TEACHING
QUALITY
University of Edinburgh
22
nd=
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
83.7%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
90.4%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
115th
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
6th
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
21st=
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
Old College,
South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
September 27
University Profile
Edinburgh became the latest UK university to boast a Nobel Laureate on its staff when Professor Peter Higgs was awarded the 2013 physics prize for predicting the existence of the so-called “God particle”. The new Higgs Centre for Theoretical Physics will offer masters programmes and enable students to take up PhDs in relevant areas.
His success helps to boost Edinburgh’s performance in the international rankings that currently give the most positive view of the university: it is rated among the top 20 institutions in the world by QS.
Unusually poor student satisfaction ratings contributed to an eight-place drop out of the top 20 in our domestic league table last year, however. And Edinburgh has been unable to recover this year either. The university is trying to address undergraduates’ concerns with a new personal tutor system and a peer support scheme, and other developments designed to improve the student experience – but there remains a disconnect presently between the university’s standing in domestic rankings (which include student satisfaction) and international rankings (which don’t).
New undergraduates generally take three subjects in both their first and second years.
Despite the depressed domestic rankings, Edinburgh retains a special status north of the border, where it is regarded as the nearest thing to Oxbridge. It is one of the two most expensive universities in the UK for undergraduates from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay £9,000 for the full four years of their degree. However, that has not prevented Edinburgh attracting more applications in each of the last two years.
And the fact that more than a third of the 30,000 students come from outside the UK testifies to its worldwide reputation, reinforced by a QS world ranking of 17= this year – and generates huge income from overseas students’ fees.
Edinburgh is the largest university in Scotland. Its buildings are spread around the city, but most border the historic Old Town. These include the university’s main library, which has been redeveloped at a cost of £60m.
The science and engineering campus is two miles to the south. The university got even larger in 2011, when it merged with Edinburgh College of Art, extending the opportunity for students and staff to collaborate across disciplines.
The university’s Centre for Sport and Exercise was extended in 2010, adding to the already impressive sports facilities. Considerable sums have also been spent making the university more accessible to disabled students. The students’ union operates on several sites and there is a regular bus link between the science areas and the main university around George Square. The city is a treasure-trove of cultural and recreational opportunities, and most students thrive on Edinburgh life. Most first years are guaranteed an offer of accommodation.
Competition for places remains intense with more than ten applications for each place in 2013.Edinburgh has been trying to widen its intake, with a range of bursaries, some worth up to £7,000 a year to English, Welsh or Northern Irish students. Other measures include an eight-week summer school for local teenagers and support for students in the transition to higher education.
The university has always attracted a high proportion of middle-class candidates (who make up five of every six entrants) – many from England – and is a favourite in independent schools, whose students take about a third of all places. Selection guidelines aim to look beyond grades to consider candidates’ potential, giving particular weight to references and personal statements.
Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of leading UK research universities. A fundraising campaign has contributed to a new informatics building, as well as to the development of a “BioQuarter”, a ground-breaking collaboration between the university and a number of public bodies that is intended to consolidate Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in biomedical science.
In 2010, the author J K Rowling gave £10m to the university to set up a new clinic which conducts research into neurodegenerative diseases. A new library opened this year on the Science and Engineering campus, named after Noreen and Kenneth Murray, the Edinburgh-based husband and wife team who developed the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Business School has relocated to the main campus and a new research centre has been established for the study of Islamic civilisation and issues relating to Islam in Britain. Elsewhere, £90m has been spent on the redevelopment of the Easter Bush site, where a veterinary school building, a research building for the recently incorporated Roslin Institute and a cancer centre opened in 2011.
Almost two-thirds of the work submitted for the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, the highest proportion in Scotland. The university’s entry was among the largest in the UK and produced strong results across the board. The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine was the star performer, with all of the work in hospital-based clinical subjects rated at the international level and 40 per cent at the highest grade. Informatics, linguistics and English literature also produced outstanding results.
His success helps to boost Edinburgh’s performance in the international rankings that currently give the most positive view of the university: it is rated among the top 20 institutions in the world by QS.
Unusually poor student satisfaction ratings contributed to an eight-place drop out of the top 20 in our domestic league table last year, however. And Edinburgh has been unable to recover this year either. The university is trying to address undergraduates’ concerns with a new personal tutor system and a peer support scheme, and other developments designed to improve the student experience – but there remains a disconnect presently between the university’s standing in domestic rankings (which include student satisfaction) and international rankings (which don’t).
New undergraduates generally take three subjects in both their first and second years.
