University of Edinburgh

I

Introduction

University of Edinburgh, institution of higher education in Scotland. It is located in Edinburgh, Lothian.

II

Academic Organization

The University of Edinburgh has three academic colleges: Humanities and Social Science; Medicine and Veterinary Medicine; and Science and Engineering. Each faculty covers both first (undergraduate) and higher (graduate) courses and degrees, including a large number of possible joint-degree subject combinations.

III

History and Administration

The university was founded in 1583 as the “town’s college” by the Edinburgh town council under a royal charter granted the previous year by James VI, King of the Scots (later King of England and Wales as James I). Until the mid-19th century the town council appointed professors, controlled the university's finances, and supervised its buildings.

By the 18th century Edinburgh, like other Scottish institutions of learning, had a reputation for providing students, regardless of economic class, with an excellent practical education at relatively affordable fees, as well as for tolerance towards the opinions of its faculty. Thus, the Scottish philosopher and religious sceptic David Hume, although not granted a chair, was allowed to give lectures. In addition, study opportunities in the university’s medical school and other areas were attracting students from around the world.

By acts of the British Parliament in 1858 and 1889 the university was made independent of the town council and became a self-governing corporation. In 1889 Edinburgh became one of the first British universities to admit women as undergraduates.

The university’s corporation is composed of the student body, registered graduates, faculty, and various administrators. The University Court supervises university property and appoints certain faculty members; the Senatus Academicus supervises curricula and disciplinary matters. The General Council includes among its duties the election of the university chancellor. The Scottish writers Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Carlyle, and Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson were all students at Edinburgh.

IV

Buildings and Libraries

The original university buildings were located at Kirk o' Field, where Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, the second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was slain in 1567. The present Old College buildings were erected on the same Kirk o' Field site, between 1789 and 1829. Other historic buildings include Mylne's Court (1690), St Cecilia's Hall (1762), and the Medical School and McEwan Graduation Hall, erected during the 19th century. The university's modern facilities are located in the centre and the south side of Old Town.

The library collections began in 1580 with a donation of 300 books. A notable addition came in 1649 with the books of the Scottish poet William Drummond of Hawthornden, a former university student.