University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews (Scots: University o St Andras, Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Chill Rìmhinn; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public research university in the town of St Andrews in Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the third-oldest university in the English-speaking world. St Andrews was founded in 1413 when the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII issued a papal bull to a small founding group of Augustinian clergy. Along with the universities of Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, St Andrews was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century.

St Andrews is made up of a variety of institutions, comprising three colleges — United College (a union of St Salvator's and St Leonard's Colleges), St Mary's College, and St Leonard's College, the last named being a non-statutory revival of St Leonard's as a post-graduate society. There are 18 academic schools organised into four faculties. The university spans both historic and contemporary buildings scattered across the town. The academic year is divided into two semesters, Martinmas and Candlemas. In term time, over one-third of the town's population are either staff members or students of the university. The student body is known for preserving ancient traditions such as Raisin Weekend, May Dip, and the wearing of distinctive academic dress.

The student body is also notably diverse: over 145 nationalities are represented with about 45% of its intake from countries outside the UK; a tenth of students are from Europe with the remainder from the rest of the world—20% from North America alone. Undergraduate admissions are among the most selective in the country, with the university having the third-lowest offer rate for 2022 entry (behind only Oxford and Cambridge) and the highest entry standards of new students, as measured by UCAS entry tariff, at 215 points.

St Andrews has many notable alumni and affiliated faculty, including eminent mathematicians, scientists, theologians, philosophers, and politicians. Recent alumni include the former first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond; former Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill; former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) Alex Younger; Olympic cycling gold medalist Chris Hoy; Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Dame Barbara Woodward; and royals William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales. Five Nobel laureates are among St Andrews' alumni and former staff: three in Chemistry and two in Physiology or Medicine.

History

Foundation

In 1410, a group of Augustinian clergy, driven from the University of Paris by the Avignon schism and from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge by the Anglo-Scottish Wars, formed a society of higher learning in St Andrews, offering courses of lectures in divinity, logic, philosophy, and law. A charter of privilege was bestowed upon the society of masters and scholars by the Bishop of St Andrews, Henry Wardlaw, on 28 February 1411–12. Wardlaw then successfully petitioned the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII to grant the school university status by issuing a series of papal bulls, which followed on 28 August 1413. King James I of Scotland confirmed the charter of the university in 1432. Subsequent kings supported the university, with King James V of Scotland "confirming privileges of the university" in 1532.

A college of theology and arts, called St John's College, was founded in 1418 by Robert of Montrose and Lawrence of Lindores. St Salvator's College was established in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy. St Leonard's College was founded in 1511 by Archbishop Alexander Stewart, who intended it to have a far more monastic character than either of the other colleges. St John's College was refounded by Cardinal James Beaton under the name St Mary's College in 1538 for the study of divinity and law. It was intended to encourage traditional Catholic teachings in opposition to the emerging Scottish Reformation, but once Scotland had formally split with the Papacy in 1560, it became a teaching institution for Protestant clergy. At its foundation in 1538 St Mary's was intended to be a college for instruction in divinity, law, and medicine, as well as in Arts, but its career on this extensive scale was short-lived. Under a new foundation and erection, confirmed by Parliament in 1579, it was set apart for the study of Theology, and it has remained a Divinity College ever since.

Some university buildings that date from this period are still in use today, such as St Salvator's Chapel, St Leonard's College Chapel and St Mary's College quadrangle. At this time, the majority of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with St Andrews Cathedral.

Development

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the university had mixed fortunes and was often beset by civil and religious disturbances. In a particularly acute depression in 1747, severe financial problems triggered the dissolution of St Leonard's College, whose properties and staff were merged into St Salvator's College to form the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard. Throughout this period student numbers were very low; for instance, when Samuel Johnson visited the university in 1773, the university had fewer than 100 students, and was in his opinion in a steady decline. He described it as "pining in decay and struggling for life". The poverty of Scotland during this period also damaged St Andrews, as few were able to patronise the university and its colleges, and with state support being improbable, the income they received was scarce.

Governance and administration

As with the other ancient universities of Scotland, the governance of the university is determined by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. This act created three bodies: the General Council, University Court and Academic Senate (Senatus Academicus).

General Council

The General Council is a standing advisory body of all the graduates, academics, and former academics of the university. It meets twice a year and appoints a business committee to manage business between these meetings. Its most important functions are to appoint two assessors to the University Court and elect the university's chancellor.

University Court

The University Court is the body responsible for administrative and financial matters and is in effect the governing body of the university. It is chaired by the rector, who is elected by the matriculated students of the university. Members are appointed by the General Council, Academic Senate and Fife Council. The president of the Students' Association and director of education are ex officio members of the court. Several lay members are also co-opted and must include a fixed number of alumni of the university.

Senatus Academicus

The Academic Senate (Latin Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the university. Its members include all the professors of the university, certain senior readers, a number of senior lecturers and lecturers, and three elected student senate representatives – one from the arts and divinity faculty, one from the science and medicine faculty and one postgraduate student. It is responsible for authorising degree programmes and issuing all degrees to graduates, and managing student discipline. The president of the Senate is the University Principal.

University officials

The university's three most significant officials are its chancellor, principal, and rector, whose rights and responsibilities are largely derived from the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858.

The Chancellor of the University of St Andrews is the titular head of the University of St Andrews. Their duties include conferring degrees, promoting the university's image throughout the world, and furthering the university's interests worldwide.

The Principal is the chief executive of the university and is assisted in that role by several key officers, including the deputy principal, Master of the United College and Quaestor. The principal has responsibility for the overall running of the university and presides over the University Senate.

