The University of Oxford, located in Oxford, England, and also known as Oxford University, is the third oldest university in the world and the oldest British university. The Oxford education system functions on the system of tutorials and essays and is organized around its 38 colleges and 6 halls. This system provides a sense of intimacy within the much larger institution. Often ranked among the top ten universities in the world, it is thought that Oxford was founded by the 11th century although its exact origins are unclear. The University gained much of its power after King Henry II forbade English students from attending the University of Paris.
The University of Cambridge, also known as Cambridge University, was founded when a group of scholars left Oxford to begin their own university in 1209. As such, it is the second oldest university in England and the fourth in the world. Today, as Oxford's main rival, the school is consistently ranked among the top five universities in the world. Like Oxford, Cambridge is organized around a system of individually functioning colleges, which range from Peterhouse, founded in 1284, to Robinson, which was built in the 1970s.
A member of France's "grandes écoles," the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris is often referred to as Sciences Po. With a high percentage of international students, Sciences Po not only trains France's politicians, but also educates lawmakers around the world. Its historical campus, composed of mansions in Paris's left bank area, houses its main programs. Its undergraduate students follow a three-year program (in accordance with the Bologne Process, which was established to standardize European education), in which they spend their third year studying abroad or interning for a related governmental or international organization. The university offers several English-speaking programs in addition to the usual French curriculum.
Officially a misnomer, "The Sorbonne," as it is known in the English-speaking world, technically refers to one of the schools within the University of Paris system. The roots of the University of Paris are ancient, stemming back to the 11th century. However, after student riots and wide protest of the university's organization occurred in the late 1960s, in 1970 the university was reorganized into 13 separate establishments. Today, these schools are informally known as "Paris I," "Paris II," and continue on to Paris XIII. Three schools (Paris I, III, and IV) still keep "Sorbonne" in their titles. The quality of teaching at these establishments remains high, and tuition for the programs (usually taught in French) varies, but normally costs no more than several hundred euros a year. For French-speaking students on a budget searching for quality higher education, the University of Paris offers an excellent range of programs.
The University of Bologna, thought to be the oldest university in the world, currently has an enrollment of around 100,000 students. Believed to have been founded in 1088, the university only began recently to grant the doctoral degree. Known in particular for its law department, the University of Bologna has 23 different campuses including its main campus in Bologna, Italy, with centers in Reggio Emilia, Imola, Revenna, Forli, and even in Buenos Aires.