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The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
based in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
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 ...
. Granted 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 ...
by King James VI in 1582 and officially opened in 1583, it is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the sixth-oldest university in continuous operation in the
English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
. The university played an important role in Edinburgh becoming a chief intellectual centre during 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 ...
and contributed to the city being nicknamed the "
Athens of the North Athens of the North may refer to one of several cities in Northern Europe that, due to their prominence in science and culture, were likened to Classical Athens: * A nickname for Edinburgh, Scotland, see: Etymology of Edinburgh * A nickname for H ...
." Edinburgh is ranked among the top universities in the United Kingdom and the world. Edinburgh is a member of several associations of research-intensive universities, including the
Coimbra Group The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
,
League of European Research Universities The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 2002 ...
,
Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public university, public research university, research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its memb ...
, Una Europa, and Universitas 21. In the
fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
ending 31 July 2021, it had a total income of £1.176 billion, of which £324.0 million was from research grants and contracts, with the third-largest endowment in the UK, behind only
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
and
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. The university has five main campuses in the city of Edinburgh, which include many buildings of historical and architectural significance such as those in the
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
. Edinburgh receives over 60,000 undergraduate applications per year, making it the second-most popular university in the UK by volume of applications. It is the eighth-largest university in the UK by enrolment, with 35,375 students in 2019/20. Edinburgh had the eighth-highest average
UCAS points The UCAS Tariff (formerly called UCAS Points System) is used to allocate points to post-16 qualifications (Level 3 qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework). Universities and colleges may use it when making offers to applicants. A p ...
amongst British universities for new entrants in 2020. The university continues to have links to the British royal family, having had
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...
as its
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
from 1953 to 2010 and
Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
since March 2011. The alumni of the university includes some of the major figures of modern history. Inventor
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
, naturalist
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, philosopher
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
, and physicist
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
studied at Edinburgh, as did writers such as Sir J. M. Barrie, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, J. K. Rowling, Sir
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
, and
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
. The university counts several heads of state and government amongst its graduates, including three British Prime Ministers. Three Supreme Court Justices of the UK were educated at Edinburgh. , 19
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureates, four
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winners, three
Turing Award The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in compu ...
winners, and an
Abel Prize The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...
laureate and
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award ho ...
ist have been affiliated with Edinburgh as alumni or academic staff. Edinburgh alumni have won a total of ten Olympic gold medals.


History


Early history

In 1557, Bishop Robert Reid of St Magnus Cathedral on
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
made a
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
containing an endowment of 8,000 
merks The merk is a long-obsolete Scottish silver coin. Originally the same word as a money mark of silver, the merk was in circulation at the end of the 16th century and in the 17th century. It was originally valued at 13 shillings 4 pence (exactly ...
to build a college in Edinburgh. Unusually for his time, Reid's vision included the teaching of
rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, alongside more traditional subjects such as
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. However, the bequest was delayed by more than 25 years due to the religious revolution that led to the Reformation Parliament of 1560. The plans were revived in the late 1570s through efforts by the
Edinburgh Town Council The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to th ...
, first minister of Edinburgh James Lawson, and Lord Provost William Little. When Reid's descendants were unwilling to pay out the sum, the town council petitioned King James VI and his
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 ...
. The King brokered a monetary compromise and granted 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 ...
on 14 April 1582, empowering the town council to create a college of higher education. A college established by secular authorities was unprecedented in newly Presbyterian Scotland, as all previous Scottish universities had been founded through papal bulls. Notably, Edinburgh was the fourth Scottish university in a period when the richer and more populous
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
had only two. Named ''Tounis College'' (Town's College), the university opened its doors to students on 14 October 1583, with an attendance of 80–90. At the time, the college mainly covered
liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
and
divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine
. Instruction began under the charge of a graduate from the
University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...
, theologian Robert Rollock, who first served as Regent, and from 1586 as principal of the college. Initially Rollock was the sole instructor for first-year students, and he was expected to tutor the 1583 intake for all four years of their degree in every subject. The first cohort finished their studies in 1587, and 47 students graduated (or 'laureated') with an M.A. degree. When King James VI visited Scotland in 1617, he held a disputation with the college's professors, after which he decreed that it should henceforth be called the "Colledge '' ic' of King James". The university was known as both ''Tounis College'' and ''King James' College'' until it gradually assumed the name of the University of Edinburgh during the 17th century. After the deposition of King
James II and VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...
during the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
in 1688, the
Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
passed legislation designed to root out Jacobite sympathisers amongst university staff. In Edinburgh, this led to the dismissal of Principal Alexander Monro and several professors and regents after a government visitation in 1690. The university was subsequently led by Principal
Gilbert Rule Gilbert Rule (c. 1629 – 1701) was a Nonconformist (Protestantism), nonconformist Church of Scotland minister and the Principal of Edinburgh University, Principal of Edinburgh University from 1690 to 1701. Early life Rule was born about 1629 ...
, one of the inquisitors on the visitation committee.


18th and 19th century

The late 17th and early 18th centuries were marked by a power struggle between the university and town council, which had ultimate authority over staff appointments, curricula, and examinations. After a series of challenges by the university, the conflict culminated in the council seizing the college records in 1704. Relations were only gradually repaired over the next 150 years and suffered repeated setbacks. The university expanded by founding a Faculty of Law in 1707, a Faculty of Arts in 1708, and a Faculty of Medicine in 1726. In 1762, Reverend
Hugh Blair Hugh Blair FRSE (7 April 1718 – 27 December 1800) was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. As a minister of the Church of Scotland, and occupant of the Ch ...
was appointed by King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
as the first Regius Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-Lettres. This formalised literature as a subject and marks the foundation of the English Literature department, making Edinburgh the oldest centre of literary education in Britain. During the 18th century, the university was at the centre 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 ...
. The ideas of the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
fell on especially fertile ground in Edinburgh because of the university's democratic and secular origin; its organization as a single entity instead of loosely connected colleges, which encouraged academic exchange; its adoption of the more flexible Dutch model of professorship, rather than having student cohorts taught by a single regent; and the lack of land endowments as its source of income, which meant its faculty operated in a more competitive environment. Between 1750 and 1800, this system produced and attracted key Enlightenment figures such as chemist Joseph Black, economist
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
, historian William Robertson, philosophers
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
and Dugald Stewart, physician
William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...
, and early sociologist
Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympathet ...
, many of which taught concurrently. By the time the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
was founded in 1783, the university was regarded as one of the world's preeminent scientific institutions, and
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
called Edinburgh a "hotbed of genius" as a result.
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
believed that the university possessed "a set of as truly great men, Professors of the Several Branches of Knowledge, as have ever appeared in any Age or Country".
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
felt that as far as science was concerned, "no place in the world can pretend to a competition with Edinburgh". In 1785,
Henry Dundas Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (28 April 1742 – 28 May 1811), styled as Lord Melville from 1802, was the trusted lieutenant of British Pri ...
introduced the South Bridge Act in the House of Commons; one of the bill's goals was to use South Bridge as a location for the university, which had existed in a hotchpotch of buildings since its establishment. The site was used to construct Old College, the university's first custom-built building, by architect William Henry Playfair to plans by Robert Adam. During the 18th century, the university developed a particular forte in teaching
anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and the developing science of
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
, and it was considered one of the best medical schools in the English-speaking world. Bodies to be used for
dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause o ...
were brought to the university's Anatomy Theatre through a secret tunnel from a nearby house (today's College Wynd student accommodation), which was also used by murderers Burke and Hare to deliver the corpses of their victims during the 1820s. After 275 years of governance by the town council, the
Universities (Scotland) Act 1858 A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which rou ...
gave the university full authority over its own affairs. The act established governing bodies including a university court and a general council, and redefined the roles of key officials like the chancellor, rector, and principal. The
Edinburgh Seven The Edinburgh Seven were the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university. They began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869 and, although the Court of Session ruled that they should neve ...
were the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university. Led by
Sophia Jex-Blake Sophia Louisa Jex-Blake (21 January 1840 – 7 January 1912) was an English physician, teacher and feminist. She led the campaign to secure women access to a University education when she and six other women, collectively known as the Edinb ...
, they began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. Although the university blocked them from graduating and qualifying as doctors, their campaign gained national attention and won them many supporters, including
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
. Their efforts put the rights of women to higher education on the national political agenda, which eventually resulted in legislation allowing women to study at all Scottish universities in 1889. The university admitted women to graduate in medicine in 1893. In 2015, the Edinburgh Seven were commemorated with a plaque at the university, and in 2019 they were posthumously awarded with medical degrees. Towards the end of the 19th century, Old College was becoming overcrowded. After a bequest from Sir David Baxter, the university started planning new buildings in earnest. Sir Robert Rowand Anderson won the public architectural competition and was commissioned to design new premises for the
Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
in 1877. Initially, the design incorporated a
campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
and a hall for examination and graduation, but this was seen as too ambitious. The new Medical School opened in 1884, but the building was not completed until 1888. After funds were donated by politician and brewer
William McEwan William McEwan () (16 July 1827 – 12 May 1913) was a Scottish politician and brewer. He founded the Fountain Brewery in 1856, served as a member of parliament (MP) from 1886 to 1900, and funded the construction of the McEwan Hall at the Univ ...
in 1894, a separate graduation building was constructed after all, also designed by Anderson. The resulting
McEwan Hall The McEwan Hall ( gd, Talla MhicEòghainn) is the graduation hall of the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was presented to the university in 1897 by William McEwan, brewer and politician, at a cost of £115,00 ...
on
Bristo Square Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square. The most prominent landmark on the square is the category A list ...
was presented to the university in 1897. The
Students' Representative Council {{Unreferenced, date=July 2014A students' representative council, also known as a students' administrative council, represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms par ...
(SRC) was founded in 1884 by student Robert Fitzroy Bell. In 1889, the SRC voted to establish Edinburgh University Union (EUU), to be housed in
Teviot Row House Teviot may refer to: People * Baron Teviot *Earl of Teviot Places Australia * Teviot, Queensland, a town in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Brook, a river in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Falls, Queensland * Teviot ...
on Bristo Square.
Edinburgh University Sports Union Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU) is the representative body of sixty-seven University of Edinburgh sports clubs. Edinburgh University sports teams compete in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and Scottish Student Sport ...
(EUSU) was founded in 1866, and Edinburgh University Women's Union (renamed the Chambers Street Union in 1964) in October 1905. The SRC, EUU and Chambers Street Union merged to form
Edinburgh University Students' Association Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...
(EUSA) on 1 July 1973.


