Template:Infobox university
The University of Edinburgh (abbreviated as Edin. in post-nominals), founded in 1582,[1] is the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's ancient universities. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city of Edinburgh, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university.[2]
The University of Edinburgh was ranked 17th and 21st in the world by the 2014–15 and 2015-16 QS rankings. It is now ranked 19th in the world according to 2016-17 QS Rankings.[3][4] The Research Excellence Framework, a research ranking used by the UK government to determine future research funding, ranked Edinburgh 4th in the UK for research power,[5] with Computer Science and Informatics ranking 1st in the UK. It is ranked 16th in the world in arts and humanities by the 2015–16 Times Higher Education Ranking.[6] It is ranked the 23rd most employable university in the world by the 2015 Global Employability University Ranking.[7] It is ranked as the 6th best university in Europe by the U.S. News' Best Global Universities Ranking.[8] It is a member of both the Russell Group, and the League of European Research Universities, a consortium of 21 research universities in Europe.[9] It has the third largest endowment of any university in the United Kingdom, after the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
The university played an important role in leading Edinburgh to its reputation as a chief intellectual centre during the Age of Enlightenment, and helped give the city the nickname of the Athens of the North. Alumni of the university include some of the major figures of modern history, including physicist James Clerk Maxwell, naturalist Charles Darwin, philosopher David Hume, mathematician Thomas Bayes, surgeon Joseph Lister, signatories of the American declaration of independence James Wilson, John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, first president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere, and a host of famous authors such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.M. Barrie and Sir Walter Scott. Associated people include 21 Nobel Prize winners, 2 Turing Award winners, 1 Abel Prize winner, 1 Fields Medal winner, 2 Pulitzer Prize winner, 3 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, 2 currently-sitting UK Supreme Court Justices, and several Olympic gold medallists.[10] It continues to have links to the British Royal Family, having had the Duke of Edinburgh as its Chancellor from 1953 to 2010 and Princess Anne since 2011.[11]
Edinburgh receives approximately 50,000 applications every year, making it the fourth most popular university in the UK by volume of applicants.[12] After St Andrews, it is the most difficult university to gain admission into in Scotland, and 9th overall in the UK.[13]
History[]
Founding[]
Founded by the Edinburgh Town Council, the university began life as a college of law using part of a legacy left by a graduate of the University of St Andrews, Bishop Robert Reid of St Magnus Cathedral, Orkney.[14] Through efforts by the Town Council and Ministers of the City the institution broadened in scope and became formally established as a college by a Royal Charter, granted by King James VI of Scotland on 14 April 1582 after the petitioning of the Council.[1][15] This was an unusual move at the time, as most universities were established through Papal bulls.[16] Established as the "Tounis College", it opened its doors to students in October 1583.[1] Instruction began under the charge of another St Andrews graduate Robert Rollock.[14] It was the fourth Scottish university in a period when the much more populous and richer England had only two. It was renamed King James's College in 1617. By the 18th century, the university was a leading centre of the Scottish Enlightenment.
Development[]
~ Thomas Jefferson writing to his son-in-law Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. in 1786.[17]
Before the building of Old College to plans by Robert Adam implemented after the Napoleonic Wars by the architect William Henry Playfair, the University of Edinburgh did not have a custom-built campus and existed in a hotchpotch of buildings from its establishment until the early 19th century. The university's first custom-built building was the Old College, now the School of Law, situated on South Bridge. Its first forte in teaching was anatomy and the developing science of surgery, from which it expanded into many other subjects. From the basement of a nearby house ran the anatomy tunnel corridor. It went under what was then North College Street (now Chambers Street), and under the university buildings until it reached the university's anatomy lecture theatre, delivering bodies for dissection. It was from this tunnel the body of William Burke was taken after he had been hanged.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Old College was becoming overcrowded and Robert Rowand Anderson was commissioned to design new Medical School premises in 1875. The medical school was more or less built to his design and was completed by the addition of the McEwan Hall in the 1880s.
The building now known as New College was originally built as a Free Church college in the 1840s and has been the home of divinity at the university since the 1920s.
