University of St Andrews

Scottish students in the Middle Ages were forced abroad to pursue their studies, with no national university to develop their academic abilities. By 1410 most had been driven to Paris from Oxford and Cambridge by the Wars of Scottish Independence with England. So when the Catholic Church was divided by two rival Popes – with Pope Boniface IX supported by the French Cardinals while Scotland remained faithful to Pope Benedict XIII – Scottish students found themselves in a difficult position. The time had come to establish a seat of learning, of international standing, back home in Scotland. St Andrews was the obvious choice – the seat of the greatest bishopric in Scotland and location of a monastery noted as a centre for learning. In May 1410 a group of masters, mainly graduates of Paris, initiated a school of higher studies in St Andrews. By February 1411 the school had established itself sufficiently to obtain a charter of incorporation and privileges from the Bishop of St Andrews, Henry Wardlaw. This granted the masters and students recognition as a properly constituted corporation, duly privileged and safeguarded for the pursuit of learning. However, recognised university status and the authority to grant degrees could only be conferred by the Pope or the Emperor as heads of Christendom. The early years of the young university were not without turbulence. In 1426, King James tried to move the university lock, stock and barrel to Perth. In 1470, several Masters and students were expelled for attacking the Dean with bows and arrows. In 1544 the University banned beards, the carrying of weapons, gambling and football. By the middle of the 16th century, St Andrews had grown to encompass three colleges – St Salvator’s (1450), St Leonard’s (1511) and St Mary’s (1538). The buildings of St Mary’s College and St Salvator’s Chapel date from this period. From the 1500s to the 1700s the University enjoyed a period of mixed fortunes. During this time St Salvator’s and St Leonard’s Colleges joined to form the United College which still survives today in a greatly enlarged form. In the 1980s, St Andrews embarked on a broad programme of investment to boost its research capabilities, a strategy which has helped establish its reputation today as an international centre of research excellence. In 2009, St Andrews became the first Scottish ancient to appoint a woman as Principal, recruiting Professor Louise Richardson from the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard, to lead it into its seventh century.

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 and The Guardian. 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.