TEACHING
QUALITY
University of St Andrews
3
rd
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
88.3%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
96.9%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
7th
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
13th=
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
18th
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
College Gate, St Andrews, KY16 9AJ View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
October 1, 15 and 29; November 12; March 11, 2015; April 1, 8 and 15
University Profile
St Andrews has achieved its best ever ranking in our league table this year, with only Oxford and Cambridge finishing above it. Its success makes it our Scottish University of the Year once more, while also earning a shortlisting for the UK title.
Strong in all areas in which we measure university performance, it registers by far the best scores north of the border for student satisfaction through the National Student Survey (NSS) and remains the only Scottish university in the top 20 of our league table.
St Andrews, which celebrated its 600thanniversary in 2013, is Scotland’s oldest university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. International students account for more than a third of the intake and give the university a cosmopolitan feel. The university is particularly popular in the United States, which alone provides nearly a fifth of the first-year students, many on Study Abroad programmes. There are eight applicants for every place, with 41% of the UK undergraduates coming from independent schools; only Oxford takes more.
Along with Edinburgh, St Andrews has the highest fees in the UK for undergraduates from
With almost 30% of St Andrews students coming from south of the border, the new fees might have been expected to hit recruitment, but both applications and enrolments rose in 2013 and all available places were filled before Clearing began. The projected drop-out rate is extremely low, at less than 3%.
Although the university has less than 10,000 students, it offers a wide range of courses. Its reputation has always rested mainly on the humanities, which have a £1.3m research centre. An £8m headquarters for the School of International Relations opened in 2006, with Europe’s first Centre for Syrian Studies, an Institute of Iranian Studies and a Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
St Andrews has the largest mediaeval history department in Britain and has now added film studies and sustainable development. It has also taken over the running of the town’s Byre Theatre, which closed due to financial problems in 2013. During the day, its main auditorium will be used for lectures and the studio theatre for teaching drama, leaving both free for public performances in the evenings and at weekends.
The town of St Andrews is steeped in history, as well as being the centre of the golfing world. The university at its heart accounts for half of the 18,000 inhabitants. There are close cultural and social relations between town and gown. New students (“bejants” and “bejantines”) acquire third or fourth-year “parents” to ease them into university life, and on Raisin Monday give their academic guardians a bottle of wine in return for a receipt in Latin, which can be written on anything.
Many of the main buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries, but sciences are taught at the modern North Haugh site a few streets away. Everything is within walking distance, but bicycles are common.
The university has been expanding both teaching and research in the sciences. A £45m Medical and Biological Sciences Building opened in 2010, one of the first UK medical schools whose research facilities are fully integrated with the other sciences, offering an important new dimension to medical training and research.
The new building was one of the first projects to be partially funded by St Andrews’ £100m fundraising appeal. Six years on from launch it has almost reached the halfway mark, a reflection of the gulf in philanthropic funding of higher education between Oxbridge and the rest – even among these two universities’ closest competitors.
The university has the largest optical telescope in Britain and is planning a Green Energy Centre and a Knowledge Exchange Centre for spin-out companies, new business and prototype testing.
Nearly 60% of the work submitted for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
More than half of all students live in halls and new apartments will be available for 2015 entrants following the demolition and replacement of houses on the Fife Park site. Self-catering accommodation for 920 students during term and three-star accommodation for golfers and other tourists in vacations won the Green Tourism Business Scheme’s Gold Award.
A small town perched on the Fife coast, students do not come to St Andrews for the nightclubs, but there is no shortage of parties in a tight-knit community. A £12m extension and redevelopment of the Students’ Association building has begun, but it will not be complete until the end of 2015.
The university is also planning a £14m transformation of its sports facilities, with a new sports hall, a larger and better-equipped fitness suite, tennis centre, expanded changing facilities and other improvements. Edinburgh is around an hour away by road for those in search of brighter lights.
Strong in all areas in which we measure university performance, it registers by far the best scores north of the border for student satisfaction through the National Student Survey (NSS) and remains the only Scottish university in the top 20 of our league table.
St Andrews, which celebrated its 600thanniversary in 2013, is Scotland’s oldest university and the third oldest in the English-speaking world. International students account for more than a third of the intake and give the university a cosmopolitan feel. The university is particularly popular in the United States, which alone provides nearly a fifth of the first-year students, many on Study Abroad programmes. There are eight applicants for every place, with 41% of the UK undergraduates coming from independent schools; only Oxford takes more.