The university is responsible for a number of historic and modern buildings across the city, including the Scotland's oldest purpose-built concert hall, and the second oldest in use in the British Isles, St Cecilia's Concert Hall; Teviot Row House, which is the oldest purpose built student union building in the world; and the restored 17th-century Mylne's Court student residence which stands at the head of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.
The two oldest schools – law and divinity – are both well-esteemed, with law being based in Old College and divinity in New College on the Mound. Students at the university are represented by Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA), which consists of the Students' Representative Council (SRC), founded in 1884 by Robert Fitzroy Bell, the Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889. They are also represented by the Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU) which was founded in 1866.
The medical school is renowned throughout the world. It was widely considered the best medical school in the English-speaking world throughout the 18th century and first half of the 19th century.[18] (The first medical school in the United States was founded at the University of Pennsylvania in 1765 by Edinburgh alumni John Morgan and William Shippen). It is ranked 1st in the UK's most recent RAE. The Edinburgh Seven, the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at any British university, began studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh in 1869. Although they were unsuccessful in their struggle to graduate and qualify as doctors, their campaign gained national attention and won them many supporters including Charles Darwin. It put the rights of women to a University education on the national political agenda which eventually resulted in legislation to ensure women could study at University in 1877. In 2015 the Edinburgh Seven were commemorated with a plaque at the University of Edinburgh, as part of the Historic Scotland Commemorative Plaques Scheme.[19]
On 1 August 2011, the Edinburgh College of Art (founded in 1760) merged with the University of Edinburgh. As a result, Edinburgh College of Art has combined with the university’s School of Arts, Culture and Environment to form a new (enlarged) Edinburgh College of Art within the university.[20]
All teaching is now done over two semesters (rather than 3 terms) – bringing the timetables of different Schools into line with one another, and coming into line with many other large universities (in the US, and to an increasing degree in the UK as well).
Organisation[]
In 2002 the university was reorganised from its nine faculties into three "colleges". While technically not a collegiate university, it now comprises the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Science & Engineering (SCE) and Medicine & Vet Medicine (MVM). Within these colleges are "schools" – roughly equivalent to the departments they succeeded; individual schools have a good degree of autonomy regarding their finances and internal organisation. This has brought a certain degree of uniformity (in terms of administration at least) across the university.
Colleges and schools[]
Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences[]
The College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences[21] is the largest of the three Colleges in the University of Edinburgh. It has 11 Schools, 16,300 students and 1,460 staff. An advantage of its size is the very wide range of subjects and research specialisms. There are over 300 undergraduate and 200 taught postgraduate programmes. Its research strength, as affirmed in the 2008 RAE, has attracted over 1200 researchers.[22] It includes the oldest English Literature department in Britain.[23] It was ranked 12th in the world according to the Times Higher Education 2014–15 Ranking. The college leads Scotland's Economic & Social Research Council Doctoral Training Centre (DTC): The Scottish Graduate School of Social Science is the biggest of 21 ESRC-accredited DTC's in the United Kingdom.
- Business School
- Edinburgh College of Art
- Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
- Moray House School of Education
- School of Divinity
- School of Economics
- School of Health in Social Science
- School of History, Classics and Archaeology
- School of Law
- School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
- School of Social and Political Science
- The Office of Lifelong Learning
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine[]
The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine has a long history as one of the best medical institutions in the world.[24] In the last research assessment exercise, it was rated 1st in the UK for medical research submitted to the Hospital-based Clinical Subjects Panel. All of the work was rated at International level and 40% at the highest, "world-leading" level.[25] The medical school is ranked 1st in Scotland and 3rd in the UK by The Times Good University Guide 2013, The Complete University Guide 2013 and The Guardian University Guide 2013.[26][27][28]
Graduates of the University of Edinburgh Medical School have gone on to found five out of the seven Ivy League medical schools, become US Senators, become Prime Minister of Canada, invent the hypodermic syringe, cure scurvy, discover carbon dioxide and isolate nitrogen, develop IV therapy, invent the decompression chamber, develop the oophorectomy, and discover the SARS virus. Faculty of the University of Edinburgh Medical School have introduced antiseptic to sterilize surgical instruments, discovered chloroform anesthesia, discovered oxytocin, developed the Hepatitis B vaccine, co-founded Biogen, pioneered treatment for tuberculosis, discovered apoptosis and tyramine among others.
