, mottoeng = Learning is success , established = 1897 (as Paisley College of Technology)
1992 (granted university status)
2007 (renamed to UWS) , former_names = Paisley College of Technology, Paisley College, University of Paisley, Bell College of Technology, Bell College, Craigie College of Education , type =

Public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

, endowment = , administrative_staff = 1,300 , faculty = , principal = Professor James Miller , rector = , chancellor = Dr Yekemi Otaru , head_label = Chairman of the Court , head = Waiyin Hatton , students = () , undergrad = () , postgrad = () , doctoral = , city = Paisley,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, country = United Kingdom , campus = Multiple , free_label = , free = , colours = Red, black and white , mascot = Francesca the Phoenix (Sports Union), Burnie the Pyro (American Football), Wolfie Wolf (Rugby) , affiliations =

Million+ MillionPlus, formerly known as million+, the Campaign for Mainstream Universities, and the Coalition of Modern Universities (CMU), is a membership organisation, which aims to promote the role of " modern universities" in the UK higher education sys ...

Scottish Universities Physics Alliance

Universities UK Universities UK (UUK) is an advocacy organisation for universities in the United Kingdom. It began life in the early 20th century through informal meetings of vice-chancellors of a number of universities and principals of university colleges and ...

EUA , website = , logo = University of the West of Scotland Logo.svg , native_name_lang = gd The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...

with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley,

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

and

, as well as a campus in

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. The present institution dates from August 2007, following the merger of the University of Paisley with

Bell College Bell College was a higher education college based in Hamilton and Dumfries in Scotland. Founded in 1972, the College merged with the University of Paisley on 1 August 2007, it is now part of the renamed University of the West of Scotland. Hist ...

. It can trace its roots to the late 19th century, and has undergone numerous name changes and mergers over the last century, reflecting its gradual expansion throughout the west of Scotland region. The university currently has students, with approximately 1300 staff, spread across four schools of learning. The

Crichton Campus The Crichton is an institutional campus in Dumfries in southwest Scotland. It serves as a remote campus for the University of Glasgow, the University of the West of Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway College, and the Open University. The site als ...

is maintained in partnership with a number of other institutions, including the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

History

Origins of the University of Paisley

Paisley Campus - At the time of the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

, Paisley was renowned for thread weaving. The Coats mill was run by two brothers, Peter and

Thomas Coats Thomas Coats (1809–1883) was a Scottish thread manufacturer. Life Coats was born at Paisley 18 October 1809. He was the fourth of a family of ten sons. His father, James Coats, was one of the founders of the Coats Group of Paisley. In ...

. These men, children of the

Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment ( sco, Scots Enlichtenment, gd, Soillseachadh na h-Alba) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century ...

had liberal ideals and became noted

philanthropists Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. As members of the Philosophical Institution, founded in 1808 the Coats donated a museum and library to the town, funded the building of the Coats observatory and promoted education throughout Paisley. The Philosophical Institution, helped establish the School of Arts in 1836, which become a Government School of Design in 1846, one of twenty similar institutions established in UK manufacturing centres from 1837 to 1851. They were set up to improve the quality of the country's product design through training in design for industry. Peter Coats was director of both Paisley Philosophical Institution and the Government School of Design. Later, the Design schools were renamed Schools of Art, and once again as Schools of Art and Science. In 1897

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and highe ...

laid the foundation stone of a grand new building for the college. The design was the winner of an architectural competition and partially funded by local industrialists (Peter Brough, and Thomas Coats both contributed). By the start of the twentieth century, Paisley Technical College and School of Art, (as it was known from 1904) was a centre for teaching the

University of London External Programme The University of London Worldwide (previously called the University of London International Academy) is the central academic body that manages external study programmes within the collegiate university, federal University of London. All courses ...

. Perhaps the most famous principal of the college was

Lewis Fry Richardson Lewis Fry Richardson, FRS (11 October 1881 – 30 September 1953) was an English mathematician, physicist, meteorologist, psychologist, and pacifist who pioneered modern mathematical techniques of weather forecasting, and the application of si ...

, FRS principal from 1922 to 1940. A mathematician, physicist,

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

, psychologist and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

who pioneered modern mathematical techniques of weather forecasting, as well as the application of similar techniques to studying war. He also carried out ground breaking work on fractals. Throughout the first half of the century the institution had a financial struggle. After the second world war Central Institution status provided a regular Government income but unfortunately also meant closing the school of Art, and ceding students to

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

. The new entity thus became Paisley College of Technology; a Government funded Central Institution in 1950. In the 1960s a large physical expansion took place alongside the Neo-Classical original building on the main 20 acre (81,000 m²) Paisley town centre site. At the time Paisley, in common with other Central Institutions and the former Polytechnics, already offered a range of degrees under the

Council for National Academic Awards The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993. Background The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Com ...

