The sequence .ac (short for ''academia'') is in use in many countries as a

second-level domain In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain (SLD or 2LD) is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). For example, in , is the second-level domain of the TLD. Second-level domains commonly refer to the organ ...

for academic institutions such as

universities A university () 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 the United States, the ...

, colleges, and research institutes. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the nor ...

, for example, academic institutions use domain names ending in .ac.uk and .ac.jp respectively. Many countries use

.edu The domain name .edu is a sponsored top-level domain (sTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The domain was implemented in 1985 for the purpose of creating a domain name hierarchy for organizations with a focus on education, even abl ...

for the same purpose, such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country b ...

(.edu

.au .au is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Australia. It was created on 5 March 1986. Domain name policy is managed by .au Domain Administration (auDA). As of July 2018, the registry is operated by Afilias. History The d ...

) and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

(.edu

.my .my is the Internet country code top-level domain ( ccTLD) for Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eas ...

). Still others do not maintain a second-level domain specifically for academic institutions. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area e ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nethe ...

, for example, each institution will have its own second-level domain (thus sorbonne

.fr .fr is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet for France. It is administered by AFNIC. The domain includes all individuals and organizations registered at the Association française pour le ...

for the Sorbonne, hslu

.ch .ch is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Switzerland in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Made available in 1987, only two years after .com, it is administered by SWITCH Information Technology Services. The domain ''ch'', as ...

for the

Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (german: Hochschule Luzern) (HSLU) is one of seven regional, public-funded universities of applied sciences founded in 1997 in its current form. The University was called University of Applied Scien ...

and tum

.de .de is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Federal Republic of Germany. DENIC (the Network Information Centre responsible for .de domains) does not require specific second-level domains, and there are no official ccSLDs under .d ...

for the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

). In some countries, both .edu and .ac second-level domains exist, differentiating between different types of academic institutions.

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones an ...

, for example, announced in 2006 that it would use .edu

.cn .cn is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the People's Republic of China introduced on 28 November 1990. Domain name administration in mainland China is managed through a branch of the Ministry of Industry and Information. The registr ...

for educational institutions and .ac

for research institutions.China adds top-level domain names
''

People's Daily Online The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language e ...

'', 28 February 2006. Retrieved 24 November 2011.

Countries with .ac as second-level domain for educational institutions

* Austria: ac.at * Bangladesh: ac.bd * Belgium: ac.be * Botswana: ac.bw * China: ac.cn * Costa Rica: ac.cr * Cyprus: ac.cy * Fiji: ac.fj * India: ac.in * Indonesia: ac.id * Iran: ac.ir * Israel: ac.il * Japan: ac.jp * Kenya: ac.ke * Morocco: ac.ma * New Zealand: ac.nz * Papua New Guinea: ac.pg * Rwanda: ac.rw * Serbia: ac.rs * South Africa: ac.za * South Korea: ac.kr * South Sudan: ac.ss * Sri Lanka: ac.lk * Tanzania: ac.tz * Thailand: ac.th * Uganda: ac.ug * United Kingdom: ac.uk * United Arab Emirates: ac.ae * Zambia: ac.zm * Zimbabwe: ac.zw

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ac Second-level domains

Countries with .ac as second-level domain for educational institutions

See also

References