The eight original faculties formed four Faculty Groups in August 1992. Medicine and Veterinary Medicine became one of these, and in September 2002, became the smallest of three Colleges in the University.
- University of Edinburgh Medical School
- Royal School of Veterinary Studies
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- School of Clinical Sciences and Community Health
Science and Engineering[]
In the sixteenth century science was taught as 'natural philosophy'. The seventeenth 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. During the eighteenth century, the University was a key contributor to the Scottish Enlightenment and it educated many of the most notable scientists of the time. It was Edinburgh's professors who took a leading part in the formation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783. In 1785, Joseph Black, Professor of Chemistry and discoverer of carbon dioxide, founded the world's first Chemical Society.[29] The nineteenth century was a time of huge advances in scientific thinking and technological development. The first named degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Science were instituted in 1864, and a separate 'Faculty of Science' was created in 1893 after three centuries of scientific advances at Edinburgh.[29] 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.
- School of Biological Sciences
- School of Chemistry
- School of Engineering
- School of GeoSciences
- School of Informatics
- School of Mathematics
- School of Physics and Astronomy
Campuses[]
As its topics of study have grown and diversified the university has expanded its campuses such that it now has six main sites:[30]
Central Area[]
The Central Area includes George Square, the Informatics Forum, The Dugald Stewart Building, Old College, New College, McEwan Hall, St Cecilia's Hall, Teviot Row House, the old Medical School buildings in Teviot Place, and surrounding streets in Edinburgh's Southside. It is the oldest region, occupied primarily by the College of Humanities and Social Science, and the Schools of Computing & Informatics and the School of Law, as well as the main university library. The Appleton Tower is also used for teaching first year undergraduates in science and engineering. Meanwhile, Teviot Place continues to house pre-clinical medical courses and biomedical sciences despite relocation of the Medical School to Little France. Nearby are the main EUSA buildings of Potterrow, Teviot and Pleasance. Old residents of George Square include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Some of these buildings are used to host events during the Edinburgh International Festival every summer. The main library (Edinburgh University Library) is also located at George Square. New College, overlooks Princes Street and only a short walk from Waverley Rail Station and other Edinburgh landmarks. The building is on the Mound, which houses the School of Divinity – parts of which are also used by the Church of Scotland.
King's Buildings[]
The King's Buildings (KB) is located further south of the city. Most of the Science and Engineering College's research and teaching activities take place at the King's Buildings, which occupy a 35 hectare site. It includes C. H. Waddington Building (the Centre for Systems Biology at Edinburgh), James Clerk Maxwell Building (the administrative and teaching centre of the School of Physics and Astronomy and the School of Mathematics), The Royal Observatory, William Rankine Building (School of Engineering’s Institute for Infrastructure and Environment) and other schools' buildings. There were three libraries at KB: Darwin Library, James Clerk Maxwell Library and Robertson Engineering and Science Library. A new library called The Noreen and Kenneth Murray Library opened for the 2012/13 session as a replacement for the previous three libraries. It also houses National e-Science Centre (NeSC), Scottish Microelectronics Centre (SMC), Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), and the Scottish Institute for Enterprise.
Pollock Halls[]
Pollock Halls, adjoining Holyrood Park to the east, provides accommodation (mainly half board) for a minority of students in their first year. Two of the older houses in Pollock Halls were demolished in 2002 and a new building (Chancellor's Court) has been built in their place, leaving a total of ten buildings. Self-catered flats elsewhere account for the majority of university-provided accommodation. The area also includes a £9 million redeveloped John McIntyre Conference Centre, which is the University's premier conference space.
Little France[]
Little France, the Chancellor's Building, was opened on 12 August 2002 by The Duke of Edinburgh and houses the £40 million Medical School at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. It was a joint project between private finance, the local authorities and the University to create a large modern hospital, veterinary clinic and research institute. It has two large lecture theatres and a medical library. It is connected to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh by a series of corridors. Queen's Medical Research Institute was opened in 2005, and provides facilities for research into the understanding of common diseases.
