Andrews University
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between 1410 and 1413, when a Papal Bull was issued by the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII. In post-nominals the university's name was historically abbreviated as "St And" (from the Latin Sancti Andreae).
St Andrews is considered one of the United Kingdom's best universities. The Duke of Cambridge, when he returned to launch its 600th anniversary campaign, described the University of St Andrews as "far and away the best university in the world". St Andrews is judged as world-class for teaching and research and domestic league tables place it as the best university in Scotland; it is currently ranked as the third best university in the UK according to the most recent university league table produced by The Guardian (see Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom). The Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking names St Andrews among the world’s Top 20 Arts and Humanities universities.
St Andrews has a diverse student body and cosmopolitan character due to its over 30% intake of international students from well over 100 countries, with 15% of the current student body coming from North America. Throughout its more recent history, St Andrews has maintained strong links with leading academic institutions in the United States and Canada, including the College of William and Mary and members of the Ivy League.
History
History of the University of St Andrews
Courtyard of the United College
The university was founded in 1410 when a charter of incorporation was bestowed upon the Augustinian priory of St Andrews Cathedral. A Papal Bull was issued in 1413 by the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. A royal charter was granted in 1532. The University grew in size quite rapidly; A pedagogy, St John's College was founded 1418–1430 by Robert of Montrose and Lawrence of Lindores, St Salvator's College was established in 1450, St Leonard's College in 1511, and St Mary's College in 1537. St Mary's College was a re-foundation of St Johns College and earlier pedagogy. Some of the early college buildings that are in use today date from this period such as St Salvator's Chapel and St Leonards College chapel and St Mary's College quadrangle. At this time, much of the teaching was of a religious nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral.
From the 17th to 19th centuries, St Andrews underwent a dramatic decline which at some point even menaced the university's own survival. Pupil numbers were very low; for instance, when Samuel Johnson visited the university in 1773, the university barely had 100 pupils, and this situation did not improve during the 19th century, as in the 1870s, the student population was fewer than 150. Apart from a low number of pupils, it was also unusual for them to graduate: especially during the 17th and 18th centuries, students would attend college for a term or two. This was due to relative irrelevance of academic degrees for educated people at that time, as they did not secure any social position for those coming from upper classes, and those coming from more humble origins could not commonly afford a college education if they did not hold a scholarship. The poverty of Scotland also damaged St Andrews, as few were able to patronise the university and its colleges -state support being improbable- and the income these ones got was scarce. Hence Samuel Johnson's depiction of St Andrews as a place of quiet decadence.
In 1747, severe financial problems triggered the dissolution of St Leonard's College, whose properties and staff were merged into St Salvator's College to finally form the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard.
In the 19th century, St Andrews offered a traditional education based on classical languages, divinity and philosophical studies, and at that time was slow to embrace more practical fields such as science, medicine and law that were the vogue. Perhaps partly in response to this and to the low number in pupils, the university merged with University College in Dundee in 1897, which became a centre of medical, scientific and legal excellence. This affiliation ended in 1967 when the college, renamed Queen's College, became a separate and independent institution as the University of Dundee. The loss of teaching facilities for clinical medicine caused the university's Bute Medical School to form a new attachment with the University of Manchester, which was then expanding its clinical medicine intake.
After the foundation of University College, the decadence of St. Andrews came to an end. It became increasingly popular amongst the Scottish upper class to send their children to their oldest higher learning institution, and the university soon enough saw a renaissance that has been maintained to date. Its current world-class reputation in teaching and research consistently place St Andrews as the top university in Scotland and often amongst the top five in the UK, according to annual league tables produced by The Times, Sunday Times and The Guardian.(see Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom) The Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking named St Andrews among the world’s Top 20 Arts and Humanities universities in 2010.
Terms
The university operates an unusual system of three terms within two semesters. The semesters are called Martinmas and Candlemas. The Martinmas semester runs from late September until mid January. There are 12 teaching weeks in this term which all occur before Christmas with the examinations are held after Christmas. After examinations there is an inter-semester break and then the new semester begins in early February.
Reputation
View across St. Salvator's College
| QS (2011/12, national) | 19 | |
|---|---|---|
| QS (2011/12, world) | 97 | |
| THE (2011/12, national) | 11 | |
| THE (2011/12, world) | 85 | |
| Complete/The Independent (2012, national) | 6 | |
| The Guardian (2012, national) | 3 | |
| The Sunday Times (2012, national) | 6 | |
| The Times (2012, national) | 6 | |
The independent IpsosMORI National Student Surveys in 2006–2008 commissioned by HEFCE placed it joint third among the UK universities. In the Research Assessment Exercise 2001 the University did not receive a rating lower than 4 on a grading scale 1–5*, where 5* denotes outstanding international research. The departments of English and Psychology have received a 5*, and 72% of staff across the university received a 5 or 5* rating. Furthermore, The Philosophical Gourmet report ranked St Andrews' joint graduate programme in philosophy with Stirling University second in the UK in 2009.