20th century

During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Science and Medicine buildings had suffered from a lack of repairs or upgrades, which was exacerbated by an influx of students after the end of the war. In 1919, the university bought the land of West Mains Farm in the south of the city for the development of a new satellite campus specialising in the sciences. On 6 July 1920, King
George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...
laid the foundation of the first new building (now called the Joseph Black Building), housing the Department of Chemistry. The campus was named King's Buildings in honour of George V. New College on The Mound was originally opened in 1846 as a
Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...
college, later of the
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
. Since the 1930s it has been the home of the School of Divinity. Prior to the 1929 reunion of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
, candidates for the ministry in the United Free Church studied at New College, whilst candidates for the Church of Scotland studied in the university's Faculty of Divinity. In 1935 the two institutions merged, with all operations moved to the New College site in Old Town. This freed up Old College for
Edinburgh Law School Edinburgh Law School, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom dedicated to research and teaching in law. It is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University. Two of ...
. The
Polish School of Medicine The Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh was established in March 1941. Initially, the idea was to meet the needs of the Polish Armed Forces for doctors but from the outstart, civilian students were admitted. Founded on the ...
was established in 1941 as a wartime academic initiative. While it was originally intended for students and doctors in the
Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Polish forces were also raised within Soviet territories; thes ...
, civilians were also allowed to take the courses, which were taught in Polish and awarded Polish medical degrees. When the school was closed in 1949, 336 students had matriculated, of which 227 students graduated with the equivalent of an MBChB and a total of 19 doctors obtained a doctorate or MD. A bronze plaque commemorating the Polish School of Medicine is located in the Quadrangle of the old Medical School in Teviot Place. On 10 May 1951, the ''Royal (Dick) Veterinary College'', founded in 1823 by William Dick, was reconstituted as the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and officially became part of the university. It achieved full faculty status as Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1964. By the end of the 1950s, there were around 7,000 students matriculating annually, more than doubling the numbers from the turn of the century. The university addressed this partially through the redevelopment of
George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...
, demolishing much of the area's historic houses and erecting modern buildings such as
40 George Square 40 George Square is a tower block in Edinburgh, Scotland forming part of the University of Edinburgh. Until September 2020 the tower was named David Hume Tower (often abbreviated as DHT). The building contains lecture theatres, teaching spaces, o ...
,
Appleton Tower Appleton Tower is a tower block in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned by the University of Edinburgh. History When the University developed the George Square area in the 1960s, a large swathe of Georgian Edinburgh was demolished, leading to accusa ...
and the Main Library. On 1 August 1998, the ''Moray House Institute of Education'', founded in 1848, merged with the University of Edinburgh, becoming its Faculty of Education. Following the internal restructuring of the university in 2002, Moray House became known as the
Moray House School of Education The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the C ...
. It was renamed the Moray House School of Education and Sport in August 2019.


21st century

In the 1990s it became apparent that the old
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...
buildings in
Lauriston Place Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former locatio ...
were no longer adequate for a modern teaching hospital.
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...
, the
Scottish Secretary 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 ...
at the time, authorized a joint project between private finance, local authorities, and the university to create a modern hospital and medical campus in the
Little France Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7 road (Great Britain), A7, approximately south of the city centre. The area falls within the parish of Liberton, Edinburgh, Liberton in the south-east of the city. ...
area of Edinburgh. The new campus was named the BioQuarter. The Chancellor's Building was opened on 12 August 2002 by Prince Philip, housing the new
Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...
alongside the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. In 2007, the campus saw the addition of the
Euan MacDonald Centre The Euan MacDonald Centre is a research centre which is part of the University of Edinburgh. The centre was established in 2007 and seeks to improve the lives of patients with motor neurone disease (MND). The centre was part funded by a donation ...
as a research centre for
motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
s, which was part-funded by Scottish entrepreneur
Euan MacDonald Euan MacDonald MBE is a Scottish entrepreneur. He studied at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. MacDonald was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in October 2003. Biography MacDonald was born in Sheffield in ...
and his father Donald. In August 2010, author J. K. Rowling provided £10 million in funding to create the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, which was officially opened in October 2013. The Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a
stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
research centre dedicated to the development of regenerative treatments, which was opened in 2012. CRM is also home to applied scientists working with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) and Roslin Cells. In December 2002, the
Edinburgh Cowgate Fire The Cowgate ( Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, which lies below the eleva ...
destroyed a number of university buildings, including some 3,000 m2 of the School of Informatics at 80 South Bridge. This was replaced with the Informatics Forum on
Bristo Square Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square. The most prominent landmark on the square is the category A list ...
, completed in July 2008. Also in 2002, the
Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre The Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre (ECRC), also known as the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre and the University of Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre, is a center for basic, translational and clinical cancer research located in Edinburgh, ...
(ECRC) was opened on the
Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...
site. In 2007, the
MRC Human Genetics Unit The Medical Research Council (UK) Human Genetics Unit is situated at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. It is one of the largest MRC research establishments, housing over two hundred scientists, support staff, research fellows, PhD stude ...
formed a partnership with the Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine and the ECRC to create the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine (renamed the Institute of Genetics and Cancer in 2021) on the same site. In April 2008, the
Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creati ...
– an
animal science Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...
s research centre known for cloning Dolly the sheep – became part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. In 2011, the school moved into a new £60 million building on the Easter Bush campus, which now houses research and teaching facilities, and a hospital for small and farm animals. Edinburgh College of Art, founded in 1760, formally merged with the university's School of Arts, Culture and Environment on 1 August 2011. In 2014, the
Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute (Chinese: 浙江大学爱丁堡大学联合学院), also known as Zhejiang-Edinburgh Institute and ZJU-UoE Institute, is an international joint academic and research institution based in Hain ...
(ZJE) was founded as an international joint institute offering degrees in biomedical sciences, taught in English. The campus, located in
Haining () is a county-level city in Zhejiang Province, China, and under the jurisdiction of Jiaxing. It is in the south side of Yangtze River Delta, and in the north of Zhejiang. It is to the southwest of central Shanghai, and east of Hangzhou, the p ...
,
Zhejiang Province Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangs ...
,
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 and ...
, was established on 15 March 2016. The university began hosting a
Wikimedian in Residence A Wikipedian in residence or Wikimedian in residence (WiR) is a Wikipedia editor, a Wikipedian (or Wikimedian), who accepts a placement with an institution, typically an art gallery, library, archive, museum, cultural institution, learned soci ...
in 2016. The residency was made into a full-time position in 2019, with the Wikimedian involved in teaching and learning activities within the scope of the University of Edinburgh WikiProject. In 2018, the University of Edinburgh was a signatory to the £1.3 billion ''Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal'', in partnership with the UK and Scottish governments, six local authorities and all universities and colleges in the region. The university committed to delivering a range of economic benefits to the region through the ''Data-Driven Innovation'' initiative. In conjunction with
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
, the deal created five innovation hubs: the Bayes Centre, Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI), Usher Institute, Easter Bush, and one further hub based at Heriot-Watt, the National Robotarium. The deal also included creation of the Edinburgh International Data Facility, which performs high-speed data processing in a secure environment. In September 2020, the university completed work on the ''Richard Verney Health Centre'' at its central area campus on Bristo Square. The facility houses a health centre and pharmacy, and the university's disability and counselling services. The university's largest current expansion project is the conversion of some of the historic Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh buildings in Lauriston Place, which had been vacated in 2003 and partially developed into the Quartermile. The £120 million renovations and extension will provide space for the ''Edinburgh Futures Institute'', an interdisciplinary hub linking arts, humanities, and social sciences with other disciplines in the research and teaching of 'complex futures'.


