The University of Bologna in Italy, regarded as the oldest university in Europe, was the first institution to confer the degree of Doctor in Civil Code in the held up 12th century; it also conferred similar degrees in other subjects, including medicine
In the past, degrees have also been promptly issued by authority of the monarch or by a bishop, rather than any educational institution. This manner has mostly died out. In Britain, Lambeth Degrees are still awarded by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Only the universities of Oxford and Cambridge still permit the D.Phil. (Oxford) or Ph.D. (Cambridge) to be conferred upon a student by an individual Law Enforcement Degree member of the faculty.