Along with Edinburgh, St Andrews has the highest fees in the UK for undergraduates from
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England, Wales or Northern Ireland. It charges them £9,000 a year for each of the full four years of a degree, although there are bursaries for students from low-income families. Scots and other EU students continue to pay nothing.With almost 30% of St Andrews students coming from south of the border, the new fees might have been expected to hit recruitment, but both applications and enrolments rose in 2013 and all available places were filled before Clearing began. The projected drop-out rate is extremely low, at less than 3%.
Although the university has less than 10,000 students, it offers a wide range of courses. Its reputation has always rested mainly on the humanities, which have a £1.3m research centre. An £8m headquarters for the School of International Relations opened in 2006, with Europe’s first Centre for Syrian Studies, an Institute of Iranian Studies and a Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.
The town of St Andrews is steeped in history, as well as being the centre of the golfing world. The university at its heart accounts for half of the 18,000 inhabitants. There are close cultural and social relations between town and gown. New students (“bejants” and “bejantines”) acquire third or fourth-year “parents” to ease them into university life, and on Raisin Monday give their academic guardians a bottle of wine in return for a receipt in Latin, which can be written on anything.
Many of the main buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries, but sciences are taught at the modern North Haugh site a few streets away. Everything is within walking distance, but bicycles are common.
The university has been expanding both teaching and research in the sciences. A £45m Medical and Biological Sciences Building opened in 2010, one of the first UK medical schools whose research facilities are fully integrated with the other sciences, offering an important new dimension to medical training and research.
The new building was one of the first projects to be partially funded by St Andrews’ £100m fundraising appeal. Six years on from launch it has almost reached the halfway mark, a reflection of the gulf in philanthropic funding of higher education between Oxbridge and the rest – even among these two universities’ closest competitors.
The university has the largest optical telescope in Britain and is planning a Green Energy Centre and a Knowledge Exchange Centre for spin-out companies, new business and prototype testing.
Nearly 60% of the work submitted for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent.
More than half of all students live in halls and new apartments will be available for 2015 entrants following the demolition and replacement of houses on the Fife Park site. Self-catering accommodation for 920 students during term and three-star accommodation for golfers and other tourists in vacations won the Green Tourism Business Scheme’s Gold Award.
A small town perched on the Fife coast, students do not come to St Andrews for the nightclubs, but there is no shortage of parties in a tight-knit community. A £12m extension and redevelopment of the Students’ Association building has begun, but it will not be complete until the end of 2015.
The university is also planning a £14m transformation of its sports facilities, with a new sports hall, a larger and better-equipped fitness suite, tennis centre, expanded changing facilities and other improvements. Edinburgh is around an hour away by road for those in search of brighter lights.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
3 (4)
Student experience
86.3
7th
Research quality
28
13th=
Ucas entry points
523
6th
Graduate prospects
79.1
18th
Firsts and 2:1s
88.3
3rd
Completion rate
96.9
4th
Student-staff ratio
11.8:1
9th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
2,346
13th
World ranking
-
88 (83)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
6,465
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
950
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
1,680
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
370
Applications/places
14,745/1,860
Applications/places ratio
7.9:1
STUDENT CITIES
Pat Mathewson, students’ association president
An ancient town that rises out of the sea on a cliff that captivates you.
The belief that students are from a posh background, a detriment to the calibre and diversity of students that we have here.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
3,578
Accommodation costs
£81-£194
Catered costs
£137-£219
Accommodation contact
FEES
Scots/EU fees
£0-£1,820
RUK fees
£9,000 (£36,000 max)
Fees (international)
£16,230
Fees (international, medical)
£24,500 (medical science)
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£22,651
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
For all students on the basis of need, over 200 accommodation bursaries of £1,000. For Scottish students with household income below £42.6K, 50 academic bursaries of up to £2,000 a year.
>
For RUK students with household income below £42.6K, bursary to top up student's official grant and loan to £7,500 a year.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
1063.5, 28th
Sport website
Student satisfaction
93.4%
90.4%
90.2%
89.9%
89.4%
86.4%
86.4%
86.2%
85.5%
85.0%
84.5%
84.5%
82.5%
81.7%
80.7%
79.2%
72.9%
66.8%