Changes

A key development occurred in the founding of the University of Naples, founded in 1224. It was founded as a public institution dedicated to a king rather than the pope or Catholic church. Some see this as the beginning of developing the concept of secular education, although virtually all higher education institutions had religious curriculum as part of their broader education. In Germany, where many cities developed very independent traditions, we see municipalities and municipal governments being active in universities' founding. This is the case with the University of Cologne, founded in 1388.<ref>For more on public universities' development, see: Nicholas, David. 1992. The Evolution of the Medieval World: Society, Government, and Thought in Europe, 312-1500. London ; New York: Longman.</ref>

By the late Medieval and Early Modern Period, the number of universities began to grow rapidly in Europe, whereby in the 18th century, there were probably around 143 universities. This does not include other forms of higher education institutions that did not call themselves universities, such as academies. The University of Paris began to develop the idea of faculties that differentiated areas of study. The topics of focus that began to develop in universities were philosophy. The traditional title for PhDs is philosophy, medicine, logic, theology, law, mathematics, astronomy, and grammar. These branches of study were seen to be related to a humanistic perspective, as many required translation of ancient works in addition to a focus on the discipline.<ref>For more on the early modern universities, see: Kirwan, Richard, and Jonathan Davies. 2013. Scholarly Self-Fashioning and Community in the Early Modern University. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate.</ref>