The latest national Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008) sponsored by the UK government, The Times, The Guardian and The Independent ranked St Andrews as 16th by grade point average and quality index across the units of assessment it submitted.
Nearly 86% of its graduates obtain a First Class or an Upper Second Class Honours degree.
The ancient Scottish universities award Master of Arts degrees (except for science students who are awarded a Bachelor of Science degree) which are classified upon graduation, in contrast to Oxbridge where one becomes a Master of Arts after a certain number of years, and the rest of the UK, where graduates are awarded BAs. These can be awarded with honours; the majority of students graduate with honours.
The latest UCAS figures show that there are generally 10 applications per undergraduate place available. The University has not entered Clearing since 2003. The standard offer of a place tends to require five best Highers equivalent to AAABB, or three best A-levels equivalent to AAB,
or a score of 34–38 points on the International Baccalaureate.
The university has one of the smallest percentages of students (13%) from lower income backgrounds, out of all higher education institutions in the UK. Intake from Independent schools in England is high (around 40%). The average price for accommodation for students at St Andrews is more than that for students at any other university in Scotland.
Scarves
University of St Andrews
St Mary's College
Bute Medical School
St Leonard's College (Postgraduate)
Traditions
Sponsio Academica
In order to become a student at the university a person must take an oath in Latin at the point of matriculation, called the Sponsio Academica, although this tradition now has been digitalised and is agreed to as part of an online matriculation process.
Nos ingenui adolescentes, nomina subscribentes, sancte pollicemur nos preceptoribus obsequium debitum exhibituros in omnibus rebus ad disciplinam et bonos mores pertinentibus, Senatus Academici autoritati obtemperaturos, et hujus Academiae Andreanae emolumentum et commodum, quantum in nobis sit, procuraturos, ad quemcunque vitae statum pervenerimus. Item agnoscimus si quis nostrum indecore turbulenterve se gesserit vel si parum diligentem in studiis suis se praebuerit neque admonitus se in melius correxerit eum licere Senatui Academico vel poena congruenti adficere vel etiam ex Universitate expellere.
In English:
We students who set down our names hereunder in all good faith make a solemn promise that we shall show due deference to our teachers in all matters relating to order and good conduct, that we shall be subject to the authority of the Senatus Academicus and shall, whatever be the position we attain hereafter, promote, so far as lies in our power, the profit and the interest in our University of St Andrews. Further, we recognise that, if any of us conducts ourselves in an unbecoming or disorderly manner or shows insufficient diligence in their studies and, though admonished, does not improve, it is within the power of the Senatus Academicus to inflict on such students a fitting penalty or even expel them from the University.
Gowns
Undergraduate gowns in Scotland
One of the most conspicuous traditions at St Andrews is the wearing of academic dress, particularly the distinctive red undergraduate gown of the United College. Undergraduates in Arts and Science subjects can be seen wearing these garments at the installation of a Rector or Chancellor, at chapel services, on 'Pier Walks', at formal hall dinners, at meetings of the Union Debating Society, or giving tours to prospective students and visitors as well as on St Andrews day, where recently many students wear their gown throughout the entire day. Divinity students wear a black undergraduate gown. (See Academic dress of the University of St Andrews.)
Bejant
This is the traditional term used to describe a First-Year male student and is thought to be a derivative of the French "bec jaune" or yellow-beak, meaning a fledgling. The female is described as a Bejantine. This nomenclature seems to be restricted to St. Andrews although there is no reason why it may not have been more widespread historically. Any student in his or her third year may be referred to as a Tertian and in their final year as a Magistrand (one who is about to graduate). These elder categories are entitled to act as Academic Parents (see Raisin Weekend).
Chapels
The university owns two college chapels, St Salvator's and St Leonard's, both have their own choirs. The Chapel of St Leonard's is considerably older whilst St Salvator's (or "Sallies" as it is affectionately known) has a full peal of six bells, the only university chapel in Scotland to have this feature.
