University of Edinburgh

King James VI granted the University of Edinburgh its royal charter in 1582, and teaching began in 1583. It is one of the four ancient universities of Scotland and ranks as the sixth-oldest university still in continuous operation anywhere in the English-speaking world. Its creation by the town's civic authorities, not the church, was unusual for the period. A member of the Russell Group, Edinburgh is among the largest UK universities, with approximately 39,000 students, of whom around two thirds are undergraduates and roughly two fifths come from outside the UK.

Its academic structure comprises three colleges: Medicine and Veterinary Medicine; Science and Engineering; and Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Edinburgh College of Art was brought into the university in 2011. The university's sites extend across the city: the historic Central Area; the science campus at King's Buildings; the medical campus at BioQuarter; the Holyrood campus; the Western General research site; and the veterinary campus at Easter Bush. It has a particular reputation in law, medicine and the sciences, and has links with around 20 Nobel laureates. Honours degrees follow the Scottish pattern and usually last four years.

Information for International Students

For international students whose first language is not English and whose school qualifications do not permit direct entry to an undergraduate degree, the university offers its own International Foundation Programme. This one-year course is delivered at the Holyrood campus by Edinburgh academics, supported by English Language Education, and its students progress to Edinburgh degrees at a consistently high rate. English Language Education also provides pre-sessional English programmes lasting six or ten weeks, plus a postgraduate pre-sessional option, and successful completion of the modules in Foundation English for Academic Purposes meets the English entry requirement. Each degree sets its own English requirement, shown in the online degree finder.

University accommodation is guaranteed to new single undergraduates living outside the City of Edinburgh, if they hold an unconditional firm offer, apply by the published deadline and start in September. New taught postgraduates arriving from outside the UK have a comparable guarantee. Guidance on the Student visa, and on work both while studying and afterwards, the Graduate Route included, comes from the Student Immigration Service. Scholarships and other funding opportunities are open to international applicants for both undergraduate and postgraduate study.