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University of Edinburgh

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The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is one of the ancient universities of Scotland and is amongst the largest and most prestigious in the United Kingdom.

Contents

History

The founding of the University 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. The University was established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582. This was an unusual move at the time, as most universities were established through Papal bulls. What makes the University of Edinburgh even more unusual is the fact that its funding came the following year from the Town Council, making it in many ways the first civic university, known as the "Tounis College". It became the fourth Scottish university in a period when the much more populous and richer England had only two. By the 18th century Edinburgh was a leading centre of the European Enlightenment and became one of the continent's principal universities.

The Old College as built in 1827. The dome similar to Adam's original design was added in 1887
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The Old College as built in 1827. The dome similar to Adam's original design was added in 1887


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 enjoy 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 magnificent 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 that the body of William Burke was taken after he had been hanged. 


Towards the end of the 19th century, Old College was becoming too cramped and so Robert Rowand Anderson was commissioned to design a new Medical School premise in 1875. The medical school was more or less built to his design and was completed by the addition of the awe inspiring 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.


In addition, the University is responsible for a number of historic and modern buildings across the City, including the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland, 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 handsomely restored 17th-century Mylne's Court student residence which stands at the head of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. 


Edinburgh's Library pre-dates its University by three years. Founded in 1580, its collection has grown to become the largest university library in Scotland with over 2 million periodicals, manuscripts, theses, microforms and printed works. 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 - and an extensive series of Faculty and Departmental Libraries.
The two oldest Schools - Law and Divinity - are both well-esteemed in their respective subjects, with Law being based in Old College, and Divinity being based in New College, on the Mound, just in front of the temporary home of the Scottish Parliament. Students at the university are represented by the Edinburgh University Students' Association, EUSA, comprising Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889 and the Students' Representative Council (SRC), founded in 1884 by Robert Fitzroy Bell.


Edinburgh University also boasts a student newspaper (Student) founded by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1887.


In 2002 the University was re-organised from its 9 academic faculties into three 'Colleges'. While technically not a collegiate university, it now comprised of 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. (However, it is notable that 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.


Along similar lines, 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 in to line with many other large universities. (notably in the US, but to an increasing degree in the UK as well)



Reputation




The 2005 Times Higher Education Supplement [THES] World University Rankings ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:




The Academic Ranking of World Universities 2005 [ARWU] ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:

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.



Endowment

The university has the third largest financial endowment among UK universities at £160m and the third largest endowment per student, according to the Sutton Trust (2002).



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 the only British university apart from Oxford and Cambridge) to be a member of both the Coimbra Group and the LERU: two associations of leading European universities. The University is a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-driven universities.



Colleges and Schools




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

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







The College of Humanities & Social Science



The College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine



The College of Science & Engineering



Miscellaneous

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


The University of Pennsylvania, a US Ivy League institution founded in 1740, has long-standing historical links with the University of Edinburgh, including modelling UPenn's School of Medicine after Edinburgh's.



Location

Edinburgh is 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. However, as well as the architectural gems cited above, it has contributed several of the most ugly buildings in the city. These include the Appleton Tower and the University Library (at George Square) and the Darwin building (at the south Edinburgh King's Buildings site).


With the expansion in topics of study the university has expanded its campuses such that it now has seven main sites:



Alumni

The University has many famous alumni, including:





John Russell, 1st Earl Russell

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John Russell, 1st Earl Russell









Charles Darwin

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Charles Darwin









Alexander Graham Bell

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Alexander Graham Bell









James Clerk Maxwell

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James Clerk Maxwell









Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle












Robert Louis Stevenson

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Robert Louis Stevenson









Sir James Matthew Barrie

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Sir James Matthew Barrie









James Burnett Lord Monboddo

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James Burnett Lord Monboddo







Politics



Sciences



Arts



Miscellaneous



See also



Footnotes








External links




 Universities in Scotland





 Aberdeen | Abertay | Dundee | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Glasgow Caledonian | Heriot-Watt | Napier | Paisley | Robert Gordon | St Andrews | Stirling | Strathclyde





 League of European Research Universities



Amsterdam |
Cambridge | 
Edinburgh | 
Geneva |
Heidelberg | 
Helsinki | 
Karolinska (Stockholm) | 
Leiden | 
Leuven |
London (UCL) |
Lund |
Milan | 
Munich |  
Oxford |
Paris-Sud |
Strasbourg I (Louis Pasteur) |
Utrecht |
Zürich






 Coimbra Group (of European research universities)|


 Aarhus  |  Barcelona | Bergen | Bologna | Bristol  |  Budapest | Cambridge  |  Coimbra  |  Dublin  |  Edinburgh  |  Galway  |  Geneva  |  Göttingen  |  Granada  |  Graz  |  Groningen  |  Heidelberg  |  Jena | Kraków  |  Leiden  |  Leuven  |  Louvain-la-Neuve | Lyon  |  Montpellier | Oxford | Padua  |  Pavia  |  Poitiers  |  Prague  |  Salamanca  |  Siena  |  Tartu  |  Thessaloniki  |  Turku I  |  Turku II  |  Uppsala  |  Würzburg 




 Russell Group 
 (of British research universities)



 Birmingham | Bristol | Cambridge | Cardiff | Edinburgh | Glasgow | Imperial College London | King's College London | Leeds | Liverpool  | London School of Economics | Manchester | Newcastle | Nottingham | Oxford | Sheffield | Southampton | University College London | Warwick



























 





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