Historical links

Edinburgh has a number of historical links to other universities, chiefly through its influential Medical School and its graduates, who established and developed institutions elsewhere in the world. *
College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
: the second-oldest college in the US was founded in 1693 by Edinburgh graduate
James Blair James Blair may refer to: *James Blair (Australian judge) (1870–1944), Australian judge, lawyer, and politician *James Blair (cricketer) (1900–1961), Australian-born New Zealand cricketer * James Blair (farmer) (1825–1901), Scottish-born farm ...
, who served as the college's founding president for fifty years. *
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
: had its
Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
founded by Samuel Bard, an Edinburgh medical graduate. *
Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
: Edinburgh alumnus
George Ramsay George Burrell Ramsay (4 March 1855 – 7 October 1935) was a Scottish footballer and manager. Ramsay was the secretary and manager of Aston Villa Football Club during the club's 'Golden Age'. As a player he was the first Aston Villa captain ...
, the 22nd
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealt ...
, wanted to establish a non-denominational college in Halifax open to all. The school was modelled after the University of Edinburgh, which students could attend regardless of religion or nationality. *
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...
: had its
School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
founded by Nathan Smith, an alumnus of Edinburgh Medical School. *
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
: had its
Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
founded by three surgeons, one of whom was
Benjamin Waterhouse Benjamin Waterhouse (March 4, 1754, Newport, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations – October 2, 1846, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was a physician, co-founder and professor of Harvard Medical School. He is most well known for being ...
, an alumnus of Edinburgh Medical School. *
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
: had its
Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...
founded by four physicians, which included Edinburgh alumni Andrew Fernando Holmes and John Stephenson. *
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
: had its
School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
founded by Edinburgh graduate John Morgan, who modelled it after Edinburgh Medical School. *
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
: had its academic syllabus and structure reformed along the lines of the University of Edinburgh and other Scottish universities by its sixth president John Witherspoon, an Edinburgh theology graduate. *
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
: founded in 1850 by Sir Charles Nicholson, a graduate of Edinburgh Medical School. *
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
: had its
School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
co-founded by Nathan Smith, an alumnus of Edinburgh Medical School.


Campuses and buildings

The university has five main sites in Edinburgh: * Central Area * King's Buildings * BioQuarter * Easter Bush * Western General The university is responsible for several significant historic and modern buildings across the city, including
St Cecilia's Hall St Cecilia's Hall is a small concert hall and museum in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is on the corner of Niddry Street and the Cowgate, about south of the Royal Mile. The hall dates from 1763 and was the first purp ...
, Scotland's oldest purpose-built
concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...
and the second oldest in use in the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
; Teviot Row House, the oldest purpose-built
students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
building in the world; and the restored 17th-century Mylne's Court student residence at the head of the
Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
.


Central Area

The Central Area is spread around numerous squares and streets in Edinburgh's ''Southside'', with some buildings in Old Town. It is the university's oldest area, occupied primarily by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Informatics. The highest concentration of university buildings is around
George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...
, which includes
40 George Square 40 George Square is a tower block in Edinburgh, Scotland forming part of the University of Edinburgh. Until September 2020 the tower was named David Hume Tower (often abbreviated as DHT). The building contains lecture theatres, teaching spaces, o ...
(formerly David Hume Tower),
Appleton Tower Appleton Tower is a tower block in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned by the University of Edinburgh. History When the University developed the George Square area in the 1960s, a large swathe of Georgian Edinburgh was demolished, leading to accusa ...
, Main Library, and
Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre The Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre is a category B listed performing arts and lecture theatre located in the historic George Square in Edinburgh. Primarily operated as a lecture theatre for the University of Edinburgh, it is also used for general ...
, the area's largest lecture hall. Around nearby
Bristo Square Bristo Square, Edinburgh, Scotland, is a public space on the estate of the University of Edinburgh. It lies in the south of the city, between George IV Bridge and George Square. The most prominent landmark on the square is the category A list ...
lie the Dugald Stewart Building, Informatics Forum,
McEwan Hall The McEwan Hall ( gd, Talla MhicEòghainn) is the graduation hall of the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was presented to the university in 1897 by William McEwan, brewer and politician, at a cost of £115,00 ...
,
Potterrow Student Centre The Potterrow Mandela Centre or Potterrow Student Centre is operated by Edinburgh University Students' Association in Edinburgh, Scotland. Site and architecture The name "Potterrow" recalls a medieval suburb which stood outside the town wal ...
,
Teviot Row House Teviot may refer to: People * Baron Teviot *Earl of Teviot Places Australia * Teviot, Queensland, a town in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Brook, a river in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Falls, Queensland * Teviot ...
, and old Medical School, which still houses pre-clinical medical courses and biomedical sciences.
The Pleasance The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stude ...
, one of
Edinburgh University Students' Association Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...
's main buildings, is located nearby, as is Edinburgh College of Art in
Lauriston Lauriston ( ) is an area of central Edinburgh, Scotland, and home to a number of significant historic buildings. It lies south of Edinburgh Castle and the Grassmarket, and north of The Meadows public park. Lauriston is the former locatio ...
. North of George Square lies the university's Old College housing
Edinburgh Law School Edinburgh Law School, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom dedicated to research and teaching in law. It is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University. Two of ...
, New College on The Mound housing the School of Divinity, and
St Cecilia's Hall St Cecilia's Hall is a small concert hall and museum in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is on the corner of Niddry Street and the Cowgate, about south of the Royal Mile. The hall dates from 1763 and was the first purp ...
. Some of these buildings are used to host events during the Edinburgh International Festival and the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
every summer.


