The oldest universities in the world

We have all seen films in which a student runs along a cold stone corridor with a vaulted ceiling of the 15th century with a huge pile of books, or a cheerful flock of students discussing a lecture, sitting on a green meadow in front of the university building, exactly likesimilar to the castle from the book "Harry Potter". Needless to say about the solemn graduation ceremony: black robes, smiles frozen on their faces and an agonizing expectation when it’s just about you can pull off and toss into the air a square cap with a tassel, showing everyone: “Here I am, a successful graduate of a higher educational institution! "These are the clichés that come to mind when we think of the oldest educational institutions. Well, it's time to see if this is really true, how the education and life of students on campus is going on now, and whether there is an opportunity for “mere mortals” to study there.

University of Bologna. Bologna, Italy.

The University of Bologna is one of the oldest permanently operating universities not only in Europe but throughout the world. The official date of foundation is 1088, which means that today the age of the University of Bologna is almost ten centuries! During this time, the university has repeatedly lost and restored its authority. Today it is recognized as the 203 best university in the world, and its oldest, law school, was ranked in the top 50 in the world. Today the university has 86 thousand students, of which only 6% are foreigners. It is relatively easy to get into the Bologna Alma Mater, every second applicant becomes a student. However, it is worth considering the financial side of the issue. Price varies depending on the language and curriculum that the student chooses. Still, there is no need to lose hope, because the University of Bologna is state-owned, which means that training in most specialties is free. In total, the university has 33 faculties and 5 campuses in five different cities: in addition to Bologna, these are Forlì, Cesena, Rimini and Ravenna.

Of course, the university is doing its best to helpto its foreign students, for this purpose, the Unibo Action grant was created, which covers the costs associated with studying at a bachelor's, master's or postgraduate studies. In addition to the university grant, the Italian government will provide social assistance to students whose family earns less than 1,000 euros per month.

Today, the university campus, although it looks like a medieval castle, has the latest technology for research and discovery. Graduating from the University of Bologna, especially with a law degree, means that it will be easy to find work in Europe in the future.

Sorbonne University. Paris, France.

The Sorbonne rightfully bears the title of one of the best and oldest educational institutions in France. It begins its history in the middle of the XIII century - as a theological college, located on the left bank of the Seine. Today, the Sorbonne is not just one university, but many independent educational institutions, whose campuses are scattered throughout Paris. All together they act under one "brand", which allows them to fight the growing competition from private higher education institutions. For example, what are only the Rene Descartes Medical University, the Sorbonne Pantheon and Assass, which deservedly became famous for its law faculty. Notable alumni of the present time are Manuel Waltz, François Hollande, Marc Levy, Nicolas Sarkozy, Christine Lagarde and Nobel Prize winner Albert Föhr.

All educational institutions of the former Sorbonne are public universities, which means that education there is free, but only in French. Although today, due to competition with private universities, more and more programs in English for undergraduate and graduate programs are becoming free. The student is only required to pay the so-called administrative tax, which does not exceed 500 euros per year.It is still worth considering, because Paris is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. For example, a room on the outskirts of Paris can cost 350 (and more!) Euros per month, to say nothing of the central districts and a separate apartment. Dormitories,of course, no one excluded options from the list, but they will not please with their price, it starts from 250 euros per month.

On the other hand, the French government sufficiently cares not only about its own, but also about foreign students, offering various options for benefits, including housing (for example - CAF). Grants and scholarships are also a very affordable option for successful students from different countries.As the saying goes, he who seeks will always find.

University of Oxford. Oxford, England.

By far the most famous university on our list.Oxford University is the sixth best university in the world. For many, getting an education at Oxford remains a pipe dream. Firstly, the admission of applicants is carried out quite strictly: a prospective student must provide his certificate with excellent grades, several letters of recommendation, as well as pass a number of interviews and be confident in English (IELTS - 7 and above). Secondly, education in Oxford, as in all higher educational institutions in Great Britain, is paid, and if this university is the best of the best, to be honest, it is very expensive. So, on average, one year of bachelor's degree in the chosen specialty will cost about 23,000 dollars (we translate into rubles and round off, it turns out 1,355,000 rubles). The money is big, but Oxford fully justifies it, ranking first among employers. This means that the lucky graduate does not feverishly go through possible employment options, but, while studying in the last year, already has several invitations from firms and companies wishing to get a “tidbit”. Here, employers are fighting for the student, not the other way around.

Still, justice exists in this world, and Oxford University certainly has a wide network of grants and scholarships for outstanding students who are willing to submit their projects and ideas for general consideration. As a rule, there is a second option for obtaining a scholarship, not from the university itself, butfrom some funds in their home country that are interested in developing partnerships and investing in the next generation. One of these foundations is The Hill Foundation, which helps students from all over the world.

Charles University. Prague, Czech Republic.

Speaking about the oldest universities in the world, one cannot but mention the university founded by Charles IV himself and named after him.Charles University has been open to students since 1348. Its most famous graduates are: Franz Kafka, Jan Hus, Tomas Garik Masaryk, Rainer Maria Rilke and Albert Einstein himself. Today Charles University is the best and also the most popular educational institution among Russian-speaking applicants in Central Europe.Everything is easy to explain: higher education in the Czech Republic in the Czech language is free, entrance exams are quite simple, and living conditions for students in Prague are very acceptable, compared with other capital cities of Europe. The university has 17 faculties, including the most prestigious law faculties in the Czech Republic and the first medical faculty.

The path to the doors of Charles University is the same for all applicants from the CIS.First, they come to the preparatory one-year courses in the Czech language.Usually, the course programs are selected based on the student's future profession, for example, having decided to enter the Faculty of History, the student will receive, along with the Czech language courses, several lessons per week in medieval and modern history, political science, as well as in psychology and the second chosen language.On this basis, the official courses at Charles University UJOP work. After a year of studying the language, the student receives a certificate of the level of proficiency in Czech, with which he can submit his documents to different universities, their number is not limited, however, for each submission you will have to pay the state.duty. The results of the USE and other final tests after secondary school are invalid, each university has its own entrance exams, as a rule, they are very different from each other in form and in the way they are conducted:somewhere you will be asked to write an essay, somewhere a test, and somewhere you will have to pass an interview. This approach makes the applicant, while preparing, it is not easy to click test tasks one after another, but to really plunge into the studied area, while gaining deeper knowledge.

Jagiellonian University. Krakow, Poland.

Although today the Jagiellonian University is not one of the leading universities in Europe, but rather remains in the distant outskirts of its eastern part, its former glory still resounds in its name. Opened in the middle of the 14th century, it was and is the largest research and training center in Poland. Today the university has 15 faculties and provides training in 200 specialties. Like Charles, the Jagiellonian University accepts a large number of applicants from the CIS countries every year, because in Poland, like in the Czech Republic, higher education at a public university is free if you study in the language of this state. This is what many students use: the language is Slavic, a student who speaks Russian can learn it in a year.

Each of these universities has a big name that has migrated from mouth to mouth.Each has its own world-famous graduates. And everyone is waiting for you - gifted, self-confident and motivated future students.

2022-01-14 07:17:08
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