‘Poeta laureata’: Anna Maria van Schurman, de eerste studente in 1636 is the Utrecht Lecture I held at Stellenbosch university to celebrate the renewing of the bond between Utrecht University and Stellenbosch University. I spell ‘poeta laureata’ instead of the right ‘poeta laureatus’ to stress the importance of Van Schurman as the first female university student. The criteria for being a student in the 17th century are quite different than nowadays, the main criterium being the attendance of classes.
