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The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582,[1] is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the sixth university to be established in the British Isles, making it one of the ancient universities of Scotland and is amongst the largest and most prestigious in the United Kingdom.[2][3][4][5]
The founding of the University is attributed to Bishop Robert Reid of St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, who left the funds on his death in 1558 that ultimately provided the University's endowment. The University was established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582, becoming the fourth Scottish university at a time when the much more populous and prosperous England had only two.
By the 18th century Edinburgh was a leading centre of the European Enlightenment and became one of the continent's principal universities.
Students at the university are represented by Edinburgh University Students' Association (EUSA), which consists of the Students' Representative Council (SRC), founded in 1884 by Robert Fitzroy Bell, and Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889.
In 2002 the University was re-organised from its 9 faculties into three ‘Colleges’, and now comprises the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Science and Engineering (CSE), and Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (MVM). Within these Colleges are 21 ‘Schools’, which are of roughly equal sizes, generally significantly larger than the more-numerous departments they replaced.
The 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement [THES] World University Rankings ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows[6]:
The Academic Ranking of World Universities 2006 [ARWU] ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:
The Guardian University Guide 2008 ranked the University of Edinburgh as follows:
The Times Good University Guide 2007 has ranked the University of Edinburgh as the eleventh best university in the UK. In 2005, the University was the Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year.
In 2006 Newsweek ranked the University of Edinburgh 6th in the UK, 11th in Europe and 47th in the world[7].
The university has the third largest financial endowment among UK universities at £201m and the third largest endowment per student, according to the Sutton Trust (2002). The university has an annual turnover of more than £400m
The University of Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of large, research-led British universities. It is also the only Scottish university (and the only British university apart from Oxford and Cambridge) to be a member of both the Coimbra Group and the LERU: two associations of leading European universities. The University is a member of Universitas 21, an international association of research-driven universities.
Queen's University, a Canadian university founded in 1841, was modelled after the University of Edinburgh, and continues to display strong Scottish roots and traditions today.
McGill University, another Canadian university, founded in 1821, has strong Edinburgh roots and links to the University of Edinburgh as McGill's first (and, for several years, its only) faculty, Medicine, was founded by four physicians/surgeons who had trained in Edinburgh.
The University of Pennsylvania has long-standing historical links with the University of Edinburgh, including modelling UPenn's School of Medicine after Edinburgh's.
Edinburgh is considered by some as one of the greenest and most architecturally beautiful cities in Europe often referred to as the "Athens of the North". The University plays an integral role in the city, contributing to its vibrant atmosphere.
With the expansion in topics of study the university has expanded its campuses such that it now has seven main sites:
There have been many notable alumni and faculty of the university, including Gordon Brown, Alexander Graham Bell, Robin Cook, Charles Darwin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, David Hume, James Clerk Maxwell, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Michael Atiyah and Ian Wilmut.
At graduation ceremonies, the Vice-Chancellor caps graduates with the Geneva Bonnet, a hat which legend says was originally made from cloth taken from the breeches of John Knox or George Buchanan. The hat was last restored in 2000, when a note from 1849 was discovered in the fabric.[8][9] In 2006, a University emblem taken into space by Piers Sellers was incorporated into the Geneva Bonnet.[10]
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<gallery> Image:University of Edinburgh, Old College.jpg|Old College Image:Old College Dome.JPG|Old College dome Image:Edinburgh University 1827.jpg|The east façade of the Old College, before the dome was added in 1887 Image:Old College, University of Edinburgh courtyard facade detail.jpg|Detail of the façade to the courtyard of the Old College Image:University of Edinburgh, Teviot.jpg|Students' Union - Teviot Row House Image:Teviot row house.jpg|Teviot Row House, seen here as a Gilded Balloon venue during the Edinburgh Fringe Image:Appleton tower looming.jpg|Appleton Tower, currently under renovation Image:Pollock 1.jpg|Pollock Halls of Residence Image:Pollock 3.jpg|Pollock Halls of Residence Image:John Playfair.jpg|John Playfair Image:David-hume-edinburgh.jpg|David Hume statue </gallery>
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