University of St Andrews

No. Students:	8,645	No. of Academic staff:	Not specified
Funding type:	Public

Campuses:

St Andrews / United Kingdom
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Listed programmes:

47 Masters

Type of education:

47 on campus

*: Approximate

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About

Founded in the fifteenth century, St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world.

Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in 1410 and the University was formally constituted by the issue of Papal Bull in 1413.

The University is now one of Europe's most research intensive seats of learning - over a quarter of its turnover comes from research grants and contracts. It is one of the top rated universities in Europe for research, teaching quality and student satisfaction and is consistently ranked among the UK's top five in leading independent league tables produced by The Times, The Guardian and the Sunday Times.

According to the Sunday Times, St Andrews is "now firmly established as the leading multi-faculty alternative to Oxford and Cambridge."

Its international reputation for delivering high quality teaching and research and student satisfaction make it one of the most sought after destinations for prospective students from the UK, Europe and overseas. It is Scotland's most cosmopolitan university a third of the student body of 7,200 is from overseas.

It has a staff of 1,800 and maintains one of the strongest records in the UK for teaching quality, good degrees and student support. In the four years it has entered the UK National Student Survey, St Andrews has ranked as the top mainstream university for student satisfaction.

In 2009 the University received on average 11 applications per place. St Andrews has not entered clearing for several years and sets highly challenging asking rates to attract only the most academically potent students in the Arts, Sciences, Medicine and Divinity.

As it prepares to celebrate its 600th anniversary in 2013, the University is pursuing a varied programme of capital investment, including a New School of Medicine, the refurbishment of its Main Library, a new Biological Sciences Research Centre and the provision of new student accommodation.

The University provides an invigorating intellectual climate in which staff have close contacts with one another and with colleagues in other UK and overseas universities and research establishments. All Schools in both the sciences and the arts are actively involved in pushing back the frontiers of knowledge.

Physically the University is closely integrated with the town; the modern purpose-built library and many academic Schools are located centrally. The growth in physical and mathematical sciences has been accommodated at the North Haugh on the edge of St Andrews. A modern sports centre with adjacent playing fields and halls of residence are also located in this area.

St Andrews is relatively small, despite being a "city", with a basic population approaching 17,000. The University population (staff and students) numbers nearly 9,000. On average one in three people you see in the street have something to do with the University. You start to feel very quickly that you belong.

Services

St Andrews is one of Europe's most intellectually challenging and nourishing University environments, it is also one of the safest and most secure.

Student welfare and safety

The spiritual and physical welfare of our students is an institutional priority. We invest widely in our student support systems to ensure our undergraduates have the greatest opportunity of fulfilling their academic potential.

St Andrews' commitment to student welfare and safety is reflected in our consistently low drop out rate - at just over 1% it's the lowest in Scotland and the lowest in the UK behind only Oxford and Cambridge.

International University

We're the most international of Scotland's universities - at any one time students from over 100 different countries are studying here and almost a third of undergraduates come from outwith the United Kingdom. We know a little about homesickness and parental apprehension!

Orientation

All our students are given introductory talks at Orientation when they are informed of basic information on a number of issues including personal safety, and also how to access the support systems which the University provides. Students living in Halls of Residence (which is the majority of 1st year students) also receive health and safety talks from the Warden of their Hall.

Support systems

The support systems that are in place include:

* Student Services provide a comprehensive support system for all students, with specialised advice and counselling in areas of finance, disabilities, international students, academic issues, health concerns, mental health issues, personal and emotional concerns, etc.
* The Wardens and their teams provide practical help and advice on welfare matters to students in Halls of Residence including at nights and weekends.
* Out of Hours Emergency Service provides cover for emergency situations, such as ill health or personal crises.
* The University's Police Liaison Officer gives information and raises awareness regarding safety issues, and can help with any other incidents.

Student life

The Alumni Office runs a Family Programme to enable families to be part of the St Andrews community, to keep them up to date with developments at the University and to provide ways in which they can contribute to and share in its achievements.

We strongly recommend that all parents/guardians of new undergraduate students (as well as those who have not already done so in their student's first year at St Andrews) register for Family Programme membership.

Featured Studies

M.Litt. International Political Theory

M.Sc. Statistics

M.Litt. Creative Writing

M.Litt. Classical Studies

M.Litt. Greek