The University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is an ancient university founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Alexander VI on behalf of James IV, King of Scots to establish King's College, making it Scotland's third-oldest university and the fifth-oldest in the English-speaking world. Aberdeen is consistently ranked among the top 200 universities in the world and is ranked within the top 20 universities in the United Kingdom according to the Guardian.

The university comprises three colleges - King's College, Marischal College, and Christ's College - that are now mainly ceremonial. The university as it is currently constituted was formed in 1860 by a merger between King's College and Marischal College, a second university founded in 1593 as a Protestant alternative to the former. The university's iconic buildings act as symbols of wider Aberdeen, particularly Marischal College in the city center and the crown steeple of King's College in Old Aberdeen. There are two campuses; the predominantly utilized King's College campus dominates the section of the city known as Old Aberdeen, which is approximately two miles north of the city center. Although the original site of the university's foundation, most academic buildings apart from the King's College Chapel and Quadrangle were constructed in the 20th century during a period of significant expansion.

Schools and Institutes

The University is divided into 12 schools which are organized within a broad range of disciplines, with the larger schools sub-divided into three teaching colleges.

Arts and Social Sciences

• Business School
• Divinity
• History of Art
• Scandinavian Studies
• Philosophy
• Education
• English
• Language and Linguistics
• Film and Visual Culture
• Modern Languages
• Music
• Law
• Anthropology
• Politics and International Relations
• Sociology

Life Sciences and Medicine

• Biological and Environmental Sciences
• Applied Health Sciences
• Dentistry
• Medical Sciences
• Medical & Dental Sciences
• Psychology

Physical Sciences

• Engineering
• Geosciences
• Archaeology
• Geography and Environment
• Geology and Petroleum Geology
• Chemistry
• Computing Science
• Mathematics
• Physics

University accommodation

Halls of residence are managed by the university. Two large concentrations of University accommodation are provided on the campus in Old Aberdeen and one mile north at the Hillhead Village.

The Hillhead Village is located north of Seaton Park, through which students have a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute bus ride to the Old Aberdeen campus, and comprises a large number of catered and self-catered accommodation across 9 different properties. At the heart of the Hillhead Village is the Head Space. In addition, other student accommodation in the city is owned and operated by private providers such as Unite Group.

Following their first year, the majority of students live in private accommodation off-campus or in privately owned halls of residence. In recent years, rents and availability of accommodation has seen more second and third year students returning to university halls.

Halls of residence include:

• Adam Smith House
• Elphinstone Road Flats
• Fyfe House
• Grant Court
• Hector Boece Court
• Keith House
• Kings Hall
• New Carnegie Court
• North Court
• South House
• Wavell House

Rankings

National rankings

Complete (2021)                            26

Guardian (2021)                             20

Times / Sunday Times (2021)      27

Global rankings

ARWU (2020)                                 201-300

CWTS Leiden (2020)                      107

QS (2021)                                       194

THE (2021)                                      168