Raisin Weekend
| This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Raisin Weekend This celebrates the relationship between the Bejants/Bejantines (First-Year students) and their respective Academic Parents who, in St. Andrews' tradition, guide and mentor them in their time at the university. Tradition has it that students went up to study with a sack of oatmeal and a barrel of salt-herring as staple foods to last them a term. Therefore anything more exotic was seen as a luxury. In return for the guidance from academic parents a further tradition sprang up of rewarding these "parents" with a pound of raisins. Since the 19th Century the giving of raisins was steadily transformed into the giving of a derivative - such as wine or maybe even something else comestible.
Raisin Weekend is held annually over the last weekend of November, when first years are entertained by their academic parents and hand over their raisins or equivalent. Since any one student may have multiple academic parents of either sex there is no simple formality to the proceedings. However affairs often begin with a tea party (or similar) thrown by the mother(s) and then a pub-crawl or house party led by the father(s). It is fairly common for several academic families to combine in the latter stages of the revels.
In return for the raisins (or equivalent) the parents give their "children" a formal receipt - the Raisin Receipt - composed in Latin. Over time this receipt progressively became more elaborate and often humorous. For instance it tends to deprecate the recipient as miserable (especially if male) and glorifies the parent as noble and learned. The receipt can be written on anything and is to be carried everywhere by the Bejant/ine on the morning of Raisin Monday until midday. Over the years receipts have been written on items such as fancy dress or awkward items such as ladders (especially where there are multiple recipients in one academic family) that have to be carried around, including into lectures, often with disruptive effects. Instances of receipts written on livestock flourished in the middle of the 20th Century until one such occasion in the 1960s (involving a donkey that had been fed on laxatives) resulted in the university authorities issuing guidance banning such occurrences. Some lecturers also enter into the spirit of frivolity, allowing for the fact that some students are not in their normal classes due to physical linkages in the Raisin Receipts - for instance the First-Year Physics lecture on Raisin Monday in 1970 consisted of a discourse on the aerodynamics of a banana.
At midday all the First-Years gather in Quad of St Salvator's College, to compare their receipts and also to be open to challenge from older students who may look for errors in the Latin of the receipt (an almost inevitable occurrence). Upon detection of such error(s) the bearer may be required to sing the Gaudie. In more recent years this gathering has also culminated in a shaving foam fight.
Cobblestones
| This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability. |
Situated around the town of St Andrews are cobblestone markings denoting where Protestant martyrs were burnt at the stake. To students, the most notable of these is the cobblestone initials "PH" located outside the main gate of St Salvator's College. These cobblestones denote where Patrick Hamilton was martyred in 1528. According to student tradition, stepping on the "PH" will cause a student to become cursed, with the effect that the offender will fail his or her degree and so students are known to jump over the cobblestones when passing. Aside from the May Dip, an older tradition is that the remedy for this is to walk three times round the post at the end of the pier. Other, less superstitious, students pointedly do step on it to prove the tradition incorrect. It is not uncommon for graduates to deliberately step on the cobbles immediately after receiving their degree, as a celebration of having escaped the curse during their undergraduate study.
May Dip
The May Dip is a student tradition held annually at dawn on May Day. Students stay awake until dawn, at which time they collectively run into the North Sea to the sound of madrigals sung by the University Madrigal Group. The May Dip is also traditionally the only way of removing the curse inflicted by stepping on the PH cobbles. If a student steps on the stones, he or she can be forgiven by running into the North Sea at dawn on the First of May.
Governance and administration
The "Gateway" building, built in 2000 and now used for the University's Management department
Governance of the University of St Andrews
As with the other Ancient universities of Scotland, governance is determined by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858. This Act created three bodies: the General Council, University Court and Academic Senate (Senatus Academicus).
General Council
General Council of St Andrews University
The General Council is a standing advisory body of all the graduates, academics and former academics of the University. It meets twice a year and appoints a Business Committee to transact business between these meetings. Its most important functions are to appoint two Assessors to the University Court and elect the University Chancellor.
University Court
The University Court is the body responsible for administrative and financial matters, and is in effect the governing body of the University. It is chaired by the rector, who is elected by all the matriculated students of the University. Members are appointed by the General Council, Academic Senate and Fife Council. The President of the Students' Representative Council and Director of Representation are ex officio members of the Court. Several lay members are also co-opted and must include a fixed number of alumni of the University.
Senatus Academicus
The Academic Senate (Latin Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the university. Its members include all of the professors of the university, certain senior teaders, a number of senior lecturers and lecturers and three elected student senate representatives – one from the arts and divinity faculty, one from the science and medicine faculty and one postgraduate student. It is responsible for authorising degree programmes and issuing all degrees to graduates. Another function of the senate is to discipline students. The President of the Senate is the University Principal.
