The Arcanum is the advanced division of the University, the premier institution of higher learning in the Four Corners of Civilization. Students who pass the admissions interview are accepted into the University, but only those who demonstrate sufficient aptitude and knowledge are elevated to the Arcanum, where they study the deeper disciplines of sympathy, alchemy, artificing, naming, and other arts. Admission to the Arcanum is granted by the Masters - a council of nine who each oversee a different discipline - and requires passing a gruelling oral examination. Students within the Arcanum hold ranks from E'lir (the lowest) through Re'lar to El'the, with advancement dependent on demonstrating mastery to the Masters. Kvothe's desperate pursuit of admission to the Arcanum, and his turbulent career within it, drives much of the narrative of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear. The institution is equal parts sanctuary and battleground for him - a place of genuine wonder and discovery shadowed by rivalries, politics, and chronic poverty.