Edinburgh Napier University

Edinburgh Napier University started life in 1964 as Napier Technical College, gained university status in 1992 and has carried its current name since 2009. It takes that name from the mathematician John Napier, whose birthplace, a historic tower, stands at the heart of the Merchiston campus. A modern university with a professional focus, it teaches around 14,000 students in Edinburgh, and when transnational and online learners are included, total enrolment exceeds 20,000.

Three campuses in the city share the teaching. Merchiston, near the centre, is home to creative subjects, computing and engineering. The Business School is located at Craiglockhart, in what was once a hydropathic hospital, while Sighthill brings together life, sport and social sciences with social care, nursing and midwifery, in buildings equipped with specialist laboratories. The university is known for applied research, an area in which it has received two Queen's Anniversary Prizes: one for work on housing construction in 2009 and another for timber engineering in 2015. Training in film and television is supported through Screen Academy Scotland, located near Merchiston.

Information for International Students

Edinburgh Napier's students come from more than 180 countries, and the university offers support with visas and immigration, a guide to arriving and an international support team reachable online or in person. Most undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes require IELTS 6.0 overall with each component at 5.5 or higher, or an accepted equivalent. Those who fall below this can take an in-house pre-sessional English course, delivered online and on campus in six-week and twelve-week formats, plus longer programmes of up to a year.

Edinburgh Napier University International College, based on the Merchiston campus and operated with Oxford International, provides a pathway route. Its offer comprises International Stage One and Stage Two in subjects such as digital media, engineering, computing and business, an International Foundation Year for nursing, and pre-masters study. First-year undergraduates are guaranteed university accommodation if they accept an unconditional offer as their firm choice and apply by the published deadline, subject to conditions, one of which is that the student normally lives outside Edinburgh; postgraduate rooms depend on availability. Scholarships include merit awards for specific countries, and the Graduate Route is open to eligible graduates.