University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410 and 1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland. The university is situated in the Royal Burgh of St Andrews, on the east coast of Scotland. The university attracts students from over 75 countries. Independent school intake is high but the university has an active widening participation policy. The modern library and many departments are in the town centre. The town's population of 16,000 is increased considerably during the university academic year by the influx of 7,000 students. The University of St. Andrews is also the institution where Prince William recently graduated from.

History

The University was founded in 1410 when a charter of incorporation was bestowed upon the Augustinian priory of St Andrews Cathedral. The University grew in size quite rapidly; St Salvator's College was established in 1450, St Leonard's College in 1511 and St Mary's College in 1537. Some of the college buildings in use today date from this period as does St Salvator's Chapel. At this time much of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral.

Related Topics:
1410 - Charter - Augustinian priory - St Andrews Cathedral - St Salvator's College - 1450 - St Leonard's College - 1511 - St Mary's College - 1537 - St Salvator's Chapel - Religious - Cleric - Cathedral

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During the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries the university underwent many changes. The distinctive red gowns which are still in use today were adopted in 1672 and towards the end of the seventeenth century a move to Perth was considered and eventually rejected. In 1747 St Salvator's and St Leonards's were merged to form the United College of St. Salvator and St. Leonard. During the nineteeth century student numbers were very low and the university having to close was a very real possibility. In the 1870s there were fewer than 150 students, and perhaps partly in response to this the university was, in 1897, strengthened by the foundation of University College in Dundee which became a centre of medical and scientific excellence. This affiliation ended in 1967 when the college, which had been renamed Queen's College, became a separate and independent institution as the University of Dundee - the loss of teaching facilities for clinical medicine caused the University's Bute Medical School to form a new attachment with the University of Manchester. Today the university is growing rapidly and in relatively sound financial health, perhaps helped by what some students have argued are one of the highest hall of residence rents in the UK outside of London, though the University argues that the residential system does not produce a surplus.

Related Topics:
Seventeenth - Nineteenth - 1672 - Perth - 1747 - St Salvator's - St Leonards's - 1870s - 1897 - Dundee - 1967 - University of Dundee - Bute Medical School - University of Manchester

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