Easter Bush[]
The Easter Bush campus houses the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The Roslin Institute, Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education and The Veterinary Oncology and Imaging Centre. The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, founded in 1823 by William Dick, is a world leader in veterinary education, research and practice. The new £42 million, three-storey, 11,500 square metre building opened in 2011. The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute which is sponsored by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.[31] The Institute won international fame in 1996, when Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and their colleagues created Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, at the institute.[32][33][34] A year later Polly and Molly were cloned, both sheep contained a human gene.
Moray House[]
Moray House School of Education, just off the Royal Mile, used to be the Moray House Institute for Education until this merged with the University in August 1998. The University has since extended Moray House's Holyrood site to include a redeveloped and extended major building housing Sports Science, Physical Education and Leisure Management facilities adjacent to its own Sports Institute in the Pleasance.
Modern architecture at the University of Edinburgh |
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Academic profile[]
Admissions[]
2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Applications[35] | 61,650 | 59,255 | 55,060 | 50,750 | 46,910 |
Offer Rate (%)[36] | 48.6 | 49.2 | 45.9 | 44.3 | 47.6 |
Enrols[37] | 6,250 | 6,185 | 5,780 | 5,490 | 5,475 |
Yield (%) | 20.9 | 21.2 | 22.9 | 24.4 | 24.5 |
Applicant/Enrolled Ratio | 9.86 | 9.58 | 9.53 | 9.24 | 8.57 |
Average Entry Tariff[38] | n/a | n/a | 485 | 482 | 487 |
In terms of average UCAS points of entrants, Edinburgh ranked 9th in Britain in 2014.[39] According to the 2017 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, approximately 31.5% of Edinburgh's undergraduates come from independent schools.[40] The university gives offers of admission to 49.2% of its applicants, the 4th lowest amongst the Russell Group.[41]
Rankings and reputation[]
Template:Infobox UK university rankings The University of Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of research-led British universities and, along with Oxford and Cambridge, one of several British universities to be a member of both the Coimbra Group and the LERU (League of European Research Universities). The university is also a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-led universities. Edinburgh is a member of the 'Sutton 13' of top ranked Universities in the UK.[42]
In the 2014 UK Research Excellence Framework, the Edinburgh was ranked fourth in the UK and first in Scotland. The results also indicate that the university is home to over 35% of Scotland’s 4* research.[citation needed] In 2008, the RAE rated the medicine and informatics 1st in the UK.[43] Edinburgh places within the top 10 in the UK and 2nd in Scotland for the employability of its graduates as ranked by recruiters from the UK's major companies.[44] Edinburgh was ranked 13th overall in the The Sunday Times 10-year average (1998–2007) ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance.[45]
The QS World University Rankings 2015 ranked Edinburgh 17th in the world. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2016 ranked Edinburgh 24th in the world. In 2015, the Academic Ranking of World Universities placed Edinburgh as 47th overall and 6th in the UK.
The noticeable disparity between the University of Edinburgh's research capacity, endowment and international status on the one hand, and its ranking in national league tables on the other, is largely on account of the central role which 'student satisfaction' plays in the latter. The University of Edinburgh was ranked bottom in the UK for teaching quality by its students in the 2012 National Student Survey.[46][47][48] According to The Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2015, "The university is trying to address undergraduates’ concerns with a new personal tutor system and a peer support scheme. However, Edinburgh achieved an unwanted clean sweep of rock bottom rankings among universities in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) for questions to do with the promptness, usefulness and extent of academic feedback, suggesting the university still has a long way to go to turn around a poor position".[49] In the 2017 guide, Edinburgh fell to its worst ever position of joint 37th (placed with local Heriot-Watt University) in a domestic league table. The fall was attributed to lower NSS scores combined with a significant drop (78.6% to 73%) in the graduate prospects of its graduates.[50]
In the 2016 Complete University Guide, 19 out of the 50 subjects offered by Edinburgh rank within the top 10 nationally,[51] with Architecture, Chemical Engineering, East and South Asian Studies, Linguistics, Middle Eastern and African Studies, Social Policy and Veterinary Medicine occupying top 5 positions.[52] The Times World University Rankings listed the University in 30th place worldwide for social sciences.[53]
Student life[]
Students' association[]
The Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) consists of the unions and the Student Representative Council. The union buildings include Teviot Row House, Potterrow, Kings Buildings House, the Pleasance, and shops, cafés and refectories across the various campuses. Teviot Row House is claimed to be the oldest purpose-built student union building in the world.[54] EUSA represents students to the university and the outside world. It is also responsible for over 250 student societies at the University. The association has four sabbatical office bearers – a president and three vice presidents. The association is affiliated to the National Union of Students.
