Education in the Northlands

>"Well, I ain't never though much of those academies and mage schools, but since you wanted to know, here is the low-down..."

Universities

College of Rockport, Rockport, Watersdowne
Formerly a preeminent college in Cassenland, the College of Rockport has now entirely been turned over to the Uhlmanite Church. It serves as a religious training institution for Uhlmanite priests and paladins and neglects general education.
Freuhaven University, Freuhaven
Freuhaven is home to one of the most extensive universities in the Northlands, and is most famous for its Great Library and College of Magical Arts. It is divided into the College of Philosophical Arts, the College of Professional Arts, and the College of Magical Arts (which is a semi-autonomous entity run in cooperation with the Esteemed Guild of Magecraft).
Institutes for Advanced Learning, Gran Lausanne
The King's College, Westmarch, Cassenddy
Originally a small academy for the children of nobles, the King's College expanded greatly during the peaceful reign of King Adolphus, in the middle of the 11th century. The College is now made up of several specialized units, including the College of Law, located in the High City, which is currently the only such school in the Northlands. The College of Law boasts an impressive law library, several courtrooms, and a staff of highly credentialed professors, nearly half of them priests and wizards. In addition to the courtroom, which occasionally hears civil suits, the college offers lectures and a few short-term classes for non-students. The main campus also has Colleges of Humanities & Arts, and Engineering & Science. The original academy, which offers a broad-based liberal arts education, is still officially King's College, although it is informally known just as Kings.
Marblehead University, Marblehead
Quedlinberg College, Quedlinberg, Medinine
Royal Academies, Rel Eldora and Rylkennen, Cassenddy
Tubringen University, Tubringen, Cassenddy
A small college located on the shores of the Great Star Lake in southeastern Cassenddy, Tubringen is a very famous and old college that offers degrees not in vocational areas but in philosophy and the liberal arts; learning for the sake of knowledge. Tubringen sages are in great demand the world round, but few wish to leave this quaint small university town.
University of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg, Shennendam
The University of Fredericksburg is a very small university that is renown for its history and magical theory departments.
University of the Marvent, Karming
The University of the Marvent is one of the foremost research institutions in the Northlands for nonmagical technology. Current studies include the use of steam and flying devices. The University is divided up into five Institutes, each of which is dedicated to a different technology.

Magic Academies

Freuhaven University, College of Magical Arts, Freuhaven: Regent Jondar Khelben
Imperial Academy of Magecraft, Stephanopolis, Ullysia
The Imperial Academy is best known for its School of Illusion.
Royal Academy, Mages' College, Rel Eldora, Cassenddy
The Mages' College is a premier location to study magic because of its close affiliation with the Rel Eldora Ducal House, House Prysclan, which has produced a long line of great mages.
University of Fredericksburg, Department of Magical Theory, Fredericksburg, Shennendam

Studying the Art of War

Academae Chivalrae, Pummelford, Swordslands
Imperial College of War, Stephanopolis, Ullysia

Bardic Colleges

Arkenstone, Medinine: Grand Master Bard Warnes Starcoate
The Arkenstone Bardic College is the smallest and most reclusive and secretive of the three Bardic Colleges. Invitation to study is only at the Grand Master Bard's convenience and few get this honor. Little is known about some of the strange rituals that accompany study here.
Caithess, Sancerre
Stephanopolis, Ullysia
The Ullysian College encompasses the unique storytelling methods of the desert tribes, as well as the rare High Ullysian court rhyme.

A strict structure has been in place for many centuries regarding the education and advancement of bards. There are three Bardic Colleges - in Arkenstone, Medinine; in Caithess, Sancerre; and in Stephanopolis, Ullysia. Each College consists of Master Bards as teachers, who are, in turn, presided over by a Grand Master Bard. Entrants are accepted starting at age fifteen, and twelve years of study are required to earn the title of 'Bard'. Upon reaching this stage, a bard can leave the College to pursue a career in the world or they can study for further advancement. If a Master Bard retires or dies or the Grand Master Bards agree to add more Master Bards, regular Bards can apply for the vacant position. After passing a rigorous test administered by Master Bards, the candidates must engage and defeat the most-recently-elected Master Bard in a Bardic Contest. The Contest can involve anything from riddles to storytelling to songs and is presided over by a panel of five Master Bard judges.
Once a bard has become a Master Bard, they must study for a minimum of 24 more years and teach at two of the three Bardic Colleges before they can challenge a Grand Master Bard to a Bardic Contest. The other two Grand Master Bards must agree that the candidate is qualified to become a Grand Master. A panel of the two other Grand Master Bards and five Master Bards from the College in question presides over this Bardic Contest. If the five Master Bards reach an unanimous decision, their vote is worth 3 votes. If, however, they cannot reach an agreement, the majority vote is worth 1 vote. The Grand Master Bards' votes are each worth one vote. A simple majority is needed to win the Contest. This Contest is taken very seriously, and only one bard's doubt is required to declare the Contest null and start a new one. In one case, Grand Master Bard Elgewin of Tymor wanted to retire and pass on the title to a younger bard, so he easily lost to his successor. The judges, however, saw through this and decided in Elgewin's favor, leaving him in power for five more years!