA has some differences between the ancient universities in Scotland and the ancient universities in England and Ireland. The former award the degree at graduation with honours and a final mark, however the latter is awarded without honours and on the basis of a period of good standing as a graduated Bachelor of Arts, usually around three years.
Because MA is in use for the undergraduate Arts degree, the ancient universities award differing titles for their postgraduate masters degrees in the Arts and Humanities such as the taught Master of Letters ("MLitt (T)"). Some confusion can arise between whether such degrees are taught degrees or the most established (and advanced) two year research degrees, although this is often specified.
As mentioned above, the Universities (Scotland) Acts created a distinctive system of governance for the ancient universities in Scotland, the process beginning with the 1858 Act and ending with the 1966 Act. Despite not being founded until after the first in these series of Acts, the University of Dundee shares all the features contained therein.
As a result of these Acts, each of these universities is governed by a tripartite system of General Council, University Court, and Academic Senate.
The chief executive and chief academic is the University Principal who also holds the title of Vice-Chancellor as an honorific. The Chancellor is a titular non-resident head to each university and is elected for life by the respective General Council, although in actuality a good number of Chancellors resign before the end of their 'term of office'.
Each also has a Students' Representative Council as required by statute, although at the University of Aberdeen this has recently been renamed the Students' Association Council.[6]
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