Faculties
The university is divided into four academic faculties:
- Arts
- Divinity
- Medicine
- Science
Each is governed by a faculty council and administered by a dean. Students apply to become members of a particular faculty, as opposed to any particular school or department.
Academic Schools and Departments
- Art History
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Classics
- Ancient History
- Classical Studies
- Greek
- Latin
- Computer Science
- Divinity
- Biblical Studies
- New Testament
- Theological Studies
- Economics & Finance
- English
- English Language Teaching
- Film Studies (see Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies)
- Geography & Geosciences
- Environmental Geoscience
- Geography
- Geology
- Sustainable Development
- History
- International Relations
- Management
- Mathematics & Statistics
- Medicine
- Modern Languages
- Arabic
- French
- German
- Italian
- Russian
- Spanish
- Comparative literature
- Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies
- Film Studies
- Philosophy
- Social Anthropology
- Music
- Physics & Astronomy (inc. Astrophysics and Theoretical Physics)
- Psychology
- Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS)
- Social Anthropology (see Philosophical, Anthropological & Film Studies)
- Sustainable DevelopmentDepartment of Geography & Sustainable Development
- Theology (see Divinity)
Number of students by faculty
Academic year 2005/2006 :
| Faculty | Undergraduate | Postgraduate |
| Arts | 3,582 | 604 |
| Divinity | 48 | 50 |
| Medicine | 419 | 7 |
| Science | 1,731 | 367 |
| Total | 5,780 | 1,028 |
Departments
Music Centre, Younger Hall
School of English
- Psychology at St Andrews has a long and distinguished history. Psychology had been taught at St Andrews since the late 1800s within the School of Philosophy, Logic, and Metaphysics, but when Psychology was moved to Dundee (which was then part of the University) it formed a separate department led by Alfred Flook. After the ceding of the University of Dundee from St Andrews in 1967, Psychology was re-established two years later with Professor Malcolm Jeeves taking the Foundation Chair of Psychology in 1969. Significant expansion and success of the department and its research saw it move to its current home in the Old Library in St Mary's College in 1979 where it became the School of Psychology. Ever since then the School has continued to succeed and lead in Scottish and British Psychology, coming in the top category for each Research Assessment Exercise carried out (an achievement only held by St Andrews and three other UK departments of Psychology: the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and the University of York). The latest RAE in 2008 saw the School of Psychology at St Andrews come 1st in Scotland for its research, and 7th overall in the United Kingdom. Latest rankings from the Guardian University Guide 2011 also see psychology at St Andrews standing as the third best department in the UK. The cchool's main research interests centre around: social psychology, perception, origins of mind, human cognition, behavioural neuroscience and applied, clinical and health psychology. The head of school is currently Verity Brown.
- The Anthropology Department is noted for its research work, with recognition given to the department by research councils such as the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in the last years and the department has achieved high standings in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The Complete University Guide has ranked social anthropology at St Andrews as Number 3 after Cambridge and Oxford on a range of criteria.
- The School of Chemistry was founded in 1811 and has undergone rapid development and improvement over the past decade. In the 2008 RAE chemistry was ranked fourth for quality in the UK and as a consequence of its joint submission with Edinburgh chemistry it was ranked first in the "power rating". Currently the School of Chemistry has 35 academic staff, over 120 PhD students and 80 postdoctoral research workers with research in synthesis (e.g. selenium chemistry, Woollins reagent carbenes, fluorocarbons) energy storage and conversion (fuel cells and lightweight batteries) X-ray crystallography (e.g. robotic chemical crystallography), biological chemistry and surface science. The current head of school is Derek Woollins.
- The Department of Earth Sciences continues a tradition of teaching and research in geology dating from 1903. The department’s research focuses on fundamental questions about earth system behaviour from the present through to deep time and the application of such knowledge to benefit societies and create sustainable economies. In the 2010 league tables of UK geology and earth science courses the University of St Andrews was ranked second (Independent), third (The Times) and fourth (Guardian) and currently enjoys the best record nationally for graduate employability. The head of department is Peter Cawood.
Office of the Principal
The principal is the chief executive of the university and is assisted in that role by several key officers.
The current composition of the Office of the Principal is:
- Principal and Vice-Chancellor: Louise Richardson
- Deputy Principal and Vice-Principal (Research): Christopher Hawkesworth FRS
- Master of the United College: Neville Richardson
- Vice-Principal (Governance and Planning): Ronald Piper
- Vice-Principal (Proctor): Lorna Milne
- Vice-Principal (External Relations): Stephen Magee
- Quaestor and Factor: Derek Watson
Deans of the faculties
The deans are academics appointed by the Master of the United College to oversee the day to day runnings of each faculty. They were once elected by their constituents but this was changed to appointment in 2005.
