University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh (Scots: University o Edinburgh, Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as Edin. in post-nominals) is a public research university in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was started by the town council in 1582 and opened in 1583. It is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and helped make Edinburgh a famous place for learning.

Today, the University of Edinburgh is respected around the world. It has beautiful old buildings across five main areas in Edinburgh.

Many famous people studied there, including inventor Alexander Graham Bell, naturalist Charles Darwin, and philosopher David Hume. The university has been linked to 20 Nobel Prize winners.

History

Early history

In 1557, Bishop Robert Reid planned to build a college in Edinburgh. He wanted to teach subjects like rhetoric and poetry, not just the usual ones like philosophy.

The plans were delayed for many years because of religious changes. In 1582, King James VI allowed the college to be built. It opened in 1583 with about 80 to 90 students. The college taught liberal arts and divinity. A graduate from the University of St Andrews named Robert Rollock was the first teacher. He taught all the first-year students for four years. The first students finished in 1587, and 47 graduated with an M.A. degree. When King James VI visited in 1617, he renamed the college the “Colledge of King James.” Over time, it became known as the University of Edinburgh.

18th and 19th century

During the 18th century, the university was very important during the Scottish Enlightenment. Many famous thinkers taught there, including Adam Smith, David Hume, and Joseph Black.

In 1785, new buildings were built for the university. It became known for teaching anatomy and surgery and was one of the best medical schools.

In 1869, a group of women called the Edinburgh Seven began studying medicine at the university. They faced many difficulties but helped make it possible for women to study and work in medicine.

20th century

During World War I, the university grew and added new buildings. In 1920, a new campus called King’s Buildings was created for science subjects.

In 1941, the Polish School of Medicine was started to help students and doctors from Poland during the war.

In 1998, the Moray House Institute of Education joined the university, becoming part of its education programs.

21st century

In the 2000s, the university built new campuses and research centers. In 2011, the Edinburgh College of Art joined the university. The university also began working with other institutions around the world and created new programs for students.

Historical links

The University of Edinburgh has influenced many other universities around the world. Graduates from its Medical School helped start medical schools at places like Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and Harvard University. Others used ideas from Edinburgh to shape schools in Canada, Australia, and the United States.

Campuses and buildings

The University of Edinburgh has five main sites in Edinburgh: Central Area, King's Buildings, BioQuarter, Easter Bush, and Western General.

The Central Area is the oldest part of the university. It includes important buildings such as St Cecilia's Hall, Scotland's oldest concert hall, and Teviot Row House, the world's oldest students' union building. The Central Area has many classrooms, offices, and special spaces for learning.

Central Area

The Central Area is in Edinburgh's Southside and Old Town. It is home to many classes and offices for arts, humanities, social sciences, and computer science. Famous buildings here include 40 George Square, Appleton Tower, the Main Library, and the Gordon Aikman Lecture Theatre. Other important spots are Bristo Square with the Dugald Stewart Building, Informatics Forum, McEwan Hall, Potterrow Student Centre, Teviot Row House, and the old Medical School. The Pleasance hosts events for students, and Edinburgh College of Art is in Lauriston. North of George Square are the Old College with Edinburgh Law School, New College on The Mound with the School of Divinity, and St Cecilia's Hall. Some buildings are used for the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each summer.

Pollock Halls

Main article: Pollock Halls of Residence

Pollock Halls is the biggest place for first-year students to live. It has many rooms in ten buildings with green spaces between them. Most students live in flats where they cook their own meals. There is also a big meeting place called the John McIntyre Conference Centre.

Holyrood

See also: Moray House School of Education

The Holyrood campus is near the Royal Mile. It used to be a school for teachers before joining the university in 1998. The campus now has sports facilities, a place for students who have finished their studies, and centers for learning and professional studies.

King's Buildings

Main article: King's Buildings

King's Buildings is in the south of the city and is a big area for science and engineering. It has many buildings for different subjects like mobile phones, physics, chemistry, and engineering. The campus has a big library and centers for technology, business, and the environment.

BioQuarter

Main article: Edinburgh BioQuarter

BioQuarter is in Little France and has most of the university's medical buildings, including the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. It has places for studying medicine, like the Centre for Regenerative Medicine and the Queen's Medical Research Institute.

