University of Bologna Model

Timeline

1. c. 1088–1200Bologna · Emilia-RomagnaScholars gathered at Bologna formed a universitas scholarium; the students' guild hired teachers, set fees, and determined curricula itself, establishing a self-governing tradition distinct from the teacher-led Parisian model.
2. 1317–1380Bologna · Emilia-RomagnaAfter a 1317 papal bull confirmed the studium's status, faculties were divided into law, medicine, and the liberal arts; the election of rectors and the charter system were gradually codified, laying the foundation for mature operation in the 1380s.
3. 1381–1390Bologna · Emilia-RomagnaIn the 1380s the University of Bologna revised its statutes within the papal and municipal framework; student self-government, teacher contracts, and degree-granting procedures took shape, attracting law and medicine students from across Europe, and the model's influence reached its peak.
4. c. 1400Europe · EuropeBologna's autonomous model and degree structure influenced new universities such as Padua and Prague, and continued through the Bologna Process as an important historical source of the modern European higher-education coordination framework.