As of August 2011, the Deans are:
- Dean of the Faculty of Arts: Nic Beech
- Dean of the Faculty of Divinity and Principal of St Mary's College: Ivor Davidson
- Dean of the Faculty of Medicine: R. Hugh MacDougall
- Dean of the Faculty of Science: Malcolm MacLeod
Student residence halls
The Wardlaw Wing of University Hall
St Andrews is characterised amongst Scottish universities as having a significant number of students in university operated accommodation. Approximately half of the overall student population live "in hall". All are now co-educational and non-smoking. Residences include:
- Albany Park
- Andrew Melville Hall
- David Russell Apartments (built on the site of the now-demolished original David Russell Hall)
- Deans Court (Postgraduate only)
- Fife Park
- New Fife Park Apartments
- Gannochy House (Postgraduate only)
- John Burnet Hall (known as Atholl, and was male only)
- McIntosh Hall (known as Chattan, and was female only)
- New Hall
- St Regulus Hall (originally male only)
- St Salvator's Hall (originally male only)
- Stanley Smith House & Angus House (Postgraduate only)
- University Hall (originally female only)
Former residences
In addition to the residences listed above, the University formerly also had the following residences:
- Hamilton Hall
- Hepburn Hall – (although Hepburn remains a university residence under lease)
- Southgait Hall – (Largely rebuilt in the 1990s and still let to students albeit privately)
- Kinnessburn Hall
- David Russell Hall
- Bishops Hall (now part of St Leonards School)
and West Park, which was pulled down to make way for the Students' Union building, built in the 1970s.
The university guarantees every first year student a place of accommodation. For this reason, when 400 extra students joined for the 2008/09 academic year, the university had to rent out flats in the previously sold Hepburn Hall to accommodate the rise in student numbers.
Conferences
Alumni
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
Arts and media
Fay Weldon
- Alistair Moffat, writer, journalist and Director of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
- Robert Aytoun, poet
- Crispin Bonham-Carter, actor
- Dilys Breese, television producer, natural history
- Andrew Crumey, novelist
- Gavin Douglas, poet and bishop, counted among the Scots Makars
- William Dunbar, poet, counted among the Scots Makars
- Michelle Duncan, actress
- Tenniel Evans, actor
- Alexander Hume, poet, counted among the Scots Makars
- William Fowler, poet, counted among the Scots Makars
- Robert Fergusson, poet
- Sarah Hall, novelist
- Gilbert Hay, poet, counted among the Scots Makars
- Hazel Irvine, television presenter
- Sir David Lindsay, poet and diplomat
- Bruce Marshall, novelist
- Ian McDiarmid, actor
- Hilary McKay, author
- Louise Minchin, newsreader
- Craig Oliver, Downing Street Director of Communications
- Siobhan Redmond, actress
- Alastair Reynolds, science fiction author
- Brian Taylor, journalist
- William Tennant, poet
- Fay Weldon, feminist and writer
- Timothy Williams, novelist
- Kid Canaveral, Music Group
Philosophers, academics
Russell Kirk
- Sir Eric Anderson, academic, Provost of Eton College
- Robert Balfour, philosopher
- G. W. S. Barrow, arguably the most prominent Scottish medievalist of the last century
- Andrew Bell (educationalist), Scottish Anglican priest and educationalist, founder of Madras College
- Lionel Butler First Professor of Medieval History (1955) and later Vice-Principal of the university. Principal of Royal Holloway College, University of London (1973–1981)
- Stephen Haliczer, historian
- Kieron O'Hara, philosopher and political writer
- Russell Kirk, American political theorist, historian, and fiction author
- Walter Perry, Lord Perry of Walton, first Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
- Dominic Sandbrook, historian and author
- Lawrence Stenhouse, educational researcher
Business and law
- Lord Colonsay, former Lord Advocate and Lord Justice General
- Lord Cullen, former Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General
- Lord Eassie, Judge of the Inner House of the Court of Session
- Sir John Rose (Rolls-Royce), CEO of Rolls-Royce plc
- Olivier Sarkozy, senior investment banker and half brother of French President, Nicolas Sarkozy
Politics and public affairs
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
- Henry Balnaves, Scottish politician and religious reformer
- Marco Biagi MSP, SNP Member of the Scottish Parliament
- Edgar Paul Boyko, Attorney General for the State of Alaska under Governor Walter Hickel
- Angie Bray MP, Conservative politician
- Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat MP
- Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, diplomat
- Eamonn Butler, director and co-founder, Adam Smith Institute
- Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell
- John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell, Liberal politician and lawyer
- Christopher Chope MP, Conservative politician
- Michael Forsyth, former Secretary of State for Scotland
- Barry Gardiner, Labour Party politician, MP
- Marlyn Glen, Scottish Labour Party politician, and Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland region since 2003.