. With the

Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been ...

, the Paisley College of Technology was granted the title University of Paisley and was established as a university with a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

and degree awarding powers.

University of Paisley merger with Craigie College of Education, Ayr

Ayr Campus - UWS, Ayr Campus

The establishment of the University of Paisley prompted a merger with Craigie College of Education in Ayr in 1993, and led to the incorporation of nursing colleges in the town. The Ayr Campus was operated by the University of Paisley before the merger that established UWS. Set in of the old parkland of Craigie House bordering the River Ayr, the campus also houses the West of Scotland Management Centre, the Business School's management training and development facility. In August 2011, a new campus for the university in Ayr opened on a riverside site adjacent to the previous campus. It is shared with the

Scotland's Rural College Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organis ...

University of the West of Scotland

On 1 August 2007, the University of Paisley merged with Bell College, Hamilton. On 30 November 2007, the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

approved the name University of the West of Scotland for the merged institution. The name change was resisted by many in Paisley, seeing it as a break with tradition and the connections binding the previous university to the town. The 'Keep It Paisley' campaign attracted a number of supporters, amongst them local MP and then

Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the Unit ...

Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as S ...

. Today the University of the West of Scotland has over 15,000 students and remains one of Scotland's largest ' new universities'.

New Lanarkshire Campus

Lanarkshire Campus -
The Hamilton campus was previously based at Almada Street,

Hamilton, South Lanarkshire Hamilton ( sco, Hamiltoun; gd, Baile Hamaltan ) is a large town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It serves as the main administrative centre of the South Lanarkshire council area. It sits south-east of Glasgow, south-west of Edinburgh and nort ...

previously known

of Technology, before its merger with the University of Paisley Following extensive consultation with the local authority, stakeholders, students and staff about the future of the Hamilton campus, UWS announced plans to relocate to the new UWS Lanarkshire Campus at ''Hamilton International Technology Park'' (HITP), within the neighbouring town of

, off the A725 bypass road near to

West Craigs West Craigs is the name given to two separate areas of Scotland: *A suburb on the western periphery of Edinburgh, south-east of Edinburgh Airport and close to The Gyle Shopping Centre, Gogar, Maybury and Edinburgh Gateway station. *A modern re ...

. The Almada Street campus closed and the HITP campus opened in September 2018.

Dumfries Campus

The University's Dumfries campus is a small multi-institution facility located within the Crichton estate, a historic 85-acre parkland estate two miles from the centre of Dumfries. The campus has state-of-the-art learning facilities and currently operates across five historic buildings. A range of flexible full and part-time study opportunities are offered. The University claims that students benefit from 'small class sizes, low staff: student ratios and a supportive study environment.' The Crichton University Campus in Dumfries is the result of a joint project between the University of the West of Scotland, the University of Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway College and the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

. The campus mainly offers business, computing and, since the merger with Bell College, nursing courses. Established in 1999 to provide a hub for higher education in the south-west of Scotland, the Crichton Campus has helped the regeneration of the

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

economy.

London Campus

The London Campus is currently located in the

East India Dock The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the We ...

area of

London Docklands London Docklands is the riverfront and former docks in London. It is located in inner east and southeast London, in the boroughs of London Borough of Southwark, Southwark, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets, London Borough of ...

. It was launched in March 2016 and provides UWS degree and postgraduate programmes to the international student population in London..

Organisation

The University of the West of Scotland is organised into four schools: * School of Business and Creative Industries * School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences * School of Education and Social Sciences * School of Health and Life Sciences The university offers over 100-degree courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and has a rapidly growing number of doctoral students. It also carries out research and consultancy work for industry, and is ranked second in Scotland for the number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with businesses. The university attained Skillset Media Academy status in August 2010. Many courses at the University of the West of Scotland have an emphasis on vocational skills and offer students the option of spending a year working in industry at home or abroad. The university has also worked with NHS Ayrshire and Arran resulting in a partnership in 2012 in the renaming of Ayr Hospital to

University Hospital Ayr University Hospital Ayr is a general hospital on the outskirts of Ayr, Scotland. It covers a catchment area of approximately 100,000 people in South Ayrshire and is managed by NHS Ayrshire and Arran. History The hospital, which replaced the A ...

and Crosshouse Hospital to

University Hospital Crosshouse University Hospital Crosshouse, known locally as Crosshouse Hospital or simply Crosshouse is a large district general hospital at Crosshouse near Kilmarnock, Scotland. It provides services to the North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire areas and is man ...