Pollock Halls

Pollock Halls, adjoining Holyrood Park to the east, is the university's largest residence hall for undergraduate students in their first year. The complex houses over 2,000 students during term time and consists of ten named buildings with communal green spaces between them. The two original buildings,
St Leonard's Hall St Leonard's Hall is a mid-nineteenth century baronial style building within the Pollock Halls of Residence site of the University of Edinburgh. The hall was designed by John Lessels, and built in 1869-1870 for Thomas Nelson Junior, of the Tho ...
and
Salisbury Green Salisbury Green is an eighteenth-century house, on the Pollock Halls of Residence site of the University of Edinburgh. Originally built around 1780 by Alexander Scott, it is one of the two original buildings on site, along with St Leonard's H ...
, were built in the 19th century, while the majority of Pollock Halls dates from the 1960s and early 2000s. Two of the older houses in Pollock Halls were demolished in 2002, and a new building, Chancellor's Court, was built in their place and opened in 2003. Self-catered flats elsewhere account for the majority of university-provided accommodation. The area also includes the John McIntyre Conference Centre opened in 2009, which is the university's premier conference space.


Holyrood

The Holyrood campus, just off the
Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...
, used to be the site for ''Moray House Institute for Education'' until it merged with the university on 1 August 1998. The university has since extended this campus. The buildings include redeveloped and extended Sports Science, Physical Education and Leisure Management facilities at St Leonard's Land linked to the Sports Institute in the Pleasance. The £80 million O'Shea Hall at Holyrood was named after the former principal of the university Sir
Timothy O'Shea Sir Timothy Michael Martin O'Shea (born 28 March 1949, Hamburg, Germany) is a British computer scientist and academic. He was the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 2002 to 2018. Biography O'Shea grew up in Lon ...
and was opened by
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
in 2017, providing a living and social environment for postgraduate students. The Outreach Centre, Institute for Academic Development (University Services Group), and Edinburgh Centre for Professional Legal Studies are also located at Holyrood.


King's Buildings

The King's Buildings campus is located in the south of the city. Most of the Science and Engineering College's research and teaching activities take place at the campus, which occupies a 35-hectare site. It includes the
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
Building (for mobile phones and digital communications systems),
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
Building (the administrative and teaching centre of the School of Physics and Astronomy and School of Mathematics), Joseph Black Building (home to the School of Chemistry), Royal Observatory, Swann Building (the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology), Waddington Building (the Centre for Systems Biology at Edinburgh), William Rankine Building (School of Engineering's Institute for Infrastructure and Environment), and others. Until 2012, the KB campus was served by three libraries: Darwin Library, James Clerk Maxwell Library, and Robertson Engineering and Science Library. These were replaced by the Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library opened for the academic year 2012/13. The campus also hosts the National e-Science Centre (NeSC),
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 ...
(SRUC), Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE), Scottish Microelectronics Centre (SMC), and Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC).


BioQuarter

The BioQuarter campus, based in the Little France area, is home to the majority of medical facilities of the university, alongside the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. The campus houses the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Chancellor's Building,
Euan MacDonald Centre The Euan MacDonald Centre is a research centre which is part of the University of Edinburgh. The centre was established in 2007 and seeks to improve the lives of patients with motor neurone disease (MND). The centre was part funded by a donation ...
, and Queen's Medical Research Institute, which opened in 2005. The Chancellor's Building has two large lecture theatres and a medical library connected to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh by a series of corridors.


Easter Bush

The Easter Bush campus, located seven miles south of the city, houses the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education,
Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creati ...
, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, and Veterinary Oncology and Imaging Centre. The
Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creati ...
is an animal sciences research institute which is sponsored by
BBSRC Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds scientific rese ...
. The Institute won international fame in 1996, when its researchers Sir Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and their colleagues created Dolly the sheep, the first
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
to be cloned from an adult cell. A year later Polly and Molly were cloned, both sheep contained a human gene.


Western General

The Western General campus, in proximity to the
Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...
, contains the Biomedical Research Facility, Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, and Institute of Genetics and Cancer (formerly the Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine). File:Appleton Tower (39773534912).jpg,
Appleton Tower Appleton Tower is a tower block in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned by the University of Edinburgh. History When the University developed the George Square area in the 1960s, a large swathe of Georgian Edinburgh was demolished, leading to accusa ...
File:Edinburgh Architecture - The University of Edinburgh Business School, Buccleuch Place (geograph 2458971).jpg,
Business School A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...
File:Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh.jpg, Centre for Regenerative Medicine File:Erskine Williamson Building.jpg, Erskine Williamson Building, King's Buildings File:Informatics Forum University of Edinburgh.JPG, Informatics Forum, School of Informatics File:No Canter Today (geograph 6738087).jpg,
Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creati ...
File:Main Entrance, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary - geograph.org.uk - 432996.jpg,
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...
,
School of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...
File:Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Main Building.jpg, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies


Organisation and administration


Governance

In common with the other ancient universities of Scotland, and in contrast to nearly all other pre-1992 universities which are established by
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 ...
s, the University of Edinburgh is constituted by the
Universities (Scotland) Acts 1858 to 1966 Universities Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to universities. List Canada British Columbia *University Act (British Columbia), University Act ...
. These acts provide for three major bodies in the governance of the university: the University Court, the
General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...
, and the ''Senatus Academicus''.


University Court

The University Court is the university's governing body and the
legal person In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
of the university, chaired by the rector and consisting of the principal, Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and of Assessors appointed by the rector, chancellor,
Edinburgh Town Council The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to th ...
, General Council, and ''Senatus Academicus''. By the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889, it is a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal. All property belonging to the university at the passing of the Act was vested in the Court. The present powers of the Court are further defined in the Universities (Scotland) Act 1966, including the administration and management of the university's revenue and property, the regulation of staff salaries, and the establishment and composition of committees of its own members or others.


General Council

The General Council consists of
graduates Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
, academic staff, current and former University Court members. It was established to ensure that graduates have a continuing voice in the management of the university. The Council is required to meet twice per year to consider matters affecting the wellbeing and prosperity of the university. The Universities (Scotland) Act 1966 gave the Council the power to consider draft ordinances and resolutions, to be presented with an
annual report An annual report is a comprehensive report on a company's activities throughout the preceding year. Annual reports are intended to give shareholders and other interested people information about the company's activities and financial performance. ...
of the work and activities of the university, and to receive an audited financial statement. The Council elects the chancellor of the university and three Assessors on the University Court.


''Senatus Academicus''

The ''Senatus Academicus'' is the university's supreme academic body, chaired by the principal and consisting of the professors, heads of departments, and a number of
reader A reader is a person who reads. It may also refer to: Computing and technology * Adobe Reader (now Adobe Acrobat), a PDF reader * Bible Reader for Palm, a discontinued PDA application * A card reader, for extracting data from various forms of ...
s,
lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...
s and other teaching and research staff. The core function of the ''Senatus'' is to regulate and supervise the teaching and discipline of the university and to promote research. The ''Senatus'' elects four Assessors on the University Court. The ''Senatus'' meets three times per year, hosting a presentation and discussion session which is open to all members of staff at each meeting.


University officials

The university's three most significant officials are its chancellor, rector, and principal, whose rights and responsibilities are largely derived from the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. The office of
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
serves as the titular head and highest office of the university. Their duties include conferring degrees and enhancing the profile and reputation of the university on national and global levels. The chancellor is elected by the university's
General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...
, and a person generally remains in the office for life. Previous chancellors include former
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Arthur Balfour and novelist Sir J. M. Barrie.
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...
has held the position since March 2011 succeeding Prince Philip. She is also Patron of the university's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. The office of rector is elected every three years by the staff and matriculated students. The primary role of the rector is to preside at the University Court. The rector also chairs meetings of the General Council in absence of the chancellor. They work closely with students and
Edinburgh University Students' Association Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of ...
. Previous rectors include
microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...
Sir
Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of w ...
, and former Prime Ministers Sir
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
and
David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
. The current rector is human rights lawyer
Debora Kayembe Debora Kayembe Buba (born in April 1975) is a Scottish human rights lawyer and political activist. She has served on the board of the Scottish Refugee Council, and is a member of the office of the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court an ...
, who has held the position since March 2021. The principal is responsible for the overall operation of the university in a chief executive role. The principal is formally nominated by the Curators of Patronage and appointed by the University Court. They are the President of the ''Senatus Academicus'' and a member of the University Court ''ex officio''. The principal is also automatically appointed vice-chancellor, in which role they confer degrees on behalf of the chancellor. Previous principals include physicist Sir
Edward Victor Appleton Sir Edward Victor Appleton (6 September 1892 – 21 April 1965) was an English physicist, Nobel Prize winner (1947) and pioneer in radiophysics. He studied, and was also employed as a lab technician, at Bradford College from 1909 to 1911. He w ...
and
religious philosopher Religious philosophy is philosophical thinking that is influenced and directed as a consequence to teachings from a particular religion. It can be done objectively, but may also be done as a persuasion tool by believers in that faith. Religious ...
Stewart Sutherland. The current principal is nephrologist Peter Mathieson, who has held the position since February 2018.


