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Information about University Of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh
Latin: Universitas Academica Edinburgensis
Established 1582
Type Public
Endowment £201 million[1]
Rector Mark Ballard
Chancellor HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
Principal Professor Timothy O'Shea
Staff 7,700 (2650 Support & Corporate)[2]
Students 23,715 [3]
Undergraduates 17,135 <ref name="HESA" />
Postgraduates 6,585 <ref name="HESA" />
Location Edinburgh, Scotland, UK ()
Address Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL
Campus Urban
Affiliations Russell Group
Coimbra Group
LERU, Universitas 21
Website [1]
The University of Edinburgh (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann), founded in 1582,[4] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of Scotland. The university is also amongst the largest in the United Kingdom.[5][6][7][8]

History

Main article: History of the University of Edinburgh
The founding of the University is attributed to Bishop Robert Reid of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, who left the funds on his death in 1558 that ultimately provided the University's endowment. The University was established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582, becoming the fourth Scottish university at a time when more populous neighbour England had only two.

By the 18th century Edinburgh was a leading centre of the European Enlightenment (see Scottish Enlightenment) and became one of the continent's principal universities.

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, and Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889.

In 2002 the University was re-organised from its 9 faculties into three ‘Colleges’, and now comprises the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Science and Engineering (CSE), and Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (MVM). Within these Colleges are 21 ‘Schools’, which are of roughly equal sizes, generally significantly larger than the more-numerous departments they replaced.

Academic reputation

Enlarge picture
The University's Robert Adam-designed Old College building, home of its Law School
Enlarge picture
The east façade of the Old College, before the dome was added in 1887


The 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement [THES] World University Rankings ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:[9] The THES also ranked world universities in broad subject areas in tables published in the THES itself, and available to subscribers via the THES website [10]. The University of Edinburgh was ranked:
  • 13th in the world for arts and humanities
  • 14th in the world for biomedicine
  • 38th in the world for social sciences
  • 46th in the world for science
  • 66th in the world for technology
The Academic Ranking of World Universities 2007 [ARWU] ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:[11]
  • 6th in the UK
  • 11th in Europe
  • 53rd in the world
The Guardian University Guide 2008 ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:[12]
  • 7th in the UK overall
  • 1st in the UK for computer science
  • 1st in the UK for physics
  • 2nd in the UK for medicine
  • 2nd in the UK for veterinary science
The Times Good University Guide 2007 has ranked the University of Edinburgh as the eleventh best university in the UK. In 2005, the University was the Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year.

In 2006 Newsweek ranked the University of Edinburgh 6th in the UK, 11th in Europe and 47th in the world.[13]

Endowment

The university has the third largest financial endowment among UK universities at £201m and the third largest endowment per student, according to the Sutton Trust (2002). The university has an annual turnover of more than £400m

Affiliations

The University of Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of large, research-led British universities. It is also the only Scottish university (and along with Oxford and Cambridge the only British universities) to be a member both of the Coimbra Group and the LERU: two leading associations of European universities. The University is also a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-led universities.

Colleges and Schools

Enlarge picture
The coat of arms of the University of Edinburgh, displayed on St Leonard's Land

College of Humanities and Social Science

College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine

College of Science and Engineering

  • School of Biological Sciences
  • School of Chemistry
  • School of GeoSciences
  • School of Engineering and Electronics
  • School of Informatics
  • School of Mathematics
  • School of Physics

Miscellaneous

Queen's University, a Canadian university founded in 1841, was modelled after the University of Edinburgh, and continues to display strong Scottish roots and traditions today.

McGill University, another Canadian 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 who had trained in Edinburgh.

The University of Pennsylvania, an American Ivy League university, has long-standing historical links with the University of Edinburgh, including modelling UPenn's School of Medicine after Edinburgh's.

Location

Edinburgh is considered by some as one of the greenest and most architecturally beautiful cities in Europe often referred to as the "Athens of the North". The University plays an integral role in the city, contributing to its vibrant atmosphere.

With the expansion in topics of study the university has expanded its campuses such that it now has seven main sites:
  • The Central Area including George Square, the Informatics Forum, Old College, and surrounding streets in Edinburgh's Southside, is the oldest region, occupied primarily by the college of humanities and social science, and the schools of informatics and law, as well as the main university library. The Appleton Tower is also used for teaching first year undergraduates in science and engineering. Nearby are the main EUSA buildings of Potterrow, Teviot Row House and the Pleasance Societies Centre. Old residents of George Square include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A number of these buildings are used to host events during the Edinburgh International Festival every summer.
  • The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Summerhall, at the East end of The Meadows. This houses Veterinary Medicine.
  • 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.
  • Pollock Halls, adjoining Holyrood Park to the east, provides accommodation (mainly half board) for a minority of students in their first year. The majority is provided by Self-catered flats. Two of the older houses in Pollock Halls were demolished in 2002 and a new building has been built in their place, leaving a total of ten buildings. Most other students in the city live in private flats in the Marchmont, Newington, Bruntsfield, New Town and Leith areas, although some university-owned flats are also available there.
  • New College, on the Mound, which houses the School of Divinity parts of which are also used by the Church of Scotland.
  • The King's Buildings, further south, houses most of the Science and Engineering schools including a Biology School that is a world leader in genetics. The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) and British Geological Survey (BGS) also have a presence on campus.
  • The Chancellor's Building was opened on 12th August 2002 by The Duke of Edinburgh and houses the new £40 million Medical School at the New Royal Infirmary in Little France. 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 and thus the University is currently (2003) in the process of moving its Veterinary and Medical Faculties there (and quite possibly also the School of Nursing). It has two large lecture theatres and a medical library. It is connected to the new Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by a series of corridors.