- James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, royalist military commander
- John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee, Jacobite military commander, "Bonnie Dundee"
- John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, British nobleman and was Governor General of Canada from 1878 to 1883
- Michael Fallon MP, Conservative politician
- Arthur Hobhouse, architect of the system of National parks of England and Wales, MP
- Mark Lazarowicz, Labour Party politician
- John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, Conservative politician
- Lewis Moonie, Baron Moonie, Labour Party politician, MP
- Madsen Pirie, founder, Adam Smith Institute
- Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair, scientist and Liberal politician
- George Reid, Scottish National Party politician and second Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
- Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party
- John Sawers, British Ambassador to the UN and Director of MI6
- Alex Singleton, Political commentator and former president of the Globalisation Institute
- Catherine Stihler, Labour Party politician
- Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament
- Desmond Swayne MP, Conservative politician
- Hugo Swire MP, Conservative politician
- James Wilson, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence
- Hikmat Abu Zayd, first Egyptian female cabinet member
Religion
Statue of John Witherspoon at Princeton University
- David Beaton, Cardinal Archbishop of St Andrews
- James Beaton, Scottish church leader, the uncle of Cardinal David Beaton
- George Buchanan, scholar, theologian and playwright
- The Reverend Alexander Duff, missionary and founder of Scottish Church College, Calcutta
- Thomas Chalmers, theologian and leader of the Free Church of Scotland
- Colin Falconer, 17th century Scottish minster and bishop
- George Gillespie, Scottish theologian
- Patrick Hamilton, Protestant reformer, early martyr of the Scottish Reformation+
- Alexander Henderson, theologian
- John Knox, theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland
- Andrew Melville, scholar and theologian and religious reformer
- John Munro of Tain, dissenter opposing reforms of James VI.
- Victor Premasagar, Old Testament scholar and Moderator of the Church of South India
- Klyne Snodgrass, American scholar and theologian
- Sheila Watson, archdeacon
- John Witherspoon, theologian, President of Princeton University and signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
- Christopher Woods, Chaplain of Christ's College, University of Cambridge
Royalty
- King James II of Scotland
- The Duke of Cambridge (known at university as William Wales)
- The Duchess of Cambridge (known at university by her maiden name Catherine Middleton); on 25 February 2011, the couple paid an official visit to the university so that Prince William could give a speech for the university's 600th anniversary. They also accepted the establishment of a scholarship for needy students in their name as a wedding present. It was Middleton's second official function as a future member of the Royal Family
- Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
Sciences
John Napier, inventor of logarithms
- Joseph Bancroft, surgeon and parasitologist born in England, who emigrated to Australia
- Alexander Berry, explorer, Australian pioneer and settler of Coolangatta
- Sir Douglas Black, physician and the author of Black Report
- Sir James Black, Nobel prize winner in Medicine
- Saba Douglas-Hamilton, British wildlife conservationist and television presenter
- John Garrow, honorary consultant physician, chairman of HealthWatch, Joint Advisory Committee on Nutrition Education and Association for the Study of Obesity
- James Gregory, astronomer and mathematician, has been said that "Of the British mathematicians of the seventeenth century, Gregory was only excelled by Newton."
- Walter Haworth, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
- Francis Robert Japp, British Chemist who discovered the Japp–Klingemann reaction in 1887.
- Edward Jenner, Doctor of Medicine, first doctor to introduce & study the Smallpox vaccine
- Richard Kemp, chemist and manufacturer of illegal supply of LSD – arrested as a result of Operation Julie
- Alan MacDiarmid, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
- John Napier, mathematician, inventor of logarithms
Other
- James Crichton, polymath, the original "Admirable Crichton"
- Findlay S. Douglas, former President of the United States Golf Association
- Anthony Dickson Home, Served as Surgeon General of the British Army. Awarded the Victoria Cross
- John Honey, student who rescued five men from a ship
- Sir Chris Hoy, World, Olympic and Commonwealth Cycling Champion
- Charles B. Macdonald, a major figure in early American golf
- William Gordon Rutherfurd, Commander of HMS Swiftsure at the battle of Trafalgar
- Barney White-Spunner, Commander of the British Field Army
- George Kennedy Young, Deputy Director of MI6 and Merchant Banker
Rectors
In Scotland, the position of Rector exists in the four ancient universities (St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh) – as well as in the University of Dundee. The post (officially Lord Rector, but by normal use Rector alone) was made an integral part of these universities by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889. The Rector of the University of St Andrews chairs meetings of the University Court, the governing body of the university, and is elected by the matriculated student body.
- Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves 1872–1874, Scottish theologian, jurist and evolution analyst
- John Cleese 1970–1973, English actor and comedian
- Rudyard Kipling 1922–1925, Nobel Prize winner, British author and poet
- Andrew Carnegie 1901–1907, Scottish-born American businessman, philanthropist
- John Stuart Mill 1865–1868, English philosopher and political economist
- Douglas Haig, 1916–1919, Senior British Commander of World War I
- J. M. Barrie, 1919–1922, Scottish author of Peter Pan
- Fridtjof Nansen, 1925–1928, Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner
Links with the United States
The university has a strong link with the United States. Significant numbers of students matriculate from the United States. Many important American figures (and emigrants to the United States) from Scotland have been associated with the university:
- Andrew Carnegie, Lord Rector of the University. See the following link to the NY Times article which documents his controversial Inaugural Address: LORD RECTOR CARNEGIE.
- Bill Bryson, author.
- Bobby Jones, golfer.
- Guy Sands-Pingot, Brigadier General, USAR.
- Bob Dylan, awarded honorary degree.
- Michael Douglas, awarded honorary degree.
- Jonathan Taylor Thomas, actor, exchange student.
- Arnold Palmer honorary Doctor of Laws
- Jack Nicklaus honorary Doctor of Laws
- Tom Watson honorary Doctor of Laws
Signatories of the American Declaration of Independence
Three of the signatories of the 1776 American Declaration of Independence attended or received degrees from St Andrews, including:
- James Wilson, born at Carskerdo, near Cupar (signer from the state of Pennsylvania)
Wilson attended three Scottish Universities including St Andrews, but did not earn a degree from any of them. Carrying important letters of introduction, Wilson arrived in the US in 1765. He became a Latin tutor at Philadelphia College (now the University of Pennsylvania), and successfully petitioned that institution to grant him an honorary Master of Arts.
- John Witherspoon, born at Gifford, East Lothian (signer from the state of New Jersey)
Witherspoon was president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Witherspoon was largely responsible for converting the institution into a success by employing Scottish educational standards. He received his Master of Arts, Bachelor of Divinity, and was made a Doctor of Divinity at the University of St Andrews.
- Benjamin Franklin, born Boston, Massachusetts (signer from the state of Pennsylvania)
In 1759 Franklin received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of St Andrews.
Exchange programmes
The College of William & Mary sends several students each year to study in Scotland, while in return several St. Andrews students frequently participate in the reverse exchange program. As of Fall 2010, incoming freshmen at William & Mary will be given the option of a four-year, joint degree program, spending their first year in Williamsburg, the second in St. Andrews, and the two final years as they decided. St. Andrews students will be offered the same program, with their first year at their home institution. Emory University in Atlanta runs an exchange programme with St Andrews called the Bobby Jones Scholars programme, which allows for recent graduates of both universities to study at the other university. In addition, the School of Physics and Astronomy maintains a postgraduate exchange with The Georgia Institute of Technology. Both of these exchanges are funded by the Robert T. Jones Memorial Trust. The Robert Lincoln McNeil Scholarship is run in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania. One of the largest exchanges is with the University of California, and students are routinely sent to Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD. The School of International Relations and the School of Modern Languages also oversee an undergraduate student exchange with Sciences Po in Paris. Queen's University and the University of Western Ontario in Canada provide a reciprocal exchange with St Andrews through the Robert Tyre Jones Jr. Scholarships program.
Student organisations
Students' association
The University of St Andrews Students' Association is the organisation which represents the student body of the University of St Andrews. The Association was instituted in 1983 under the Constitution and Laws of the University of St Andrews Students’ Association. It comprises the Students' Representative Council (SRC), established in 1885 and legally defined under the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889, and the Students' Union (which was itself a merger of the Students' Union and the Women's Union). The Students' Association is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator as charity SCO19883.
The Students' Association Building (colloquially known as the Union) is located on St Mary's Place, St Andrews. External bodies operating in the building include a Blackwells bookshop and the University's Student Support Services. The Students' Association is affiliated to, and a founding member of, the Coalition of Higher Education Students in Scotland (CHESS) and is not a member of the National Union of Students.