Colleges and schools

In 2002, the university was reorganised from its nine faculties into three 'Colleges'. While technically not a collegiate university, it comprises the Colleges of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), Science & Engineering (CSE) and Medicine & Vet Medicine (CMVM). Within these colleges are 'Schools', which either represent one academic discipline such as Informatics or assemble adjacent academic disciplines such as the School of History, Classics and Archaeology. While bound by College-level policies, individual Schools can differ in their organisation and governance. As of 2021, the university has 21 schools in total.


Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

The College took on its current name of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in 2016 after absorbing the Edinburgh College of Art in 2011. CAHSS offers more than 280 undergraduate degree programmes, 230 taught postgraduate programmes, and 200 research postgraduate programmes. Twenty subjects offered by the college were ranked within the top 10 nationally in the 2022 ''Complete University Guide''. It includes the oldest English Literature department in Britain, which was ranked 7th globally in the 2021 '' QS Rankings by Subject'' in English Language & Literature. The college hosts Scotland's
ESRC The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...
Doctoral Training Centre Doctoral Training Centres (DTCs; also called Centres for Doctoral TrainingCentr ...
(DTC), the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science. The college is the largest of the three colleges by enrolment, with 26,130 students and 3,089 academic staff.


Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...
was widely considered the best medical school in the English-speaking world throughout the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century and contributed significantly to the university's international reputation. Graduates of the medical school have founded medical schools and universities all over the world including 5 out of the 7
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...
medical schools (
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
,
Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
, Columbia,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
),
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
,
McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...
,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...
, the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (now part of
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
), the
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, Birkbeck, Middlesex Hospital and the London School of Medicine for Women (both now part of UCL). In the 21st century, the reputation of the medical school has excelled; the school is associated with 13 Nobel Prize recipients: 7 recipients of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...
and 6 recipients of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
. The medical school in 2022 was ranked 1st in the UK by the
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
University Guide, In 2021, it was ranked third in the UK by
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
University Guide, and the Complete University Guide. It also ranked 21st in the world by both the
Times Higher Education 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 ...
and the
QS World University Rankings ''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
in the same year. The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies is a world leader in veterinary education, research and practice. The eight original faculties formed four Faculty Groups in August 1992. Medicine and Veterinary Medicine became one of these, and in 2002 became the smallest of the three colleges, with 7,740 students and 1,896 academic staff. The university's teaching hospitals include the
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, or RIE, often (but incorrectly) known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, or ERI, was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest v ...
,
Western General Hospital The Western General Hospital (often abbreviated to simply ‘The Western General’) is a health facility at Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The hospital was designed by Peddie and Kinnear and opened as ...
,
St John's Hospital, Livingston St John's Hospital is the main general hospital in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. Located in the Howden area of the town, it serves Livingston and the wider West Lothian region. St John's is a teaching hospital for the University of Edinbur ...
, Roodlands Hospital, and
Royal Hospital for Children and Young People The Royal Hospital for Children and Young People is a hospital that specialises in paediatric healthcare. The hospital replaced the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (the ''Sick Kids'') in Sciennes. It forms part of the Royal Infirmary of Edinbur ...
.


Science and Engineering

In the 16th century, science was taught as "
natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior throu ...
" in the university. The 17th century saw the institution of the University Chairs of Mathematics and Botany, followed the next century by Chairs of Natural History, Astronomy, Chemistry and Agriculture. It was Edinburgh's professors who took a leading part in the formation of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
in 1783. Joseph Black, Professor of Medicine and Chemistry at the time, founded the world's first Chemical Society in 1785. The first named degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Science was instituted in 1864, and a separate Faculty of Science was created in 1893 after three centuries of scientific advances at Edinburgh. The Regius Chair in Engineering was established in 1868, and the Regius Chair in Geology in 1871. In 1991 the Faculty of Science was renamed the Faculty of Science and Engineering, and in 2002 it became the College of Science and Engineering. The college has 11,745 students and 2,937 academic staff.


Sub-units, centres and institutes

Some subunits, centres and institutes within the university are listed as follows:


Academic profile

The university is a member of the
Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public university, public research university, research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its memb ...
of research-led British universities, and the '' Sutton 13'' group of top-ranked universities in the UK. It is the only British university to be a member of both the
Coimbra Group The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
and the
League of European Research Universities The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is a consortium of European research universities. History and overview The League of European Research Universities (LERU) is an association of research-intensive universities. Founded in 2002 ...
, and it is a founding member of Una Europa and Universitas 21, both international associations of research-intensive universities. The university maintains historically strong ties with the neighbouring
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
for teaching and research. Edinburgh also offers a wide range of free online
MOOC A massive open online course (MOOC ) or an open online course is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access via the Web. In addition to traditional course materials, such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, m ...
courses on three global platforms Coursera, Edx and
FutureLearn FutureLearn is a British digital education platform founded in December 2012. The company is jointly owned by The Open University and SEEK Ltd. It is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)ExpertTrack microcredential and Degree learning platform ...
.


Admissions

In 2020, Edinburgh had the seventh-highest average entry standards amongst universities in the UK, with new undergraduates averaging 190
UCAS points The UCAS Tariff (formerly called UCAS Points System) is used to allocate points to post-16 qualifications (Level 3 qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework). Universities and colleges may use it when making offers to applicants. A p ...
, equivalent to just above AAAaa in
A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
grades. It gave offers of admission to 52.3% of its 18 year old applicants in 2019, the fifth-lowest amongst the
Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public university, public research university, research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its memb ...
. As the number of places available for Scottish and EU students are capped by the Scottish Government since students do not pay tuition fees, students applying from the rest of the UK and outside the EU have a higher likelihood of an offer. Excluding courses within Edinburgh College of Art, the most competitive courses for Scottish/EU applicants in 2020 were International Relations, Oral Health Science, and Politics, Philosophy & Economics (PPE), with offer rates of 9%, 10% and 11%, respectively. In comparison, students from the rest of the UK have a 40% chance of receiving an offer for International Relations, while students from outside the EU have an 80% chance. For the academic year 2019/20, 36.8% of Edinburgh's new undergraduates were privately educated, the second-highest proportion among mainstream British universities, behind only
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. As of August 2021, it has a higher proportion of female than male students with a male to female ratio of 38:62 in the undergraduate population, and the undergraduate student body is composed of 30% Scottish students, 32% from the rest of the UK, 10% from the EU, and 28% from outside the EU.


Graduation

At graduation ceremonies, graduates are being 'capped' with the ''Geneva bonnet'', which involves the university's principal tapping them on the head with the cap while they receive their graduation certificate. The velvet-and-silk hat has been used for over 150 years, and legend says that it was originally made from cloth taken from the breeches of 16th-century scholars
John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...
or George Buchanan. However, when the hat was last restored in the early 2000s, a label dated 1849 was discovered bearing the name of Edinburgh tailor Henry Banks, although some doubt remains whether he manufactured or restored the hat. In 2006, a university emblem that had been taken into space by astronaut and Edinburgh graduate Piers Sellers was incorporated into the ''Geneva bonnet''.


