St. Thomas Aquinas University (Spanish: Universidad de Santo Toms de Aquino; today the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, Universidad Autnoma de Santo Domingo, UASD), is arguably the first institution of higher education in the Americas. It was founded by papal bull in 1538 in Santo Domingo, in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, present-day Dominican Republic, although it didn't have the official certification by the king of Spain until 1558. The headquarters of the university was the Church and Convent of los Dominicos. It was closed in 1801 and in 1823, being reopened as a new iteration in 1914.

A university (from Latin universitas 'a whole') is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in different schools or faculties of learning.

The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars".The first universities were created in Europe by Catholic Church monks. The University of Bologna (Università di Bologna), founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of:

Being a high degree-awarding institute.

Having independence from the ecclesiastic schools, although conducted by both clergy and non-clergy.

Using the word universitas (which was coined at its foundation).

Issuing secular and non-secular degrees: grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law, notarial law.