Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh was founded in 1583 in a period of rapid development in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has more students than any other university in Scotland and is amongst the largest in the United Kingdom. The University of Edinburgh is a member of the Russell Group of large, research-led British universities. It is also the only Scottish university (and the only British university apart from Oxford and Cambridge) to be a member of both the Coimbra Group and the LERU: two associations of leading European universities. In 2003 Edinburgh became the first Scottish university to be awarded Fairtrade status.
History
The university's first building was Old College, now the School of Law, situated on South Bridge. Its first forte in teaching was anatomy and the developing science of surgery, from which it expanded into many other subjects. It offers degree courses in more traditional subjects than you could think of (although the Agricultural College has recently closed). The University also offers a number of subjects that are offered in only relatively few other universities, including artificial intelligence, in which it is rivalled only by MIT.
The university is one of the ancient universities of Scotland, and boasts a student newspaper (Student) founded by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1887. The two oldest Schools - Law and Divinity - are both well-esteemed in their respective subjects, with Law being based in Old College, and Divinity being based in New College, on the Mound, just in front of the temporary home of the Scottish Parliament. Students at the university are represented by the Edinburgh University Students' Association, EUSA, comprising Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889 and the Student Representative Council (SRC), founded in 1884 by Robert Fitzroy Bell.
Location
Along with the expansion in topics of study the university has also expanded its campus such that it now has five main sites:
- George Square and surrounding streets in the southern central area of the city is the oldest region, occupied primarily by the schools of art, social science, medicine and law. It is also used for teaching first year undergraduates in science and engineering. Nearby are the main EUSA buildings of Potterrow, Teviot Row House (the oldest custom-built students union in the country) and the Pleasance Societies Centre.
- The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at Summerhall, at the East end of The Meadows. This houses Veterinary Medicine.
- The Kings Buildings, further south, houses most of the Science schools including a Biology faculty that is a world leader in genetics. The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) also has a presence on campus.
- The Faculty of Divinity on the Mound, parts of which are also used by the Church of Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament.
- Moray House just off the Royal Mile, used to be the Moray House Institute for Education until that was acquired by the University around 1998. The University has since extended it and agglomerated it with its own Sports Institute along with a large new building to house the expanding Institutes. The Moray House campus is being amalgamated with the George Square campus through simple ownership of much of the intervening land.
- The New Royal Infimary of Edinburgh in Little France, in the southeast of the city, was opened in 2000 as a joint project between private finance, the local authorities and the University to create a large modern hospital, veterinary clinic and research institute and thus the University is currently (2003) in the process of moving its Veterinary and Medical Faculties there (and quite possibly also the School of Nursing).
- Pollock Halls, adjoining Holyrood Park to the east, provides accommodation (mainly half board) for students in their first year. The old Pollock Halls were demolished in 2002 and new buildings have been built in their place, known by the same name. Most other students in the city live in private flats in the Marchmont, Newington, Bruntsfield, Mayfield and Leith areas.
Alumni and Faculty
The University has had many famous alumni, including:
Politics
Sciences
- Charles Darwin, naturalist
- John Walker, naturalist
- Klaus Fuchs, physicist
- Max Born, mathematician and physicist
- David Hume, philosopher
- Archibald Geikie, geologist
- Joseph Black, physicist and chemist
- Robin Milner, computer scientist
- David MacRitchie, archaeologist
- William Withering, physician
- James Clerk Maxwell, physicist
- James Hector, geologist
- Igor Tamm, physicist
- George Kelly, psychologist
- Joseph Bell, medic
- Colin Maclaurin, mathematician
Arts
- Robert Louis Stevenson, writer
- Dugald Stewart, philosopher
- Thomas Brown, philosopher
- Thomas Carlyle, essayist and historian
- Adam Ferguson, philosopher and historian
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes Author
- Peter Roget, author of the famous Thesaurus
- Sir Walter Scott, author and poet
- Robert Adam, architect
- James Mill, historian and philosopher
- Oliver Goldsmith, writer and physician
Miscellaneous
Hume and Maxwell both applied for teaching posts at the university, which refused to employ either.
External Links
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See also: Russell Group of Universities
