2. University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is one of the oldest English-speaking universities.
It can lay claim to nine centuries of documented existence.
According to the university's Web site, there is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris. Except for St Hilda's -- which continues to remain an all-women college -- all of Oxford's 39 colleges now admit both men and women.