Library system

Pre-dating the university by three years, Edinburgh University Library was founded in 1580 through the donation of a large collection by Clement Litill, and today is the largest academic library collection in Scotland. The
Brutalist Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...
style eight-storey Main Library building in
George Square George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...
was designed by Sir Basil Spence. At the time of its completion in 1967, it was the largest building of its type in the UK, and today is a category A listed building. The library system also includes many specialised libraries at the college and school level.


Exchange programmes

The university offers students the opportunity to study in Europe and beyond via the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
's
Erasmus+ Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his Christian name, baptismal name, given after Erasmus of Formia, Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used fro ...
programme and a variety of international exchange agreements with around 300 partners institutions in nearly 40 countries worldwide. University-wide exchanges are open to almost any student whose degree permits a year abroad and who can find a suitable course combination. The list of partner institutions is shown as follows (part of): *
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
: Fudan University,
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
,
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
,
Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...
,
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
,
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...
,
Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various inte ...
*
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
:
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
,
University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...
,
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
,
Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...
,
University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...
,
Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...
* Latin America: National Autonomous University of Mexico, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, University of São Paulo * Northern America: Boston College, Barnard College of Columbia University, University of California (except for University of California, Merced, Merced and University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco), California Institute of Technology, Caltech, University of Chicago, Cornell University, Georgetown University,
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, University of Texas at Austin, University of Toronto, University of Virginia, Washington University in St. Louis Subject-specific exchanges are open to students studying in particular schools or subject areas, including exchange programmes with Carnegie Mellon University, Emory University, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, ETH Zurich, ESSEC Business School, École normale supérieure (Paris), ENS Paris, HEC Paris, Humboldt University of Berlin, Karolinska Institute, Kyoto University, LMU Munich, University of Michigan, Peking University, Rhode Island School of Design, Sorbonne University, TU München, Waseda University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and others.


Rankings and reputation

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), which evaluated work produced between 2014 and 2021, Edinburgh ranked 4th by research power and 15th by GPA amongst British universities. The university fell four places in GPA when compared to the 2014 REF, but retained its place in research power. 90 per cent of the university's research activity was judged to be 'world leading' (4*) or 'internationally excellent' (3*), and five departments – Computer Science, Informatics, Sociology, Anthropology, and Development Studies – were ranked as the best in the UK. In the 2015 ''THE Global Employability University Ranking'', Edinburgh ranked 23rd in the world and 4th in the UK for graduate employability as voted by international recruiters. A 2015 government report found that Edinburgh was one of only two Scottish universities (along with University of St Andrews, St Andrews) that some London-based elite recruitment firms considered applicants from, especially in the field of financial services and investment banking. When ''The New York Times'' ranked universities based on the employability of graduates as evaluated by recruiters from top companies in 20 countries in 2012, Edinburgh was placed at 42nd in the world and 7th in Britain. Edinburgh was ranked 24th in the world and 5th in the UK by the 2021 College and university rankings#Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities, ''Aggregate Ranking of Top Universities'', a league table based on the three major world university rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities, ''ARWU'', QS World University Rankings, ''QS'' and Times Higher Education World University Rankings, ''THE''. In the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking, ''U.S. News & World Report'', Edinburgh ranked 32nd globally and 5th nationally. The 2021 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings, ''World Reputation Rankings'' placed Edinburgh at 30th worldwide and 6th nationwide. In 2021, it ranked 63rd amongst the universities around the world by the ''SCImago Institutions Rankings''. The noticeable disparity between Edinburgh's research capacity, List of universities in the United Kingdom by endowment, endowment and international status on the one hand, and its ranking in national league tables on the other, is largely due to the impact of measures of 'student satisfaction'. Edinburgh was ranked last in the UK for teaching quality in the 2012 National Student Survey, with the 2015 ''Times Good University Guide, Good University Guide'' stating that this stemmed from "questions to do with the promptness, usefulness and extent of academic feedback", and that the university "still has a long way to go to turn around a poor position". Edinburgh improved only marginally over the next years, with the 2021 ''Good University Guide'' still ranking it in the bottom 10 domestically in both teaching quality and student experience. Edinburgh was ranked 122nd out of 128 universities for student satisfaction in the 2022 ''The Complete University Guide, Complete University Guide'', although it was ranked 12th overall. The 2022 ''The Guardian University Guide, Guardian University Guide'' ranked Edinburgh 12th overall, but 101st out of 119 universities in course satisfaction, and lowest among all universities in satisfaction with feedback. In the 2022 ''Complete University Guide'', 32 out of the 49 subjects offered by Edinburgh were ranked within the top 10 in the UK, with Asian Studies (4th), Chemical Engineering (4th), Education (2nd), Geology (5th), Linguistics (5th), Mechanical Engineering (5th), Medicine (5th), Music (5th), Nursing (1st), Physics & Astronomy (5th), Social Policy (5th), Theology & Religious Studies (4th), and Veterinary Medicine (2nd) within the top 5. The 2021 ''THE World University Rankings by Subject'' ranked Edinburgh 10th worldwide in Arts and Humanities, 15th in Law, 16th in Psychology, 21st in Clinical, Pre-clinical & Health, 22nd in Computer Science, 28th in Education, 28th in Life Science, 43rd in Business & Economics, 44th in Social Sciences, 45th in Physical Sciences, and 86th in Engineering & Technology. The 2022 ''QS World University Rankings by Subject'' placed Edinburgh at 9th globally in Arts & Humanities, 24th in Life Sciences & Medicine, 40th in Natural Sciences, 53rd in Social Sciences & Management, and 66th in Engineering & Technology. According to ''CSRankings'', computer science at Edinburgh was ranked 1st in the UK and 36th globally, and Edinburgh was the best in natural language processing (NLP) in the world.


Student life


Students' Association

Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) consists of the
students' union A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
and the students' representative council. EUSA's buildings include
Teviot Row House Teviot may refer to: People * Baron Teviot *Earl of Teviot Places Australia * Teviot, Queensland, a town in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Brook, a river in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland * Teviot Falls, Queensland * Teviot ...
,
The Pleasance The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University Stude ...
,
Potterrow Student Centre The Potterrow Mandela Centre or Potterrow Student Centre is operated by Edinburgh University Students' Association in Edinburgh, Scotland. Site and architecture The name "Potterrow" recalls a medieval suburb which stood outside the town wal ...
, King's Buildings#Other Facilities, Kings Buildings House, as well as shops, cafés and refectories across the various campuses. Teviot Row House is considered the oldest purpose-built student union building in the world. Most of these buildings are operated as
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
venues during August. EUSA represents students to the university and the wider world, and is responsible for over 250 student societies at the university. The association has five sabbatical office bearers – a president and four vice presidents. EUSA is affiliated with the National Union of Students (United Kingdom), National Union of Students (NUS).


Performing arts

Amateur dramatic societies benefit from Edinburgh being an important cultural hub for comedy, Amateur Theatre, amateur and Fringe Theatre, fringe theatre throughout the UK, most prominently through the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
. The Edinburgh University Music Society (EUMS) is a student-run musical organisation, which is Scotland's oldest student’s musical society; it can be traced back to a concert in February 1867. It performs three concert series throughout the year whilst also undertaking a programme of charity events and education projects. The Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC), founded in 1890 as the Edinburgh University Drama Society, is known for running Bedlam Theatre, the oldest student-run theatre in Britain and venue for the Fringe. EUTC also funds acclaimed Improvisational theatre, improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts during term time and the Fringe. Alumni include Sir Michael Boyd (director), Michael Boyd, Ian Charleson, Kevin McKidd, and Greg Wise. The Edinburgh Studio Opera (formerly Edinburgh University Opera Club) is a student opera company in Edinburgh. It performs at least one fully staged opera each year. The Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) is an opera and musical theatre company founded by students in 1961 to promote and perform the comic operettas of Sir W. S. Gilbert, William Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan, collectively known as Savoy Operas after the theatre in which they were originally staged. The Edinburgh University Footlights are a musical theatre company founded in 1989 and produce two large scale shows a year. Theatre Parodok, founded in 2004, is a student theatre company that aims to produce shows that are "experimental without being exclusive". They stage one large show each semester and one for the festival.