Easter Bush

The Easter Bush campus is seven miles south of the city and is home to the Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, and centers for animal welfare and veterinary care. The Roslin Institute became famous in 1996 for cloning Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

Western General

The Western General campus is near Western General Hospital and includes facilities for biomedical research, clinical studies, and genetics.

• Modern architecture at the University of Edinburgh

• Appleton Tower

• Business School

[Centre for Regenerative Medicine](/wiki/Centre_for_Regenerative_Medicine)

[Erskine Williamson](/wiki/Erskine_Douglas_Williamson) Building, [King's Buildings](/wiki/King's_Buildings)

[Informatics Forum](/wiki/Informatics_Forum), School of Informatics

[Roslin Institute](/wiki/Roslin_Institute)

[Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh](/wiki/Royal_Infirmary_of_Edinburgh), School of Medicine

[Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies](/wiki/Royal_\(Dick\)_School_of_Veterinary_Studies)

Organisation and administration

Governance

The University of Edinburgh has three main groups to help it run: the University Court, the General Council, and the Senatus Academicus. The University Court makes big decisions and is led by the rector. It includes the principal, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and other members. The General Council has graduates and staff and helps take care of the university. The Senatus Academicus leads teaching and planning.

University officials

The university has three important leaders: the chancellor, rector, and principal. The chancellor is a special ceremonial leader and is currently Princess Anne. The principal, currently Sir Peter Mathieson, manages the day-to-day work of the university. The rector, currently Simon Fanshawe, is chosen by staff and students to help speak for them.

Colleges and schools

The university is divided into three big colleges: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Science & Engineering; and Medicine & Vet Medicine. Each college has many smaller schools that focus on different subjects. For example, the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences college has schools like Business, Law, and History.

Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

The medical school at Edinburgh has a long history and is known for being very good. It has trained many important people and is highly ranked around the world for teaching and research.

Science and Engineering

Science and Engineering at Edinburgh started a long time ago with teaching in natural philosophy. Over many years, the university has built strong programs in areas like Chemistry, Engineering, and Astronomy, helping make big discoveries.

Staff, community and networking

The university helps its staff by creating groups and societies. These let researchers from different subjects connect with each other. The groups work together to support fairness and welcome for everyone in the university community.

Academic profile

The University of Edinburgh is one of the top universities in the UK and the world. It works closely with Heriot-Watt University for teaching and research. Students can take free online courses on platforms like Coursera, Edx, and FutureLearn.

The university has high standards and many students apply each year. Popular courses include Business Studies, Law, and Medicine. Students from many countries study here.

Graduation ceremonies are held in a special hall called McEwan Hall. Graduates receive a special hat called the Geneva Bonnet.

The university has a large library, the biggest academic library in Scotland. Students can study at partner universities around the world, including places in Europe, North America, Asia, and more.

The university is well known for its research and teaching. It ranks highly in subjects like Computer Science, Medicine, and the Arts. Some surveys suggest there is room to improve teaching quality and student feedback.

Student life

Students' Association

Main article: Edinburgh University Students' Association

The Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA) has a students' union and a students' representative council. EUSA's buildings include Teviot Row House, The Pleasance, Potterrow Student Centre, Kings Buildings House, and shops and cafés. Teviot Row House is the oldest purpose-built student union building in the world. Most of these buildings are used during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August. EUSA represents students to the university and the world, and is responsible for over 250 student societies. The association has a president and four vice presidents. EUSA is affiliated with the National Union of Students (NUS).

Debate

The University of Edinburgh has the Diagnostic Society of Edinburgh, founded in 1787. It is the oldest student debating society in the UK. The society is connected to the university through the students union.

Performing arts

Amateur dramatic societies enjoy Edinburgh’s culture for comedy, amateur and fringe theatre.

The Edinburgh University Music Society (EUMS) is a student-run musical group, Scotland's oldest. It performs concerts and charity events.

The Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC), founded in 1890, runs Bedlam Theatre, the oldest student-run theatre in Britain. EUTC also supports The Improverts. Alumni include Ian Charleson, Kevin McKidd, and Greg Wise.

