Scotland is a popular place to study, not just for Scots but for people from all over the world. Home to some of the top performing universities not just in the UK but anywhere worldwide, Scotland is well known for its cultural diversity, rich heritage, beautiful landscapes and national traditions. For anyone who is keen to study north of the border, there are many outstanding institutions to choose from. But which is the highest rated university in Scotland?
The University Of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh is currently ranked as the top institution in Scotland. The 6th oldest university anywhere in the English-speaking world, this institution has had a presence in the capital city of Scotland since 1583. Based in the “old town”, the university is still surrounded by beautifully preserved buildings from the era of the reformation and offers an amazing educational experience for its students.
Ranking joint 23rd out of all the institutions in the world and joint 5th across the whole of the UK, Edinburgh University has a clear role in the status of the city as a vibrant cultural centre for comedy and theatre and a hub of information and knowledge. Students come to study here from all around the globe and even the staff represent a wealth of cultures, with over 130 countries being represented in the hallowed halls. Known for its stimulating learning, teaching and working environment, this university offers impressive facilities which have attracted some of the best minds in history. Some of the best-known alumni include Noble prize-winning laureates, explorers, investors and pioneers.
Today, the university is home to over 35,000 students and continues to appeal to some of the brightest stars. Offering many methods of study from online courses on courses taught on campus, this institution is proud to be the biggest provider of distance learning among all of the Russell Group universities, with over 60 programmes on offer.
Research And Teaching Excellence
The University of Edinburgh was recently given the highest possible rating by the Quality Assurance Agency for the student learning experience on offer, and it’s easy to see why. There are over 500 different undergraduate courses to choose from as well as 300 masters degrees and 135 different areas of research.
This institution also holds a well-earned place as one of the UK’s top research universities, with 83% of its research being rated as internationally excellent or world leading, and taking 4th position in the whole of the UK for the breadth of quality of research.
Over the years, Edinburgh University’s culture of research has led to many world-changing discoveries including genetic cloning in the form of Dolly the sheep, the Higgs Boson particle and chloroform anaesthesia.
Student Support And Facilities
Students at the University of Edinburgh can expect to receive a high level of support with both their personal and academic needs. International students have their own special office where non-UK students and applicants can obtain assistance and for those who require help with the language there is also a specialist English Language Education department. Students can also benefit from a counselling service, health centre, disability service, childcare service, chaplaincy and Advice Place.
The university also offers an extensive library with 3.4 million books in print plus over 400,000 e-books and 45,000 electronic journals. As the campus has the biggest computing network on a campus anywhere in Britain, it’s a great place to take advantage of online services. When it comes to socialising, this institution won’t disappoint either with more than 280 student societies and group, 2 nightclubs and 12 bars across the campus.
Courses And Programmes
There is an enormous breadth of courses available at this institution, from medicine and nursing to English Literature and Applied Sports Science and everything in between. Although most undergraduate courses last for 4 years such as training to be a road traffic accident solicitor where specialist knowledge is needed of car accident compensation amounts, some graduate courses are shorter and other specialist programmes are longer, with medicine taking 6 years to complete and veterinary medicine and fine art taking 5 years.
Highly qualified applicants may be able to join the course in the second year and have a three year programme instead of 4.
The undergraduate programmes are very flexible with most courses giving students the opportunity to study a broad spectrum of subjects in the first two years before taking specialist subjects in the third and fourth years. There are also international exchange opportunities, with students being able to experience education in more than 270 places worldwide.
Graduates leaving the University of Edinburgh can also look forward to excellent career prospects, with 80% of leavers qualifying with a 2:1 award or First. The institutions alumni are also among some of the top earners in the UK with a £49,500 salary within 5 years of graduating, making studying at Edinburgh an excellent prospect for ambitious learners.