The earliest universities – Bologna, Paris and Oxford – arose organically from concentrations of schools in those cities rather than being created by charters.

Most universities founded prior to 1992 were created by royal charter, although a small number were established by acts of Parliament.

[6] Oxford and Cambridge were formally incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1571 and are civil, rather than chartered, corporations.

[4] Three of the ancient universities of Scotland (St Andrews, Glasgow and Aberdeen) were established by papal bulls, while Edinburgh was founded by the town corporation under authority granted to it by a royal charter.

[15] The United States service (military) academies are not chartered as they are agencies of the federal government itself.