There are fifteen higher education institutions in Scotland which have university status.[1]
University status in the United Kingdom is conferred by the Privy Council which takes advice from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.[2][3] In Scotland, the minister with higher education responsibilities is the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning of the Scottish Government;[4] as of October 2011, this is Scottish National Party's Michael Russell.[5] Scottish universities are funded by the Scottish Government's Scottish Funding Council, a non-departmental public body,[4] while support funding for students is provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. In 2008, over 240,000 students were enrolled at Scottish universities.[6] Universities Scotland is the representative body which works to promote Scotland's universities, as well as six other higher education institutions.[7]
The oldest university in Scotland is the University of St Andrews, established in 1413, with the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen also dating back to the 15th century. These "ancient universities" were established by Papal bulls, but in the 16th century the royal charter became the standard method of foundation. The first of these established the University of Edinburgh, which became Scotland's fourth university while England had only two. The number of universities doubled during the 1960s, with three existing colleges gaining university status; the University of Stirling was established as Scotland's only plate glass university. Several former polytechnics or central institutions followed after the Further and Higher Education Act was put in place. The newest is the University of the Highlands and Islands, which attained university status in 2011. Besides the campus-based universities, the distance-learning Open University plays a role in the Scottish university sector, teaching 40% of Scotland's part-time undergraduates.[8]
| University | Image | Location | Year of establishment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of St Andrews | St Andrews, Fife | 1413 [9] | University status conferred on 28 August 1413 by a papal bull of Pope Benedict XIII [9] | |
| University of Glasgow | Glasgow | 1451 [10] | University status conferred on 7 January 1451 by a papal bull of Pope Nicholas V [11] | |
| University of Aberdeen | Aberdeen | 1495 | Established as King's College, Aberdeen in 1495, which merged with Marischal College (est. 1593) in 1860 | |
| University of Edinburgh | Edinburgh | 1582 | ||
| University of Strathclyde | Glasgow | 1964 | First established 1796 as an offshoot of the University of Glasgow | |
| Heriot-Watt University | Edinburgh | 1966 | First established 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh | |
| University of Dundee | Dundee | 1967 | First established 1881 as a college of the University of St Andrews, known as University College then Queen's College until its establishment as an independent University in 1967 | |
| University of Stirling | Stirling | 1967 | ||
| Edinburgh Napier University | Edinburgh | 1992 | First established 1964 as Napier Technical College | |
| Robert Gordon University | Aberdeen | 1992 | First established 1750 as Robert Gordon's Hospital | |
| University of the West of Scotland | Paisley, Renfrewshire | 1992 | First established 1836 as a School of Arts, known as the University of Paisley until 2007 | |
| Glasgow Caledonian University | Glasgow | 1993 | First established 1875 as the Glasgow School of Cookery | |
| University of Abertay Dundee | Dundee | 1994 | First established 1888 as Dundee College of Technology | |
| Queen Margaret University | Musselburgh, East Lothian | 2007 | First established 1875 as The Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic Economy | |
| University of the Highlands and Islands | Highlands and Islands | 2011 | A federation of colleges, first established in 2001 as the UHI Millennium Institute,[12] and awarded full university status in February 2011.[13] |
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