Performing arts[]
The city of Edinburgh is an important cultural hub for comedy, amateur and fringe theatre throughout the UK. Amateur dramatic societies at the University benefit from this, and especially from being based in the home of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[55]
Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC), founded in 1896 as the Edinburgh University Drama Society, is known for running Bedlam Theatre, the oldest student-run theatre in Britain. Bedlam Theatre is an award winning Edinburgh Fringe venue.[56] The EUTC also fund and run acclaimed [57] student improvised comedy troupe The Improverts during term time and fringe.[58] Alumni include Ian Charleson, Michael Boyd, Kevin McKidd, and Greg Wise.
The Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) are an opera/musical theatre company founded by students in 1961 to promote and perform the comic operettas of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan,[59] 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 2014, is a student theatre company that aims to produce shows that are "experimental without being exclusive". They produce a large show each semester and one for the festival.[60][61]
Media[]
The Student is a weekly Scottish newspaper produced by students at the University of Edinburgh. Founded in 1887, it is the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
The Journal was an independent publication, established in 2007 by three students at the University of Edinburgh, and was also distributed to the four other higher education institutions in the city – Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Napier University, Queen Margaret University and the Edinburgh College of Art. It was the largest such publication in Scotland, with a print run of 14,000 copies and was produced by students from across the city. It folded, however, in 2015.[62]
Fresh Air is an alternative music student radio station, one of the oldest surviving student radio stations in the UK. It was founded in October 1992.[citation needed]
In September 2015, Edinburgh University Student Television (EUTV) became the newest addition to the student media scene at the university, producing a regular magazine styled programme, documentaries and other special events.[63]
Sport[]
Edinburgh University's student sport consists of 67 clubs from the traditional rugby, football, rowing and Judo to the more unconventional Korfball and gliding. Over 67 sports clubs are run by the Edinburgh University Sports Union. The Scottish Varsity, also known as the "world's oldest varsity match", is played annually against the University of St Andrews.[64]
During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the University of Edinburgh alumni and students secured four medals – three gold and a silver. The three gold medals were won by the cyclist Chris Hoy and the silver was won by Katherine Grainger in rowing.
In the 2012 Summer Olympics Edinburgh University Alumni topped the UK University Medals table with three gold medals, 2 from cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and one from rower Katherine Grainger.[65]
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 the 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 presence on campus,[66] including an active anti-cuts group, an anarchist society, Edinburgh University Socialist Society, Marxist Society, feminist society, Young Greens, a Students for Justice in Palestine group, and the Edinburgh University Conservative and Unionist Association.[67][68] Protests, demonstrations and occupations are a regular occurrence at the university.[69][70][71]
The activist group People and Planet took over Charles Stewart House in 2015 and again in 2016 in protest over the Universities investment in Arms and Fossil fuels[72][73] In May 2015, a security guard was charged in relation to the occupations[74]
Student Co-operatives[]
There are three student-run co-operatives on campus: Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative, providing affordable housing for 106 students;[75] The Hearty Squirrel Food Cooperative, selling 'healthy, local, ethical, organic and Fairtrade' food;[76] and the SHRUB Co-op, a 'swap and re-use hub' aimed at reducing waste and promoting sustainability.[77] The co-operatives form part of the Students for Cooperation network.[78]
Library[]
The Edinburgh University Library pre-dates the university by three years. Founded in 1580 through the donation of a large collection by Clement Littill, its collection has grown to become the largest university library in Scotland with over 2.5 million volumes.[79] These are housed in the main University Library building in George Square – one of the largest academic library buildings in Europe, designed by Basil Spence.
The library system also includes an extensive number of faculty and collegiate libraries.
