University of St. Andrews | Rankings and courses

The University of St. Andrews | A historic educational institution in Scotland

St Andrews is a one-of-a-kind and captivating city, and the University of St. Andrews is a big part of it. Seven centuries of history connect the students to the town, resulting in the ancient yet modern institution that exists today. The University of St Andrews commits itself to fostering an inclusive culture and equal opportunity for all its staff and students. The university strategy prioritizes equality, diversity, and inclusion. St. Andrews values the rich diversity of its staff, students, and alumni’s backgrounds, identities, and experiences. The university dedicates itself to strengthening its ethos and is proud of its progress, and recognizes that there is still much more to be done.

The University of St. Andrews | A brief overview

Founded in 1413, The university is the third-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. Despite its small size, St Andrews has long been a focal point of Scottish political and religious life, and the university’s strong reputation in the humanities, particularly divinity and philosophy, is proof of it. The town’s population is 9,100 students from over 130 different countries, and St Andrews covers the entire area rather than a defined campus.

The duration for Scottish degrees is four years, and this provides greater flexibility at St. Andrews. Students can apply to one of four faculties (arts, divinity, medicine, or science) and take modules toward a degree, with the opportunity to specialize further in the last two years. As an old university, St Andrews has a number of traditions, such as the concept of university ‘parents’ (third-year students) and the May Dip, in which students run into the North Sea on May Day dawn.

St Andrews got the University of the Year title from the Times University Guide for 2020, and the Teaching Excellence Framework awarded the University Gold for ‘exemplary’ teaching. Undergraduate students at St. Andrews can also spend a full academic year studying abroad in a variety of locations around the world. The Guardian University Guide 2022 ranked the University of St Andrews’ economics courses third in the UK.

The undergraduate acceptance rate at the university is 41% (2 in 5) and the postgraduate acceptance rate is 54%. (5 in 9). There are over 1,000 master’s courses available at the University of St Andrews.

Campus

Located in the rural areas of Fife, Scotland, the university and its buildings, libraries, and student residences span throughout St. Andrews. The University provides a variety of accommodation options for professors and students on campus. On campus, the university has a large library with a notable collection of books, muniments, photographs, and manuscripts. The library has over a million books, including approximately 200,000 rare and unique titles. The university also has several museums and galleries that house an extensive collection of artifacts from the university. The university is home to over 180 student societies covering a wide range of interests, including music, debate and mass communication, theater, and sports.

Courses

United College, St Leonard’s Postgraduate College, and St Mary’s College are the three colleges of the University of St. Andrews. The university’s academic structure is made up of a number of academic schools and departments that are organized into four faculties. St. Andrews University offers a wide range of degree programs in ancient history, medicine, art, applied sciences, management, mathematics, philosophy, languages, music, creative writing, and other fields. The university is a participant in the Erasmus Program, which allows for direct exchanges with universities throughout Europe.

The University of St Andrews currently offers part-time, foundation, full-time, and non-degree programs in over 20 subjects at the undergraduate level, including-

• Medicine
• Social anthropology
• History
• Language and comparative literature
• Earth and environmental studies

Popular programs-

Arts and Humanities-

• Classical Studies BA (International Hons)
• English BA (International Hons)
• Film Studies BA (International Hons)
• Geography BSc (Hons)
• History BA (International Hons)

Business & Management-

• Management BSc (Hons)
• Management Science BSc (Hons)

Engineering and Technology-

• Computer Science BSc (Hons)

Life Sciences and Medicine-

• Animal Behavior BSc (Hons)
• Biology BSc (Hons)
• Cell Biology BSc (Hons)
• Ecology and Conservation BSc (Hons)
• Evolutionary Biology BSc (Hons)
• Medicine

Natural Sciences-

• Astrophysics BSc (Hons)
• Biochemistry BSc (Hons)
• Chemical Sciences BSc (Hons)
• Chemistry BSc (Hons)
• Chemistry with Medicinal Chemistry BSc (Hons)

Rankings

• QS World University Rankings- 96
• QS WUR Ranking by Subject- 49
• Graduate Employability Ranking- 201-250

Alumni

Notable alumni-

• Louise Minchin (BBC news presenter)
• Hillary Clinton (politician and lawyer)
• Rudyard Kipling (journalist and author)
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas (actor)
• John Napier (inventor of Logarithms)
• Bob Dylan (singer and writer)
• William Arthur Philip Louis (Duke of Cambridge)
• Catherine Elizabeth Middleton (Duchess of Cambridge)
• Alex Salmond (former Prime Minister of Scotland) 
• Chris Hoy (Olympic gold medalist in cycling)

Key takeaways

• Founded in 1413, The University of St Andrews is the oldest in Scotland. St. Andrews has long been a focal point of Scottish political and religious life even though it is small.
• Located in Fife, Scotland, the university, its buildings, libraries, and student residences span throughout St. Andrews. The university has 180 student societies covering a wide range of interests, such as music, debate, mass communication, and so on.
• St. Andrews provides various degree programs in ancient history, medicine, art, applied sciences, management, mathematics, philosophy, languages, and so on. The university takes part in the Erasmus Program, which allows for direct exchanges with other European universities.

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FAQs

Q1. Is it difficult to get admission to the University of St. Andrews?

Ans- With an acceptance rate of only 8.35%, the University of St. Andrews is one of the most difficult universities to gain admission to not only in the United Kingdom but globally. This ideally means that 8-9 people out of every 100 applicants are admitted to the University of St Andrews.

Q2. Does St. Andrew provide free-of-cost study programs?

Ans- As a student at the University of St Andrews, you will be required to pay fees each year you attend. Fees are subject to annual increases during the course of your studies. The amount you must pay is determined by the degree you are pursuing and your fee status.

Q3. Does St. Andrews give unconditional offers?

Ans- Yes, prepayment is due four weeks after you accept your offer. If you received your unconditional offer on or before March 9, 2023, you must make your pre-payment by April 7, 2023, or the university will rescind your offer.