.ac (second-level domain)
The sequence .ac (short for academia) is in use in many countries as a second-level domain for academic institutions such as universities, colleges, and research institutes.[1] In the United Kingdom and Japan, for example, academic institutions use domain names ending in .ac.uk and .ac.jp respectively.
Many countries use .edu for the same purpose, such as Australia (.edu.au) and Malaysia (.edu.my). Still others do not maintain a second-level domain specifically for academic institutions. In France, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, for example, each institution will have its own second-level domain (thus sorbonne.fr for the Sorbonne, hslu.ch for the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and tum.de for the Technical University of Munich).
In some countries, both .edu and .ac second-level domains exist, differentiating between different types of academic institutions. China, for example, announced in 2006 that it would use .edu.cn for educational institutions and .ac.cn for research institutions.[2]
See also
- .co (second-level domain)
- .edu, top-level domain for accredited post-secondary educational U.S. institutions
- .ac, country code top-level domain for Ascension Island; used by some academic institutions due to its similarity to .ac second-level domains
References
- ↑ David Gray; Colin Griffin, Tony Nasta (2000). Training to Teach in Further and Adult Education. Nelson Thornes. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-7487-3366-8.
- ↑ China adds top-level domain names, People's Daily Online, 28 February 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- Sarajane Brock (November 2006). "New requests for an ac.uk Domain". JANET (UK). Archived from the original on 5 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-17.