Notable alumni and academic staff[]
The university is associated, through alumni and academic staff, with some of the most significant intellectual and scientific contributions in human history, including laying the foundations of Bayesian statistics (Thomas Bayes), quantum mechanics (Max Born), nephrology (Richard Bright), the theory of evolution (Charles Darwin), the initial development of sociology (Adam Ferguson), modern geology (James Hutton), antiseptic surgery (Joseph Lister), classical theory of electromagnetism (James Clerk Maxwell) and thermodynamics (William John Macquorn Rankine); the discovery of carbon dioxide (Joseph Black), latent heat (Joseph Black), specific heat (Joseph Black), the HPV vaccine (Ian Frazer), the Higgs mechanism (Peter Higgs and Tom Kibble), the Hepatitis B vaccine (Kenneth Murray), nitrogen (Daniel Rutherford), chloroform anaesthesia (James Young Simpson) and SARS (Nanshan Zhong); and the inventing of the telephone (Alexander Graham Bell), the hypodermic syringe (Alexander Wood), the kaleidoscope (David Brewster), the telpherage (Fleeming Jenkin), the vacuum flask (James Dewar), the ATM (John Shepherd-Barron), the diving chamber (John Scott Haldane), and in-vitro fertilisation (Robert Edwards).
Other alumni and academic staff of the university have included signatories to the US Declaration of Independence James Wilson, John Witherspoon and Benjamin Rush, Prime Ministers Gordon Brown, Lord Palmerston and Lord John Russell (the latter matriculated at Edinburgh, but did not graduate), astronaut Piers Sellers, biologist Ian Wilmut, geologists Archibald Geikie and William Edmond Logan, physicists Sir David Brewster, John Robison and Peter Guthrie Tait, writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, J.M. Barrie, Sir Walter Scott and Alistair Moffat, economists Kenneth E. Boulding, James Mirrlees and John Hardman Moore, historian Sir Tom Devine, actor Ian Charleson, composers Kenneth Leighton, James MacMillan, and William Wordsworth, chemists William Henry, David Leigh, Guy Lloyd-Jones and Alexander R. Todd, botanist Robert Brown, surgeon James Barry, mathematician Colin Maclaurin, polymath Thomas Young, philosopher David Hume, pilot Eric "Winkle" Brown, former BP CEO Tony Hayward, former director general of MI5 Stella Rimington, theologians John Dickie and Robert Preus, mathematician and president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Sir Michael Atiyah,former Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Anderson and now Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh the Member of Parliament for Ochil and South Perthshire.
At graduation ceremonies, the Vice-Chancellor caps graduates with the Geneva Bonnet, a hat which legend says was originally made from cloth taken from the breeches of John Knox or George Buchanan. The hat was last restored in 2000, when a note from 1849 was discovered in the fabric.[80][81] In 2006, a University emblem taken into space by Piers Sellers was incorporated into the Geneva Bonnet.[82]
Heads of state and government[]
State/Government | Leader | Office |
---|---|---|
Canada | Charles Tupper | Prime Minister of Canada (1 May 1896 – 8 July 1896) |
Malawi | Hastings Banda | President of Malawi (1966–1994) |
Syria | Najah al-Attar | Vice President of Syria (2006–present) |
File:Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua | William Walker | President of Nicaragua (1856–1857) |
South Korea | Yun Bo-seon | President of South Korea (1960–1962) |
South Korea | Jang Taek-sang | Prime Minister of South Korea (6 May 1952 – 6 October 1952) |
File:Flag of Tanzania.svg Tanzania | Julius Nyerere | President of Tanzania (1964–1985) |
UK |
Gordon Brown | Prime Minister (2007–2010) |
UK |
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell | Prime Minister (1846–52 and 1865–66) |
UK | Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston | Prime Minister (1855–58 and 1859–65) |
Historical links[]
- Harvard University, an American Ivy League university, had its medical school founded by three surgeons, one of whom was Benjamin Waterhouse, an alumnus of Edinburgh Medical School.[83]
- Dalhousie University, Canadian U15 university, founded in 1818. In the early 19th century, George Ramsay, the ninth Earl of Dalhousie and Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor at the time, wanted to establish a Halifax college open to all, regardless of class or creed. The earl modeled the fledgling college after the University of Edinburgh, near his Scottish home.[84]
- McGill University, Canadian U15 university, founded in 1821, has strong Edinburgh roots and links to the University of Edinburgh as McGill's first (and, for several years, its only) faculty, Medicine, was founded by four physicians/surgeons, including Andrew Fernando Holmes and John Stephenson, who had trained in Edinburgh.[85][86]
- University of Pennsylvania, an American Ivy League university, has long-standing historical links with the University of Edinburgh, Penn's School of Medicine was founded by John Morgan, an Edinburgh medical graduate and was modeled after Edinburgh Medical School.[87][88]
- Princeton University, an American Ivy League university, 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.[89]
- The College of William & Mary, the second-oldest university in the USA, was founded by Edinburgh graduate James Blair, who served as the College's founding president for fifty years.[90]
- Columbia University, an American Ivy League university, had its medical school was founded by Samuel Bard, an Edinburgh medical graduate.