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Every student has a personal tutor to help them narrow down the selection of a final degree and give personal advice when necessary. However, Edinburgh achieved an unwanted clean sweep of rock bottom rankings among universities in this guide in this year’s National Student Survey (NSS) for questions to do with the promptness, usefulness and extent of academic feedback, suggesting the university still has a long way to go to turn around a poor position.Despite the depressed domestic rankings, Edinburgh retains a special status north of the border, where it is regarded as the nearest thing to Oxbridge. It is one of the two most expensive universities in the UK for undergraduates from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay £9,000 for the full four years of their degree. However, that has not prevented Edinburgh attracting more applications in each of the last two years.
And the fact that more than a third of the 30,000 students come from outside the UK testifies to its worldwide reputation, reinforced by a QS world ranking of 17= this year – and generates huge income from overseas students’ fees.
The science and engineering campus is two miles to the south. The university got even larger in 2011, when it merged with Edinburgh College of Art, extending the opportunity for students and staff to collaborate across disciplines.
The university’s Centre for Sport and Exercise was extended in 2010, adding to the already impressive sports facilities. Considerable sums have also been spent making the university more accessible to disabled students. The students’ union operates on several sites and there is a regular bus link between the science areas and the main university around George Square. The city is a treasure-trove of cultural and recreational opportunities, and most students thrive on Edinburgh life. Most first years are guaranteed an offer of accommodation.
Competition for places remains intense with more than ten applications for each place in 2013.Edinburgh has been trying to widen its intake, with a range of bursaries, some worth up to £7,000 a year to English, Welsh or Northern Irish students. Other measures include an eight-week summer school for local teenagers and support for students in the transition to higher education.
The university has always attracted a high proportion of middle-class candidates (who make up five of every six entrants) – many from England – and is a favourite in independent schools, whose students take about a third of all places. Selection guidelines aim to look beyond grades to consider candidates’ potential, giving particular weight to references and personal statements.
Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of leading UK research universities. A fundraising campaign has contributed to a new informatics building, as well as to the development of a “BioQuarter”, a ground-breaking collaboration between the university and a number of public bodies that is intended to consolidate Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in biomedical science.
In 2010, the author J K Rowling gave £10m to the university to set up a new clinic which conducts research into neurodegenerative diseases. A new library opened this year on the Science and Engineering campus, named after Noreen and Kenneth Murray, the Edinburgh-based husband and wife team who developed the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Business School has relocated to the main campus and a new research centre has been established for the study of Islamic civilisation and issues relating to Islam in Britain. Elsewhere, £90m has been spent on the redevelopment of the Easter Bush site, where a veterinary school building, a research building for the recently incorporated Roslin Institute and a cancer centre opened in 2011.
Almost two-thirds of the work submitted for the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, the highest proportion in Scotland. The university’s entry was among the largest in the UK and produced strong results across the board. The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine was the star performer, with all of the work in hospital-based clinical subjects rated at the international level and 40 per cent at the highest grade. Informatics, linguistics and English literature also produced outstanding results.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
22= (22)
Student experience
77.4
115th
Research quality
32.7
6th
Ucas entry points
489
9th=
Graduate prospects
78.1
21st=
Firsts and 2:1s
83.7
9th
Completion rate
90.4
37th=
Student-staff ratio
13.8:1
19th
Services/facilities spend (£)
2,188
17th
World ranking
-
17= (17=)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
18,390
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
735
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
6,605
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
1,960
Applications/places
50,755/5,490
Applications/places ratio
9.2:1
STUDENT CITIES
Briana Pegado, students’ association president
Whether you’re studying engineering or art the range of people give a holistic and interesting edge to class discussions.
It’s such a large university that the experience can be isolating but the union is here to provide support.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
6,300
Accommodation costs
£58-£154
Catered costs
£118-£201
Accommodation contact
FEES
Scots/EU fees
£0-£1,820
RUK fees
£9,000 (£36,000 max)
Fees (international)
£15,250-£20,050
Fees (international, medical)
£23,450-£45,400
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£22,634
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
Edinburgh RUK Bursary taken as fee waiver or cash: household income below £16K, £7,000 per year (£3,685 for Welsh students),and then a sliding scale to £42.6K, £5,700–£500 (£3,685–£500 for Welsh students).
>
Scholarships and other bursaries available.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
2893, 5th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
89.0%
88.6%
83.6%
83.3%
83.1%
82.5%
82.4%
82.2%
82.1%
81.8%
81.6%
81.3%
81.2%
81.0%
80.7%
79.7%
78.1%
78.0%
77.9%
77.6%
77.5%
77.3%
76.1%
75.3%
74.8%
73.7%
73.3%
73.2%
72.6%
72.6%
69.0%
67.5%
58.1%