Media

Student (newspaper), ''The Student'' is a fortnightly List of student newspapers in the United Kingdom, student newspaper. Founded in 1887 by writer
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
, it is the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Former writers of the newspaper include politicians Gordon Brown, Robin Cook, and David Steel. It has been independent of the university since 1992, but was forced to temporarily fold in 2002 due to increasing debts. The newspaper won a number of student newspaper awards in the years following its relaunch. ''The Journal (student newspaper), The Journal'' was an independent publication, established in 2007 by three students and former writers for ''The Student.'' It was also distributed to other higher education institutions in the city, such as
Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted univ ...
, Edinburgh Napier University, and Telford College. It was the largest such publication in Scotland, with a print run of 10,000 copies. Despite winning a number of awards for its journalism, the magazine folded in 2015 due to financial difficulties. FreshAir.org.uk, FreshAir, launched on 3 October 1992, is an alternative music student radio station. The station is one of the oldest surviving student radio stations in the UK, and won the "Student Radio Station of the Year" award at the annual Student Radio Association#The Student Radio Awards (SRAs), Student Radio Awards in 2004. In September 2015, the Edinburgh University Student Television (EUTV) became the newest addition to the student media scene at the university, producing a regular magazine-style programme, documentaries and other special events.


Sport

Student sport at Edinburgh consists of clubs covering the more traditional Edinburgh University RFC, rugby, Edinburgh University A.F.C., football, Edinburgh University Boat Club, rowing and judo, to the more unconventional korfball, gliding and mountaineering. In 2021, the university had over 65 sports clubs run by Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU). The Scottish Varsity, known as the "world's oldest varsity match", is a rugby match played annually against the University of St Andrews RFC, University of St Andrews dating back over 150 years. Discontinued in the 1950s, the match was resurrected in 2011 and was staged in London at the home of London Scottish F.C., London Scottish RFC. It is played at the beginning of the academic year, and since 2015 has been staged at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Scottish Boat Race, The Scottish Boat Race is an annual Rowing (sport), rowing race between the Glasgow University Boat Club and the Edinburgh University Boat Club, rowed between competing Eight (rowing), eights on the River Clyde in Glasgow,
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 ...
. Started in 1877, it is believed to be the third-oldest university boat race in the world, predated by the The Boat Race, Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and the Harvard–Yale Regatta. Edinburgh athletes have repeatedly been successful at the Olympic Games: Sprinter Eric Liddell won gold and bronze at the 1924 Summer Olympics. At the 1948 Summer Olympics, alumnus Jackie Robinson (basketball, born 1927), Jackie Robinson won a gold medal with the American Basketball team. Trap shooting, Trap shooter Bob Braithwaite secured a gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics. Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy won six gold and one silver medal between 2000 and 2012. Rower Dame Katherine Grainger won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, and four further silver medals between 2000 and 2016. Edinburgh was the most successful UK university at the 2012 Games with two gold medals from Hoy and one from Grainger.


Student activism

There are a number of campaigning societies at the university. The largest of these include the environment and poverty campaigning group People & Planet and Amnesty International Society. International development organisations include Edinburgh Global Partnerships, which was established as a student-led charity in 1990. There is also a significant Left-wing politics, left-wing presence on campus, including an Anti-austerity movement, anti-austerity group, Edinburgh University Anarchism, Anarchist Society, Edinburgh University Socialist Society, Edinburgh Scottish Green Party, Young Greens, Feminism, Feminist Society, Marxism, Marxist Society, and Students for Justice in Palestine. Protests, demonstrations and occupations are regular occurrences at the university. The activist group People & Planet took over Charles Stewart House in 2015 and again in 2016 in protest over the university's investment in companies active in arms manufacturing or fossil fuel extraction. In May 2015, a security guard was charged in relation to the occupations.


Student co-operatives

There are three student-run Cooperative, co-operatives on campus: Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative, providing affordable housing for 106 students; The Hearty Squirrel Food Cooperative, providing 'local, organic and affordable food to students and staff'; and The SHRUB Coop, a 'swap and re-use hub' aimed at reducing waste and promoting sustainability. The co-operatives form part of the Students for Cooperation network.


Notable people

The university is associated with some of the most significant intellectual and scientific contributions in human history, which include: the foundation of antiseptic#Usage in surgery, Antiseptic surgery (Joseph Lister), Bayesian statistics (Thomas Bayes), Economics (
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
), Electromagnetism (
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
), Evolution (
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
), Knot theory (Peter Tait (physicist), Peter Guthrie Tait), mordern Geology (James Hutton), Nephrology (Richard Bright (physician), Richard Bright), Endocrinology (Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer), Hematology (William Hewson (surgeon), William Hewson), Dermatology (Robert Willan), Epigenetics (C. H. Waddington), Gestalt psychology (Kurt Koffka), Thermodynamics ( William Rankine), Colloid chemistry (Thomas Graham (chemist), Thomas Graham), and Undulatory theory, Wave theory (Thomas Young (scientist), Thomas Young); the discovery of Brownian motion (Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown), Magnesium, carbon dioxide, latent heat and specific heat ( Joseph Black), Chloroformed, chloroform anaesthesia (Sir James Young Simpson), Hepatitis B vaccine (Sir Kenneth Murray (biologist), Kenneth Murray), Higgs mechanism (Sir Tom Kibble), structure of DNA (Sir John Randall (physicist), John Randall), HPV vaccine (Ian Frazer), Iridium and Osmium (Smithson Tennant), Nitrogen (Daniel Rutherford), Strontium (Thomas Charles Hope), and Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS coronavirus (Zhong Nanshan); and the invention of the Stirling engine (Robert Stirling), Cavity magnetron (Sir John Randall (physicist), John Randall), Automated teller machine, ATM (John Shepherd-Barron), refrigerator (
William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...
), diving chamber (John Scott Haldane), reflecting telescope (James Gregory (mathematician), James Gregory), hypodermic syringe (Alexander Wood (physician), Alexander Wood), kaleidoscope (Sir David Brewster), Tire, pneumatic tyre (John Boyd Dunlop), telephone (
Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
), Aerial tramway#Telpherage, telpherage (Fleeming Jenkin), and vacuum flask (Sir James Dewar). Other notable alumni and academic staff of the university have included signatories to the United States Declaration of Independence, US Declaration of Independence Benjamin Rush, James Wilson (Founding Father), James Wilson and John Witherspoon, actors Ian Charleson, Robbie Coltrane and Kevin McKidd, architects Robert Adam, William Thornton, William Henry Playfair, Sir Basil Spence and Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, astronaut Piers Sellers, biologists Sir Adrian Bird, Sir Richard Owen and Sir Ian Wilmut, business executives Tony Hayward, Alan Jope, Lars Rasmussen (software developer), Lars Rasmussen and Susie Wolff, composer Max Richter, economists Kenneth E. Boulding and Thomas Chalmers, historians Thomas Carlyle and Neil MacGregor, journalists Laura Kuenssberg and Peter Pomerantsev, judges Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir, Lord Reed and Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Lord Hodge, mathematicians Sir W. V. D. Hodge, Colin Maclaurin and Sir E. T. Whittaker, philosophers Benjamin Constant,
Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympathet ...
, Ernest Gellner and
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
, physicians Thomas Addison,
William Cullen William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG (; 15 April 17105 February 1790) was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and professor at the Edinburgh Medical School. Cullen was a central figure in the Scottish Enlightenment: He was Dav ...
, Valentín Fuster, Thomas Hodgkin and James Lind, pilot Eric Brown (pilot), Eric Brown, surgeons James Barry (surgeon), James Barry, Joseph Bell, Robert Liston and B. K. Misra, sociologists Sir Patrick Geddes and David Bloor, writers Sir J. M. Barrie, Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
, John Fowles, Oliver Goldsmith, J. K. Rowling, Sir
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
and
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chancellors of the Exchequer John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley, John Anderson and Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, Lord Henry Petty, former Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand Sir Michael Cullen (politician), Michael Cullen, current Vice President of Syria Najah al-Attar, former Director General of MI5 Stella Rimington, First Lord of the Admiralty, First Lords of the Admiralty Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Lord Melville, Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville, Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto, Lord Minto and George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, Lord Selkirk, Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretaries Robin Cook and Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former acting First Minister of Scotland Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, Jim Wallace, and Olympic Games, Olympic gold medallists Bob Braithwaite, Katherine Grainger, Sir Chris Hoy and Eric Liddell. File:Robert-adam.jpg, Robert Adam, neoclassical architect File:J. M. Barrie, 1892. (7893554540).jpg, J. M. Barrie, novelist and playwright File:James Barry.jpg, James Barry (surgeon), James Barry, surgeon File:Thomas Bayes.gif, Thomas Bayes, statistician File:Black Joseph.jpg, Joseph Black, physicist and chemist File:Richard Bright physician.jpg, Richard Bright (physician), Richard Bright, physician, father of nephrology File:BrownRobert.jpg, Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown, botanist, discovered Brownian motion File:Portrait of Carlyle in 1876.jpg, Thomas Carlyle, essayist, historian and philosopher File:John Watson Gordon (1788-1864) - Reverend Thomas Chalmers (1780–1847), Preacher and Social Reformer - PG 1094 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, Thomas Chalmers, political economist File:Charles Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron 2.jpg,
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, naturalist and biologist File:ProfAdamFerguson.jpg,
Adam Ferguson Adam Ferguson, (Scottish Gaelic: ''Adhamh MacFhearghais''), also known as Ferguson of Raith (1 July N.S./20 June O.S. 1723 – 22 February 1816), was a Scottish philosopher and historian of the Scottish Enlightenment. Ferguson was sympathet ...
, philosopher and historian File:David Hume Ramsay.jpg,
David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...
, philosopher File:Hutton James portrait Raeburn.jpg, James Hutton, geologist, father of modern geology File:James Clerk Maxwell profile.jpg,
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and ligh ...
, mathematician and physicist File:Richard Owen 1856.jpg, Richard Owen, biologist, coined the term dinosaur File:William Rankine 1870s.jpg, Macquorn Rankine, engineer, founding contributor to thermodynamics File:Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale.jpg, Benjamin Rush, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence File:Sir Walter Scott - Raeburn-2.jpg,
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
, novelist and poet File:Simpson James Young signature picture.jpg, James Young Simpson, physician File:Rsl1.jpg,
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
, novelist and poet File:DugaldStewart.jpg, Dugald Stewart, philosopher and mathematician File:JusticeJamesWilson.jpg, James Wilson (founding father), James Wilson, Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States File:Peale, Charles Willson, John Witherspoon (1723-1794), President (1768-94).jpg, John Witherspoon, Founding Father of the United States File:Thomas Young by Briggs cropped.jpg, Thomas Young (scientist), Thomas Young, polymath