- University of Sydney, the first Australian university, was founded by Charles Nicholson, a physician and graduate of the University of Edinburgh Medical School.
See also[]
- Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh
- Rector of the University of Edinburgh
- Edinburgh University Press
- Gifford Lectures
- Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- List of early modern universities in Europe
- Edinburgh University Settlement
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs namedChartersofFoundation
- ↑ "Edinburgh – Inspiring Capital". City of Edinburgh Council. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2010.[dead link]
- ↑ "QS World University Rankings". Top Universities. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "QS World University Rankings". QS. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
- ↑ "REF 2014 results". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2015–16". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ↑ "Global Employability University Ranking 2015 results". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ↑ "U.S. News Global Universities Ranking". U.S. News. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ↑ "Home – LERU : League of European Research Universities". LERU. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "University of Edinburgh Alumni". University of Edinburgh. 28 September 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ↑ "New Chancellor elected". Ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ↑ "The Times Good University Guide 2015: Most Applications". The Good University Guide. London. Retrieved 16 August 2014.Template:Paywall
- ↑ "The 10 hardest universities to get into – University of Edinburgh". The Telegraph. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 A Short History of the University of Edinburgh: 1556–1889. Horn, D. B. 1967.
- ↑ Grant, Alexander (1884). The Story of the University of Edinburgh. London.
- ↑ "The Origin Of Universities". Cwrl.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2012. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ↑ "The Letters of Thomas Jefferson 1743–1826". rug.nl/let/. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ↑ Eddy, Matthew Daniel (2008). The Language of Mineralogy: John Walker, Chemistry and the Edinburgh Medical School, 1750–1800. London: Ashgate.
- ↑ George Mair. "Tribute paid to first UK women to go to university - Edinburgh Evening News". Edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ↑ "Introduction | ECA Merger | Edinburgh College of Art". Ed.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2 September 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ↑ "College renamed to reflect growth in arts | The University of Edinburgh". www.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ↑ "About the College". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ↑ "About the Anniversary | 250th Anniversary of English Literature | English Literature". Ed.ac.uk. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "College Overview". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ↑ "College Today". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ↑ "Medicine University Rankings". Hotcoursesabroad.com. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "University guide 2013: league table for medicine". The Guardian. London. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "Medicine – Top UK University Subject Tables and Rankings 2013". Complete University Guide. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 "About the College". Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ↑ "The campuses of the University of Edinburgh". Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ↑ "The Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) – Home Page". Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ↑ Campbell, K. H. S.; McWhir, J.; Ritchie, W. A.; Wilmut, I. (1996). "Sheep cloned by nuclear transfer from a cultured cell line". Nature. 380 (6569): 64–66. doi:10.1038/380064a0. PMID 8598906.
- ↑ Firn, D. (1999). "Roslin Institute upset by human cloning suggestions". Nature Medicine. 5 (3): 253. doi:10.1038/6449. PMID 10086368.
- ↑ Jayaraman, K. S. (1998). "India's short cow drags Roslin Institute into controversy". Nature. 394 (6696): 821. doi:10.1038/29621. PMID 9732859.
- ↑ "End of Cycle 2016 Data Resources DR4_001_03 Applications by provider". UCAS. UCAS. 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ↑ "Sex, area background and ethnic group: E56 The University of Edinburgh". UCAS. UCAS. 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ↑ "End of Cycle 2016 Data Resources DR4_001_02 Main scheme acceptances by provider". UCAS. UCAS. 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs namedComplete League Table 2017
- ↑ "University League Table 2017". Complete University Guide. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ↑ "The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017". The Good University Guide. London. Retrieved 16 August 2016.Template:Paywall
- ↑ "Which elite universities have the highest offer rates". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
- ↑ "Old school 'key to student place'". BBC. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2009.