. Its partnership with the

Gaiety Theatre, Ayr The Gaiety Theatre is a category B listed performing arts venue in Ayr, Scotland. It is noted for its interior rococo features, its atmosphere and its acoustics. Early history The Ayr Gaiety was built in 1902, reconstructed after a fire in 19 ...

has established Scotland's first 'Learning Theatre'.

Rankings and reputation

University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has been named the top young higher education institution in Scotland in the prestigious

THE World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...

2020 league table. The university retains its place with in the 101-150 division of the Times Higher Education Young University Rankings. UWS is Scotland's leading university for widening access to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. UWS is also a sector leader in course articulation, and is committed to articulating over 1,200 students with advanced standing each year. The university has the 4th highest level of student satisfaction in Scotland in the 2020 Complete University Guide The university is ranked second in the United Kingdom for Education in the 2020 Complete University Guide.

Student life

Student accommodation

The university has a number of

halls of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, ranging from modern en-suite/studio flats at Ayr Campus to furnished flats within Paisley. Students at Dumfries may apply for a place within the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

managed accommodation at the Crichton. In September 2012, the new £13.2 million on-campus Paisley student residence opened situated next to the library.

Student associations

Students' Association of the University of the West of Scotland (SAUWS)

The Students' Association of the University of the West of Scotland is officially the recognised student organisation across the university. The organisation exists to campaign on students' issues, to improve learning and teaching at UWS, to offer advice and support to students, to organise events and activities, and to enable societies across all campuses. The majority of the Student Groups and Societies are available to Scottish-based UWS campuses and are run by students for students. These include religious, political and social societies as well as course-based groups. There are also a collection of liberation groups and peer support groups, which exist to counter under-represented and oppressed sections of the student body. SAUWS operates Union bars at their Paisley and Ayr locations, where they host various events and activities including quiz nights and karaoke. In 2016 SAUWS won the NUS Scotland award "Higher Education Student Association of the Year". This was awarded due to the organisations work and campaigns such as ''Keep UWS in Hamilton'', the ''Summer Safety Net'' campaign, and its work developing services for students. SAUWS was awarded "University Students' Association of the Year" by NUS Scotland once again in 2020.

Crichton University Campus Student Association (CUCSA)

Crichton University Campus Student Association also serves students at the Dumfries Campus. For students at Dumfries, CUCSA has a more limited range of sports and societies on offer and CUCSA is currently working with students to produce a new Netball club, both Boys and Girls Football clubs and an improved Riding Club.

Radio

The Ayr Campus is also home to the university's student radio station UWS Radio. It broadcasts on DAB, 87.7FM to the campus and online. The station has interviewed greats such as

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

from

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and

Jesse Rae Jesse Rae (born 1951) is a Scottish singer and composer from St Boswells in Scotland. Career In the 1970s Rae moved to the US securing work as a runner in the New York Stock Exchange to fund his stay. Through work in Cleveland and Los Angeles ...

Sports

Sporting affairs are regulated by TeamUWS, the Sports and Societies branch of the main Students Association headed by the Sports President. There are a large number of varied clubs, including Aikido, Basketball, Curling and Snowsports who regularly compete in

BUCS British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

and

Scottish Student Sport Scottish Student Sport (SSS) formed in June 2005 as Scottish Universities Sport is the professional body for delivery and furthering of sports at university and college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institutio ...

competitions. Students who join one of the sports clubs affiliated with the university must also join the Sports Union. However, there are also regular classes and drop-in sessions for various sports which are non-competitive and available to all university gym members. The university operates two sports centres across the west of Scotland, Robertson Trust Sports Centre at Thornly Park Campus in Paisley and Hamilton Leisure Centre on site on Hamilton Campus. The university, as the University of Paisley, has also had a number of previous clubs including

Ice Hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

Shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

Gaelic Football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and Ice Sports. There have been attempts in recent years to resurrect these teams, most notably the Paisley IcePanthers, the university's former ice hockey team in 2008 by Finnish and German students, but due to lack of interest the club never happened. The most successful of all the resurrections was the American Football team. The Paisley College of Technology/University of Paisley Panthers American Football played between the

1989–90 British Collegiate American Football League The 1989–90 BCAFL was the fifth full season of the British Collegiate American Football League, organised by the British Students American Football Association. Changes from Last season Division Changes *The Southern Conference was split into ...

and the 1996–97 British Collegiate American Football League seasons until the club rejoined as the University of Paisley Pyros at the start of the 2004–05 British Collegiate American Football League season. TeamUWS competes in the East vs West varsity competition against

Edinburgh Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

in the sports of American

Flag Football Flag football is a variant of American football where, instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier ("deflagging") to end a Down (gridiron football), down. The sport has a ...

, Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Netball, Rugby and Volleyball which is at the moment the biggest sport club (2017). In the 2013/2014 competition the hockey games were cancelled due to location and weather difficulties. According to the Scottish Daily Record, it is rumoured that

South Ayrshire Council South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

is considering giving the dated Dam Park Stadium, the venue for UWS-SRUC-Ayrshire College Varsity, to the university saving nearly £70,000. As part of the transfer, the facility will continue to be used by Ayr Seaforth AC and the local community.

Notable people

Vicki Adams Victoria Elizabeth "Vicki" Chalmers (née Adams) (born 16 November 1989) is a Scottish curler who was the long time second for Eve Muirhead. Representing Scotland, they won the 2013 World Championships and the European Championships in 2011 ...

, Team GB Curler *

Shamshad Akhtar Shamshad Akhtar is a Pakistani development economist, United Nations diplomat and banker who also served as the caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan. Prior to that, she served as the 14th Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, the first wo ...

, Executive Secretary of

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic ...

Gilbert Ronald Bainbridge Gilbert Ronald Bainbridge (1925–2003) was a British nuclear physicist, engineer and farmer. Personal life and education Gilbert Ronald Bainbridge was born 28 November 1925 at Felling, Gateshead, County Durham. He attended Jarrow County Sec ...

, nuclear physicist, engineer and farmer *

Morgan McMichaels Morgan McMichaels (born May 28, 1981) is the stage name of Scottish-American drag performer Thomas White, best known as a contestant on the second season of the reality television competition ''RuPaul's Drag Race,'' as well as the third seaso ...

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

and contestant on

RuPaul’s Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the fi ...

* John Christie, former Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray ...

Meghan Gallacher Meghan Gallacher (born 17 January 1992) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives since 2022. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2021. Galla ...

, Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Central Scotland region. *

Majid Haq Rana Majid Haq Khan (born 11 February 1983), better known as Majid Haq, is a Scottish cricketer. He is a left-handed batsman and an off spin bowler. He has represented Scotland at Under 17, Under 19 and Under 23 levels, making his debut for the ...

, cricketer for the

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

national team *

Gavin Hastings Andrew Gavin Hastings, (born 3 January 1962) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A fullback, he is widely regarded to be one of the best ever Scottish rugby players and was one of the outstanding players of his generation, winning 61 c ...

, Former Scottish Rugby internationalist and Captain of

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

James Prime James Prime (born 3 November 1960) is a Scottish musician best known as the keyboard player for rock band Deacon Blue. Prime also lectures at the University of the West of Scotland. Known as a Hammond/piano player, his talents have been sough ...

, lecturer - keyboard player for

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album ...

Willie Rennie William Cowan Rennie (born 27 September 1967), commonly known as Willie Rennie, is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MS ...

, Leader of the

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...

(2011-2021) and Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Fife * Erin Cuthbert, Professional footballer for

Chelsea F.C. Women Chelsea Football Club Women, formerly known as Chelsea Ladies Football Club, are an English women's football club based in Norbiton that competes in the Women's Super League, the top flight of women's football in England. Since 2004, the clu ...

and

Scotland women's national football team The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...

* David Scott (Pearlfishers), Senior Lecturer in Commercial Music *

David Sneddon David Sneddon (born 15 September 1978) is a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and music producer of contemporary pop music. He began his career performing on stage and television, singing lead roles in stage musicals in Glasgow. In 2002, h ...

, winner of ''

Fame Academy ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known under va ...

'' *

Shirley R. Steinberg Shirley R. Steinberg is an educator, author, activist, filmmaker, and public speaker whose work focuses on critical pedagogy, transformative leadership, social justice, and cultural studies. She has written and edited numerous books and article ...

, Professor in Youth & Community Studies *

Mohammad Bagher Nobakht Mohammad Bagher Nobakht Haghighi ( fa, محمد باقر نوبخت حقیقی; born 13 December 1950 in Rasht, Iran) is an Iranian politician and economist. He was Hassan Rouhani's advisor for Supervision and Strategic Affairs and also was the ...

, Iranian Politician

References

External links

University of the West of ScotlandThe Students' Association of the University of the West of Scotland website
{{authority control Universities and colleges formed by merger in the United Kingdom Paisley, Renfrewshire West of Scotland 1897 establishments in Scotland