A university (from Latin universitas 'a whole') is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines.[1] Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The word university is derived from the Latin phrase universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars".[2] The first universities in Europe were established by Catholic Church monks.[3][4][5][6][7] The University of Bologna (Università di Bologna), Italy, which was founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of:
being a high degree-awarding institute. using the word universitas (which was coined at its foundation). having independence from the ecclesiastic schools and issuing secular as well as non-secular degrees (with teaching conducted by both clergy and non-clergy): grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law, notarial law