- ↑ "World-leading research". 22 December 2011.
- ↑ "The best UK universities chosen by major employers". Times Higher Education. London. 12 November 2015.
- ↑ "University ranking based on performance over 10 years" (PDF). The Times. London. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
- ↑ "Edinburgh University worst for teaching". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ "Students give Edinburgh worst marks for teaching". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ "Students give Edinburgh worst marks for teaching". The Australian. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ "Edinburgh University". The Times. London. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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tag; no text was provided for refs namedThe Times and Sunday Times University Guide 2017
- ↑ http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/who's-who-in-the-subject-league-tables/
- ↑ http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/edinburgh/performance?
- ↑ "World University Rankings 2015-2016 by subject: social sciences results announced". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ↑ "The Students' Association". Ed.ac.uk. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ↑ "Edinburgh festival news and reviews". The Guardian. London. 10 February 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "Fringe 2013 – Bedlam Theatre, Venue 49". Bedlamfringe.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "The Improverts – Edinburgh Fringe 2010 – British Comedy Guide". Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
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- ↑ "Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group". Eusog.org. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "Theatre Paradok". Edinburgh University Students' Association. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ "Theatre Paradok". Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ http://windinguppetitionsolicitors.co.uk/insolvency-lawyers-london/the-journal-served-with-winding-up-petition/
- ↑ https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/societies/society/EUTV/
- ↑ "World's oldest varsity match returns to Scotland". Herald Scotland. 19 May 2015.
- ↑ "Edinburgh tops university medals table". The Daily Telegraph. London. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
- ↑ "EUSA democracy abolished in massive coup". The Journal (student newspaper). April 2012.
- ↑ "Edinburgh University Students' Association Societies". Eusa.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ↑ "Official Website of Edinburgh University Conservative and Unionist Association". Retrieved 11 June 2014.
- ↑ "Protest students occupy Edinburgh University hall". BBC News. 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ↑ "Appleton Tower comes under occupation". The Student (newspaper). 17 December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ↑ "Students disrupt royal visit in protest over tuition fees". STV News. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ↑ "Student protesters at Edinburgh University are occupying a building". The Independent. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ↑ "Students vow to continue occupation over fossil fuels". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ↑ "Security guard charged over student 'attack'". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ↑ "100 flats at £250 a month: Co-op housing project moves closer to goal". The Student Newspaper. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ↑ "Hearty Squirrel Cooperative Edinburgh". Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ↑ "What we do – The SHRUB Co-operative". Retrieved 21 February 2014.
- ↑ "Scotland Co-op List". students.coop. Students for Cooperation. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ↑ "Edinburgh University Library". Britain in Print. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
- ↑ "Omniana". University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 16 August 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2007. Unknown parameter
|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ↑ "Graduation cap (Object Details)". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 January 2007.
- ↑ Luscombe, Richard (25 June 2006). "One small step for John Knox, one giant leap for university". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh. Retrieved 14 January 2007.
- ↑ Schatzki, Stefan C. (2006). "Benjamin Waterhouse". American Journal of Roentgenology. 187 (2): 585. doi:10.2214/AJR.05.2125. PMID 16861568. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ↑ "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online". Biographi.ca. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ↑ Cruess, Richard L. (26 November 2007). "Brief history of Medicine at McGill". Mcgill.ca. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ↑ Joseph Hanaway and Richard Cruess (8 March 1996). "McGill Medicine, Volume 1, 1829–1885". Mqup.mcgill.ca. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ↑ "School of Medicine: A Brief History, University of Pennsylvania University Archives". Archives.upenn.edu. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ↑ Lisa Rosner (1 April 1992). "Thistle on the Delaware: Edinburgh Medical Education and Philadelphia Practice, 1800–1825 — Soc Hist Med". Shm.oxfordjournals.org. Retrieved 4 December 2010.
- ↑ "Edinburgh and the USA". Retrieved 15 August 2013.
- ↑ "Edinburgh's Links to the USA". Retrieved 15 August 2013.
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