Today, and apparently for a long period of time, society has tended, and still has, to entertain a predisposed idea that a university is associated with a building and However, society does not realize the fact that it is a place of study where the location does not matter because towards the end you always get the same degree than anyone else. In modern periodization, the medieval term for the university was "studium generale", meaning "school of universal learning". The most commonly used term is "univerisitas", which means "the whole". The Oxford Dictionary defines it as “a high-level educational institution in which students study for degrees and where academic research is carried out.” These definitions suggest that a university is a place where various types of students such as graduates or non-graduates and also teachers who come together under one roof, being almost considered as a "university of masters and students ". We can clearly see that it is difficult to rely on traditional terminology to define a university in the full sense of the term. Medieval universities generally consisted of a "community of scholars" who had the power to award degrees to students. The majority of these scholars were monks or priests because between 600 and 1500 AD there was a strict religious hierarchy to create stability within society. This is why the majority of higher education took place in cathedrals or monastic schools. Unlike today, universities in the “Dark Ages” did not have college campuses. They also had no government that would make the majority of decisions. For this reason, the churches which were considered the government as religion at the time had a massive impact on the middle of paper...... Times – The Medieval University' http://www. bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zf384 [Accessed: 16/1/2013]First broadcast: Thursday 17 March 2011 on BBC4 RadioCarolyn Scearce 'Connections between medieval philosophy and modern science - Medieval education and the rise of universities in medieval Europe' http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/medieval/review4.php [Accessed: 16/1/2013]Published: November 2008Extract from “Academic Dress in New Zealand”, 2000, Chap 2: Mediæval Education, by Noel Cox http://www.academicapparel.com/caps/History-College-Education.html [Accessed: 19/1/2013]Starkey, M. (2009) What is a university ? Explaining the Rise of Universities in Medieval Europe, essay on educational studies, March 9, School of Education, University of Northampton, online at: http://www.flowideas.co.uk/index.php?page=contributions&sub= Universities%20-%20Michaela%20Starkey