The Academy

This topic was written using the Doctor as an example:

Though we know quite a bit about The Doctor's school years, we have no indication of his age when his formal education began, or of how he came to be accepted at the Academy. His professors included Borusa, the future chancellor and President, who taught math, telepathy, and emotional detachment, and Azmael, whom he considered his best teacher. Another teacher, whose identity is unknown, was the only person who understood artron energy, a form of mental power which is an important part of operating a TARDIS. His classmates included the man we know only as The Master, who earned a higher degree in Cosmic Science, Runcible, who became a broadcaster for the Public Register, Drax, who became a wanderer with a tendency to get into trouble with the authorities, and the woman whom we know as The Rani, a brilliant biochemist who's the same age as The Doctor. The Doctor belonged to the Prydonian chapter, whose members are said to be devious, and his school nickname was Theta Sigma. He and The Master enjoyed building "time flow analogues" to disrupt each other's experiments. The Doctor's hobbies included backgammon and chess. The Academy taught a wide range of courses, and The Doctor seems to have taken most of them. He has a broad knowledge of law, particularly Gallifreyan law. He studied art, architecture, pharmacology, and history. He is an expert on power sources, who specialized in thermodynamics. He's a scientist and engineer who's described himself as being qualified in "practically everything", though he admits that he knows very little about quasitronics. There are several indications that he didn't really apply himself at school, such as Borusa telling him that he'd "never amount to anything in the galaxy" with his "propensity for vulgar facetiousness", and his companion, Romana, stating that he'd "scraped through with 51%" on his second attempt at passing his finals. Nevertheless, he graduated from The Academy in the class of '92. Since, as far as we know, the lower classes of Gallifrey cannot regenerate their bodies, and do not possess the "Time Lord gift" which allows one to understand alien languages, it seems likely that The Doctor underwent the processes which enable both of these as part of his graduation ceremonies.

Field Trips: Judging from references made by The Doctor and other Time Lords, it seems that courses at The Academy include field trips in time and space. One of Gallifrey's Castellans is quite familiar with the various styles of architecture which The Doctor mentions (The Invasion of Time), and Romana and The Doctor once discuss the best museums in the universe. These are some of the places and events The Doctor has mentioned which he visited on these field trips. During this period, of course, The Doctor merely witnessed these events, rather than actively participating (which would certainly have been forbidden).

Architecture: The Doctor has studied the architecture of low-gravity planets (The Krotons); he saw Peruvian cities constructed by the Exxilons, as well as other examples of the 700 Wonders of the Universe; he has visited the Pharos Lighthouse, and is familiar with lighthouses on Gallifrey; he's seen the architecture of Quasar Five, Riga, and the Sinian Empire; he visited Heathrow Airport during the rebuilding of Terminal 3; he also studied the works of Kroagnon, the so-called "Great Architect", including Golden Dream Park, the Bridge of Perpetual Motion, and Miracle City.

Engineering: The Doctor's seen several types of refinery technology; he's quite familiar with mining technology; he has seen hydrogen plants "built along typical Scott-Bailey principles"; he saw moving mines which were similar to sandminers on Korlano-Beta; he has "empirical knowledge" in the engineering of planetary relocation.

Fine Arts Museums: The Doctor visited during his studies include the Academius Stolaris on Sirius 5, the Solarium Panatica on Stricium, and the Braxiatel Collection; he's familiar enough with several major works of art from Earth that he made holographic duplicates of them to disguise an ancillary power station in the TARDIS.

History: The Doctor witnessed the Big Bang (Destiny of the Daleks, Terminus, The Curse of Fenric); he was at the battle of Agincourt; in the 21st century he saw entire planetary populations destroyed by the drug Vraxoin; he visited the 28th century, and learned of the INEER space organization; he's been to the 30th century, knows of the pollution of Earth, and recognizes technology from the era.