I have several questions about the university in Tortall. First of all, is it for Gifted mages only, or do they teach wildmages or people with the Sight as well? Do you need to have magic at all to attend? Also, how do you get in, and how old do you need to be to get in? How old are you when you leave? What kind of subjects are taught? Sorry if this is kind of random, it's for a RPG I'm thinking of creating. Thanks!

Jon and Thayet created the Royal University as a rival/antedote for the Carthaki University (which pulls powerful mages to their enemy's lands and has a chance to gain them as allies) and the City of the Gods (which is religious. And while Tammy doesn't have religious wars, she does have religious fanaticism. And Thom. And the Twitchy Evil Guy from POTS).

I imagine it's both magical and academic, so Gifted/Wild Mages/Sight/Shamanistic (Speaking of which, what about the school of the Bazhir? What's happened to it? It was supposed to become a big deal) would probably all attend. Other than that, I imagine if you take from the Carthaki University and the culture/age of Tortall, you can make up whatever you want.

Moonlightrider

I think the royal university is rather like a modern-day university. They probably accept anyone who qualifies and is strong enough academically, so I don't think magic is required. I'm not sure how old you need to be to get in - I seem to remember reading that Numair was at the Carthaki univesity for ten years and left before his twenty-first birthday, which would mean he was eleven or so when he entered. And I would guess you left whenever your training in whatever field you studied was complete.

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I think it's something like the Carthaki one. Didn't they have something about weaving, or farming, or something?

The Royal University is actually mostly academic, though there are schools for healing which teach both magic and academics, and a school for mages. You can enter if you pass the examinations, which means between the ages of 14 and 16 for most people.

Most programs end with a scholar's degree at about four years, but again, you have to pass examinations. You can stay on for a Master's degree for advanced scholarship if you want to teach on the university level there or at other schools, but a scholar's degree is enough to get you work teaching at royal schools or employment at libraries where they value scholarship; a two-year instructor's degree is enough to get you work as a tutor with the right recommendations. That's all the Brain Train stuff--the engineering instruction, healer's instruction, and mage instruction is good for real work. And they sometimes swap instructors and do inter-school year abroad with the universities in Carthak and Udayapur. I think with the Yamani marriage there's even talk of an exchange program with the Yamani university.

The Bazhir school is flourishing, but it's mobile, like the Bazhir. Some scholars are invited to come and lecture, and some actually stay; some Bazhir come to the university to study. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it isn't happening!

Tammy

“No person is your friend who demands your silence.”
Alice Walker