Higher education is tertiary education leading to the award of an academic degree. Higher education, which makes up a component of post-secondary, third-level, or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education. It represents levels 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the 2011 version of the International Standard Classification of Education structure. Tertiary education at a nondegree level is sometimes referred to as further education or continuing education as distinct from higher education.
Harvard University, founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636, is the oldest higher education institution in the United States and routinely ranked as one of the best universities in the world.
A post-secondary graduate receives a diploma during a graduation ceremony at Germanna Community College in Virginia.
Deakin University, one of Australia's 43 universities
Established in 1224 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, University of Naples Federico II in Italy is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation.
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as further education in the United Kingdom, or included under the category of continuing education in the United States.
Students attend a linear algebra lecture at a tertiary institution: Helsinki University of Technology
Deakin University, one of Australia's 43 universities
The University of Pennsylvania, an American research university
University of Bologna, established in AD 1088, is the world's oldest university in continuous operation.