In Scotland, the position of Rector exists at the four ancient universities (St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh) – as well as the University of Dundee. The post was made an integral part of these universities by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889. The rector of the University of St Andrews chairs meetings of the University Court, the governing body of the university; and is elected by the matriculated student body to ensure that their needs are adequately considered by the university's leadership. Throughout St Andrews' history a number of notable people have been elected to the post, including the actor John Cleese, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, author and poet Rudyard Kipling and the British Prime Minister Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery.

Academic profile

Semesters

The academic year at St Andrews is divided into two semesters, Martinmas and Candlemas, named after two of the four Scottish Term and Quarter Days. Martinmas, on 11 November, was originally the feast of Saint Martin of Tours, a fourth-century bishop and hermit. Candlemas originally fell on 2 February, the day of the feast of the Purification, or the Presentation of Christ. Martinmas semester runs from early September until mid-December, with examinations taking place just before the Christmas break. There follows an inter-semester period when Martinmas semester business is concluded and preparations are made for the new Candlemas semester, which starts in January and concludes with examinations in April and May. Most Undergraduate graduations are celebrated in mid-June with Postgraduate graduations being celebrated in late November.

Rankings and reputation

In the 2022 The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, St Andrews ranked as the best university in the UK, the first university to ever top Cambridge and Oxford in a British ranking. In the 2023 Guardian University Guide, St Andrews achieved the same feat and ranked first for the first time in the guide's history. In the 2024 versions of both The Guardian University Guide and The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, St Andrews was again ranked first in the United Kingdom. It placed first again in the 2027 The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide. It has been twice named University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times.

In a ranking conducted by The Guardian in 2009, St Andrews placed fifth in the UK for national reputation behind Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial and the LSE. When size is taken into account, St Andrews ranks second in the world out of all small to medium-sized fully comprehensive universities (after Brown University) using metrics from the QS Intelligence Unit in 2015.

The university is ranked 5th in Europe by Times Higher Education in its 2019 Teaching Rankings. The 2021 Research Excellence Framework ranked St Andrews 16th in the UK, and second in Scotland, amongst multi-faculty institutions for the research quality (GPA) of its output profile. St Andrews was ranked ninth overall in The Sunday Times 10-year (1998–2007) average ranking of British universities based on consistent league table performance, and is one of only three universities to have never left the top 10 in any of the three main domestic league tables since 2008.

According to data released by the Department for Education in 2018, St Andrews was rated as the fifth best university in the UK for increasing male graduate earnings with male graduates seeing a 25% increase in earnings compared to the average graduate, and the ninth best university for females, with female graduates seeing a 15% increase in earnings compared to the average graduate. St Andrews is placed seventh in the UK (1st in Scotland) for the employability of its graduates as chosen by recruiters from the UK's major companies. In 2017, St Andrews was named as the university with the joint second highest graduate employment rate of any UK university (along with Warwick), with 97.7 per cent of its graduates in work or further study three and a half years after graduation. An independent report conducted by Swedish investment firm, Skandia found that despite its small undergraduate body, St Andrews is the joint-5th best university in the UK for producing millionaires. A study by High Fliers confirmed this by reporting that the university also features in the top 5 of UK universities for producing self-made millionaires. According to a study by the Institute of Employment Research, St Andrews has produced more directors of FTSE 100 companies in proportion to its size than any other educational institution in Britain.

Buildings, collections and facilities

The University of St Andrews is situated in the small town of St Andrews in rural Fife, Scotland. The university has teaching facilities, libraries, student housing and other buildings spread throughout the town. Generally, university departments and buildings are concentrated on North Street, South Street, The Scores, and the North Haugh. The university has two major sites within the town. The first is the United College, St Andrews (also known as the Quad or St Salvator's) on North Street, which functions both as a teaching space and venue for student events, incorporating the Departments of Social Anthropology and Modern Languages. The second is St Mary's College, St Andrews, based on South Street, which houses the Schools of Divinity, Psychology and Neuroscience, as well as the King James Library. Several schools are located on The Scores including Classics, English, History, Philosophy, the School of Economics and Finance, and International Relations, as well as the Admissions department, the Museum of the University of St Andrews, and the principal's residence, University House. North Street is also the site of several departments, including the principal's office, Younger Hall, the Department of Film Studies, and the University Library. The North Haugh is principally home to the Natural Sciences such as Chemistry, Physics, and Biology, as well as Mathematics, Computer Science, Medicine, and the Department of Management.

Libraries and museums

The University of St Andrews maintains one of the most extensive university library collections in the United Kingdom, which includes significant holdings of books, manuscripts, muniments, and photographs. The library collection contains over a million volumes and over two hundred thousand rare and antique books.

The university library was founded by King James VI in 1612, with the donation of 350 works from the royal collection, at the urging of George Gledstanes, the then chancellor of St Andrews, although the libraries of the colleges of St Leonard's College, St Salvator's College and St Mary's College had existed prior to this. From 1710 to 1837 the library functioned as a legal deposit library, and as a result has an extensive collection of 18th-century literature.

The library's main building is located on North Street, and houses over 1,000,000 books. The library was designed by the architects Faulkner-Brown Hendy Watkinson Stonor based in North East England at Killingworth. Faulkner-Brown specialised in libraries and leisure facilities and also designed the National Library of Canada in Ottawa and the Robinson Library at Newcastle University In 2011 the main library building underwent a £7 million re-development. The historic King James library, built in 1643, houses the university's Divinity and Medieval history collections.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)