Alumni and faculty

Enlarge picture
David Hume Statue
Main article: List of University of Edinburgh people
There have been many notable alumni and faculty of the university, including Adam Smith, Gordon Brown, Alexander Graham Bell, Robin Cook, Charles Darwin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, David Hume, James Clerk Maxwell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Michael Atiyah and Ian Wilmut. Lord John Russell also matriculated there but did not graduate.

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.[14][15] In 2006, a University emblem taken into space by Piers Sellers was incorporated into the Geneva Bonnet.[16]

Student organisations

Media

Newspapers:

Gallery



Old College dome

The east façade of the Old College, before the dome was added in 1887

Detail of the façade to the courtyard of the Old College

Students' Union -

Teviot Row House, seen here as a Gilded Balloon venue during the Edinburgh Fringe

, currently under renovation




statue


See also

Footnotes

1. ^ University of Edinburgh (2006). "The University of Edinburgh Reports & Financial Statements for the year to 31 July 2006". Retrieved on 2007-01-19.
2. ^ University of Edinburgh (2006 ). Staff Figures. Retrieved on 2006-07-31.
3. ^ Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06. Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
4. ^ [2]
5. ^ [3]
6. ^ [4]
7. ^ [5]
8. ^ [6]
9. ^ The Top 200 World University Rankings. The Times Higher Education Supplement (2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
10. ^ [7]
11. ^ Top 500 World Universities (1-99). Shanghai Jiao Tong University (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.
12. ^ Guardian University Guide. The Guardian (2008). Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
13. ^ The Complete List: The Top 100 Global Universities. MSNBC (13 August 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-25.
14. ^ Omniana. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
15. ^ Graduation cap (Object Details). University of Edinburgh. Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
16. ^ Richard Luscombe. "One small step for John Knox, one giant leap for university", Scotland on Sunday, 25 June 2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-14. 

External links

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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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The date of establishment or date of founding of an institution is the date on which that institution chooses to claim as its starting point. Often the criteria that define a date of establishment or founding are ill-defined—or more specifically, are ill-defined in
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15th century - 16th century - 17th century
1550s  1560s  1570s  - 1580s -  1590s  1600s  1610s
1579 1580 1581 - 1582 - 1583 1584 1585

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities.

In some regions of the world prominent public institutions are highly influential centres of research; many of
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A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution, with the stipulation that it be invested, and the remain intact. This allows for the donation to have a much greater impact over a long period of time than if it were spent all at once.
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Pound sterling

New £20 Note All frequently used coins
ISO 4217 Code GBP
User(s) United Kingdom, Crown dependencies

Inflation 1.8% (UK CPI, August 2007), 4.1% (UK RPI), 3.4% (Guernsey 2006) 3.7% (Jersey 2006) 3.
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The word rector ("ruler," from the Latin regere) has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate someone who is in charge of something.

The word "rector" also appears in many modern languages, such as Dutch and Spanish.
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Mark Ballard (born June 27, 1971) is Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh and co-convener of the Edinburgh Green Party. Ballard was a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothians region between 2003 and 2007, representing the Scottish Green Party.
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For other uses, see Chancellor (disambiguation).


A Chancellor is the head of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as President or Rector.
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The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark, 10 June 1921)[2] is the husband and consort of Queen Elizabeth II.

Originally a Prince of Greece and Denmark, Prince Philip abandoned these titles shortly before his marriage.
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For other uses, see Principal.


The Principal is the chief executive and the chief academic officer of a university in certain parts of the Commonwealth.
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Timothy O'Shea FRSE (born Hamburg 1949 [1] ) is the current Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The University of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom.

Professor O'Shea was brought up in London and went to school in Essex.
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In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree. In the United States, students of higher degrees are known as graduates.
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Postgraduate education (often known in North America as graduate education, and sometimes described as quaternary education) involves studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree is required, and is normally considered to be part
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Edinburgh
Gaelic - Dùn Èideann
Scots - Edinburgh[1]
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North


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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. This term is at one end of the spectrum of suburban and rural areas. An urban area is more frequently called a city or town.
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Russell Group

Formation 1994
Type Association of UK universities
Location United Kingdom
Membership 20
Director General Dr Wendy Piatt
Key people Chairman:
Professor Malcolm Grant, UCL

Website [1]

The Russell Group
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The Coimbra Group (CG) is a network of European universities that gathers 38 universities, some of which are among the oldest and most prestigious in Europe. It was founded in 1985 and formally constituted by charter in 1987.
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Universitas 21 is an international network of research-intensive universities, established as an "international reference point and resource for strategic thinking on issues of global significance.
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Scottish Gaelic}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Scotland
Regulated by: Bòrd na Gàidhlig
Language codes
ISO 639-1: gd
ISO 639-2: gla
ISO 639-3: gla

Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig
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Edinburgh
Gaelic - Dùn Èideann
Scots - Edinburgh[1]
Auld Reekie, Athens of the North


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Motto
Nemo me impune lacessit   (Latin)
"No one provokes me with impunity"
"Cha togar m'fhearg gun dioladh"   
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Ancient university is a term used to describe the medieval and renaissance universities of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that have continued to exist.

The British Isles

The ancient universities in the British Isles are, in order of formation:

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Ancient university is a term used to describe the medieval and renaissance universities of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that have continued to exist.

The British Isles

The ancient universities in the British Isles are, in order of formation:

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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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The founding of the University of Edinburgh is attributed to Bishop Robert Reid of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, who left the funds on his death in 1558 that ultimately provided the endowment for the University of Edinburgh.
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Robert Reid (d. 1558) was abbot of Kinloss, commendator-prior of Beauly, and bishop of Orkney. He was one of the greatest of the bishops of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Scotland, and his legacy was the founding of the University of Edinburgh.
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