The Edinburgh Studio Opera is a student opera company. It performs operas each year. The Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group (EUSOG) is an opera and musical theatre company founded by students in 1961.

The Edinburgh University Footlights produce two large shows a year. Theatre Parodok, founded in 2004, aims to make shows that are fun for everyone. They stage shows each semester and for the festival.

Media

The Student is a student newspaper, founded in 1887 by writer Robert Louis Stevenson. It is the oldest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Former writers include politicians Gordon Brown, Robin Cook, and Lord Steel of Aikwood. The newspaper won awards after it restarted.

The Journal was a student publication started in 2007. It was distributed to other universities but stopped in 2015.

FreshAir is a student radio station, started in 1992. It won an award in 2004.

In 2015, Edinburgh University Student Television (EUTV) started making programmes and documentaries.

Sport

Main article: Edinburgh University Sports Union

Students at Edinburgh play many sports, from rugby and football to judo, korfball, gliding and mountaineering. In 2021, the university had over 65 sports clubs run by Edinburgh University Sports Union (EUSU).

The Scottish Varsity is a rugby match played yearly against the University of St Andrews. It is played at the start of the school year and since 2015 has been at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Boat Race is a rowing race between Glasgow University Boat Club and the Edinburgh University Boat Club. It started in 1877 and is one of the oldest university boat races.

Edinburgh athletes have done well in the Olympic Games: Sprinter Eric Liddell won medals in 1924. At the 1948 Olympics, Jackie Robinson won gold with the American Basketball team. Trap shooter Bob Braithwaite won gold in 1968. Cyclist Sir Chris Hoy won many medals between 2000 and 2012. Rower Dame Katherine Grainger won gold in 2012.

Student activism

There are many groups at the university for campaigns, including People & Planet and the Amnesty International Society. There are groups for international development, left-wing ideas, and many other causes.

Sometimes, students protest or take over buildings to make their voices heard.

Student co-operatives

There are three student-run co-operatives: Edinburgh Student Housing Co-operative (ESHC), which gives students affordable housing; the Hearty Squirrel Food Cooperative, which gives students local and organic food; and the SHRUB Coop, which helps reduce waste. Only the Hearty Squirrel Co-operative is on campus. ESHC is south of the main campus. The co-operatives are part of the Students for Cooperation network.

Notable people

Main articles: List of University of Edinburgh people and List of University of Edinburgh medical people

The University of Edinburgh has helped make many important discoveries and achievements. Some of these include the start of Antiseptic surgery, Bayesian statistics, Economics, Electromagnetism, Evolution, Knot theory, modern Geology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Hematology, Dermatology, Epigenetics, Gestalt psychology, Thermodynamics, Colloid chemistry, Wave theory, the discovery of Brownian motion, discoveries related to Magnesium, carbon dioxide, latent heat and specific heat, chloroform anaesthesia, the Hepatitis B vaccine, the Cygnus X-1 black hole, the Higgs mechanism and Higgs boson, the structure of DNA, the HPV vaccine, Iridium and Osmium, Nitrogen, Strontium, SARS coronavirus, the invention of the Stirling engine, the Cavity magnetron, the ATM, the refrigerator and artificial refrigeration, the diving chamber, the reflecting telescope, the hypodermic syringe, the kaleidoscope, the pneumatic tyre, the telephone, the telpherage, and the vacuum flask.

Many famous people have studied or worked at the university. This includes leaders, scientists, writers, and athletes from many countries.

Nobel and Nobel equivalent prizes

See also: List of Nobel laureates by university affiliation

As of October 2024, 20 Nobel Prize winners have been connected to the university. These include important people in science, economics, and medicine.

Heads of state and government

In popular culture

The University of Edinburgh has been in many books, movies, and TV shows.

The story The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson was inspired by things that happened in Edinburgh. A movie called Burke & Hare was made about these events in 2010. Many stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, including those about Sherlock Holmes, were influenced by his time at the university.

The university has also been in films like Journey to the Center of the Earth and Chariots of Fire, and TV shows such as NCIS and Clique. Scenes for these shows were often filmed at real places on the university campuses.