Portal:University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen portal

Coat of arms of the university

The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated Aberd. in post-nominals; Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Alexander VI on behalf of King James IV to establish King's College, making it one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Along with the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century.

The university as it is currently constituted was formed in 1860 by a merger between King's College and Marischal College, a second university founded in 1593 as a Protestant alternative to the former. The university's iconic buildings act as symbols of wider Aberdeen, particularly Marischal College in the city centre and the crown steeple of King's College in Old Aberdeen. There are two campuses; the predominantly utilised King's College campus dominates the section of the city known as Old Aberdeen, which is approximately two miles north of the city centre. Although the original site of the university's foundation, most academic buildings apart from the King's College Chapel and Quadrangle were constructed in the 20th century during a period of significant expansion. The university's Foresterhill campus is next to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and houses the School of Medicine and Dentistry as well as the School of Medical Sciences. Together these buildings form one of Europe's largest health campuses. The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £257.2 million of which £54.2 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £262.5 million.

Aberdeen has educated a wide range of notable alumni, and the university played key roles in the Scottish Reformation, Scottish Enlightenment, and the Scottish Renaissance. Five Nobel laureates have since been associated with the university: two in Chemistry, one in Physiology or Medicine, one in Physics, and one in Peace. (Full article...)

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Wing of the Taylor Building facing the High Street

The University of Aberdeen School of Law is the law school of the University of Aberdeen, established in 1495, when King's College was formed. It endowed two professors of law; one in canon law, one in civil law. Following the reformation, the former was abolished, but the later continued to be taught until the present day. (Full article...)

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Hector Boece (1465–1536) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, who served as the first principal of King's College. Born in Dundee, he studied at the University of St Andrews and University of Paris, where he met and befriended Erasmus. In 1500, following a generously financed offer to do so, he left for Aberdeen in order to become the first principal of King's College. He worked closely with the founder, William Elphinstone, the Bishop of Aberdeen, and by 1505 the nascent university was holding lectures. He published two books, the Vitae Episcoporum Murthlacensium et Aberdonensium (Lives of the Bishops of Murthlack and Aberdeen) in 1522, and the Historia Gentis Scotorum (History of the Scottish People) in 1527. His account of Macbeth in the Historia was translated into English for Raphael Holinshed's Chronicle, which was used by William Shakespeare as the basis of his play Macbeth. (more...)

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Credit: Bill Harrison

The building of Christ's College, Aberdeen, which was built circa 1843. It was sold by the university in the 1990s, becoming a public house.

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Did you know...

… that the University of Aberdeen was originally founded in 1495, making it the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world?
… that the mediaeval crown tower of King's College Chapel is one only two such steeples in Scotland?
… that physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell was Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College from 1856 until 1860?
… that John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 until 1763, served chancellor of Marischal College from 1761?
… that the King's College, Aberdeen was founded in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone, following a papal bull from Pope Alexander VI?
… that The Rowett Institute, founded by Sir John Boyd Orr in 1913, merged with the University of Aberdeen in 2008?
… that the majority of Marischal College was leased to Aberdeen City Council in 2006, who re-developed it into offices?

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On this day

Events for 8 July relating to the university, its predecessor colleges, academics and alumni. College affiliations (pre-1860, where known) are marked in brackets.

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