The University of Aberdeen is Scotland’s third oldest university, and the UK’s fifth. It was formed in the merging of two colleges, King’s and Marischal, in 1860.

King’s College was founded in 1495 by William Elphinstone, the then Bishop of Aberdeen, who used the great European universities of Paris and Bologna as his model.

With just 36 staff and students when it first opened, King’s was dedicated to training teachers, doctors, lawyers and the clergy who would serve northern Scotland and the Scottish monarchy. It offered studies in arts, theology and the law, and its position of chair of medicine, established in 1497, was the first to be created in the English-speaking world.

Marischal College meanwhile was opened in 1593, in the New Town of Aberdeen, by the fourth Earl Marischal.

The two colleges merged and for a time King’s focused on arts and divinity while Marischal focused on law and medicine.

The first women were admitted as students in 1894, with four women graduating in arts in 1898. By 1899, women were a quarter of their faculty.

Current students of the university number around 14,000 and prominent alumni include former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, former Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell, two judges of the supreme court of Scotland and a number of university vice-chancellors.

Health and healthcare have long been a research priority for Aberdeen, with the region boasting the highest concentration of health and life scientists in Europe. In 2002, a new Institute for Medical Sciences was opened followed by a new Health Sciences building in 2006, while the Suttie Centre for Teaching and Learning in Healthcare, a £20m training facility, opened in 2009.

The university also opened a new £57 million library, the Sir Duncan Rice in Old Aberdeen, in 2012, and in 2014 an aquatic centre with an Olympic-standard swimming pool.

The UK’s fifth oldest university, Aberdeen has been offering life-changing learning opportunities for more than 500 years. Today, it adds to this rich heritage with modern facilities and a 21st-century outlook. Represented by 130 nationalities, the University has an international community and is committed to equality and diversity.

The University of Aberdeen strives to be one of the world’s top research-intensive universities. Associated with five Nobel Prize winners, it is known for learning and research excellence. Students at Aberdeen benefit from a personalised experience and flexible learning. Honours students receive a broad and flexible education within the Scottish four-year degree system.

Employability, career preparation and work experience are important elements of life at Aberdeen. The Leadership Academy helps students to develop skills such as negotiation and networking, and the STAR Award rewards the transferable skills they develop through clubs, societies and volunteering.

The University of Aberdeen International Study Centre is located at the heart of the historic King’s College Campus. It offers a full range of subject options and pathways, including tailored programmes in engineering and medical studies.

International Study Centre programmes:
•Undergraduate Foundation Programme
•Undergraduate Foundation Programme: Life Sciences – pathway to Medicine
•Undergraduate Foundation Programme with International Year Two
•International Year Two
•Pre-Masters