Nobel and Nobel equivalent prizes

, 19
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureates have been affiliated with the university as alumni, faculty members or researchers (three additional laureates acted as administrative staff), including one of the fathers of quantum mechanics Max Born, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist Peter Higgs, chemist Sir Fraser Stoddart, Immunology, immunologist Peter C. Doherty, economist Sir James Mirrlees, discoverer of Characteristic X-ray (Charles Glover Barkla) and the mechanism of Adenosine triphosphate, ATP synthesis (Peter D. Mitchell), and pioneer in Cryogenic electron microscopy, cryo-electron microscopy (Richard Henderson (biologist), Richard Henderson) and In vitro fertilisation, in-vitro fertilisation (Sir Robert Edwards (physiologist), Robert Edwards).
Turing Award The ACM A. M. Turing Award is an annual prize given by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to computer science. It is generally recognized as the highest distinction in compu ...
winners Geoffrey Hinton, Robin Milner Leslie Valiant, and mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah,
Fields Medal The Fields Medal is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians under 40 years of age at the International Congress of the International Mathematical Union (IMU), a meeting that takes place every four years. The name of the award ho ...
ist and
Abel Prize The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...
laureate, are associated with the university. In the following table, the number following a person's name is the year they received the Nobel prize. In particular, a number with an asterisk (*) means the person received the award while they were working at the university (including emeritus staff). A name underlined implies that this person has been listed previously (i.e., multiple affiliations).


Heads of state and government


In popular culture

The University of Edinburgh has featured prominently in a number of works of popular culture. * The events of the Burke and Hare murders, involving Edinburgh lecturer Robert Knox and the anatomical department, have made a wide range of appearances in popular culture. They became the basis for
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
's short story ''The Body Snatcher'' (1884), and most recently in 2010 for ''Burke & Hare (2010 film), Burke & Hare'', a black comedy film starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis. Scenes were filmed at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, old School of Anatomy. * Many of
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...
's works drew inspiration from his mentors at the university. Joseph Bell, a lecturer and surgeon famous for drawing conclusions from minute observations, became the archetype for Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. William Rutherford (physiologist), William Rutherford, Conan Doyle's physiology professor provided the template for Professor Challenger, the protagonist of his science fiction work ''The Lost World (Doyle novel), The Lost World'' (1912). Edinburgh is also Challenger's ''alma mater'' in the books. * Fu Manchu, Dr. Fu Manchu, a fictional supervillain created by Sax Rohmer in 1912, stated that "I am a doctor of philosophy from Edinburgh, a doctor of law from Christ's College, Cambridge, Christ's College, a doctor of medicine from Harvard University, Harvard. My friends, out of courtesy, call me 'Doctor'." In 2010, Fu Manchu's connections with the University where he supposedly obtained a doctorate were investigated in a mockumentary by Miles Jupp (also an Edinburgh alumnus) for BBC Radio 4. * In the movie ''Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959 film), Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (1959), an adaptation of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, novel of the same name, the protagonist Sir Oliver Lindenbrook is a Professor of Geology at the university. An early scene where Lindenbrook addresses the students is filmed at the central Quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle of Old College. * The historical film ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981) is based on the story of Olympic runner and Edinburgh graduate Eric Liddell, and includes scenes filmed outside of General Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, Assembly Hall, New College. Liddell is played by Ian Charleson, who is also an Edinburgh alumnus. * In the novel ''The Last King of Scotland'' (1998) by Giles Foden, the fictional protagonist Dr. Nicholas Garrigan is a medical doctor recently graduated from Edinburgh. The 2006 The Last King of Scotland (film), film of the same name stars James McAvoy in the role of Dr. Garrigan with the same background. * In the American television show ''NCIS (TV series), NCIS'' (2003-present), the chief medical examiner, Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard studied medicine at Edinburgh. Ari Haswari, the show's main antagonist for the first two seasons, also studied medicine at Edinburgh. * In the novel ''One Day (novel), One Day'' (2009), the lead characters Dexter and Emma both graduated from Edinburgh. A feature film based on the book, also titled ''One Day (2011 film), One Day'' and starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess was released in August 2011, with some scenes filmed at the university. A Netflix adaptation of the movie started production in 2021, with filming occurring in the grounds of Old College in 2022. * The BBC legal drama ''Garrow's Law'' (2009-2011) was largely filmed in Edinburgh, despite being set in London. Old College and the Edinburgh University Library, Playfair Library are prominently featured. * The thriller television series Clique (TV series), ''Clique'' (2017-2019) produced by BBC Three focuses on two students at the university. The series was shot largely on location in Edinburgh, including The Meadows, Edinburgh, The Meadows, Old College, and Potterrow Student Centre, Potterrow. * ''F9 (film), Fast & Furious 9'' (2021), partly set in Edinburgh, featured scenes in and around Old College filmed in September 2019.


See also


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * *


External links

*
Edinburgh University Press website

Edinburgh University Students' Association website

Edinburgh University Sports Union website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edinburgh, University of University of Edinburgh Russell Group Universities in Scotland Universities in the United Kingdom 1582 establishments in Scotland, University of Edinburgh Educational institutions established in the 1580s Organisations based in Edinburgh with royal patronage, University of Edinburgh