Societies
Students at the university form various voluntary societies for academic, social, artistic, political, religious and other purposes. Many of these are affiliated with the Students' Association. Other groups are not affiliated to the University or the Students Association, and therefore not a part of the University structure. An incomplete list can be found here: independent student groups
The university's Music Society comprises many student-run musical groups, including the University's flagship Symphony Orchestra (now conducted by the Glasgow based Christopher Swaffer), Wind Band, and Chorus (the largest student music group). They also organise their own series of weekly lunchtime recitals. The Society was noted for particular strength in the University in the Sunday Times Universities Guide 2011. The music society organised a major composition competition, Prelude to the 600th, in 2011 which was won by Mark David Boden. This received much attention from the media and high profile figures in the music industry such as Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. One of the oldest and most well respected choirs in the University is the Madrigal Group which performs a concert each term and has a summer tour each year.
The 'A Cappella Society' represents all four a cappella groups in St Andrews: The Other Guys, The Alleycats, The Accidentals and The Hummingbirds. From 2009–2011, all four of these groups, as well as Glasgow's Choral Stimulation since 2010, have participated in The Voice Festival UK (VF-UK) competition, with The Other Guys, The Accidentals and The Alleycats all having reached the London final since the competition's inception. Recently, The Other Guys released a video onto YouTube, entitled Royal Romance, a tribute to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, which earned them significant recognition both throughout Scotland and in international media.
Students and staff from the University of St Andrews are developing Project Zambia. Piloted in 2009, the project is now embedded in the work of the Department of Sport and Exercise and the Student Experience Office in the University of St Andrews. Students are recruited from two sections of the University's student body: top performance athletes are chosen for their commitment to sport, while students who have shown commitment to pastoral volunteering, aiding their fellow students, are chosen to extend their experience in the caring professions.The students, and staff seeking professional development, travel to Zambia to live and work in the communities, schools and orphanages for the summer months in conjunction with the Zambian organisation 'Sport In Action'.
Athletic union
The University of St Andrews Athletic Union is the Student representative body for sport.
- University of St Andrews Rugby Football Club (Founded 1858)
Media |
- Newspapers:
- The Saint is the longest-lived student newspaper, published fortnightly since 1997 and tracing its roots several decades further. It is fully independent of both the Student's Union and the university, which has led to some controversy about certain articles in the past. This independence is only matched by four other student newspapers in Britain, and one in Ireland – Felix at Imperial College London, Cherwell in Oxford, Varsity in Cambridge, The Inquirer at City University in London and the "College Tribune" at University College Dublin in Dublin.
- On 17 April 2006, the Vine magazine (supported by the Students' Association) was re-launched. The magazine claimed to generate discussion and thought throughout the student population of the town, and was printed at irregular intervals. Sales were poor, and the publication eventually closed down in 2007.
- The Tribe "an off-beat art and lifestyle publication appealing to University of St Andrews students passionate about journalism and photography" was launched in 2009.
- The Regulus, founded in January 2010, is a student-run publication entirely devoted to political and economic affairs featuring contributions from prestigious members of the international community.
- The Stand was launched in October 2011 as St Andrews' Independent news and entertainment publication. In its first semester The Stand broke two international news stories and has since become the most read student publication at the University.
- Academic Journals:
- In 2007 the James Crichton Society was created to foster "academic inquiry and discussion". It produced a monthly journal but has since ceased to publish.
- St. Andrews Psychology Review (S.P.R.) founded in 2008 in association with St. Andrews Psychology Department and The St. Andrews Psychology Society (independently funded and not affiliated with The St. Andrews Student Union). While it is the first Independent Academic Journal at The University St. Andrews it has a number of individuals who aren’t university staff or students as writers and staff.
- Aporia (The Philosophy Society Journal) A biannual philosophy journal, founded in 2006, that features undergraduates, graduates, and postgraduates from around the UK.
- Ha@sta, a student produced annual journal for those interested in the History of Art has been published since 1995.
- Stereoscope Magazine, a student produced magazine that celebrates student photography in St Andrews while raising awareness about the photographs of the University's special collections.
- There is a postgraduate journal for Museum and Gallery Studies.
- Radio:
- On 28 February 2005, a number of St Andrews students launched the university's first FM station broadcasting over 5 km on the 87.7 MHz frequency. The station was granted a Restricted Service Licence by Ofcom, which allowed for six hours of broadcast a day. Subsequent periods of broadcast followed until the end of 2007, when it was decided to re-brand Star FM as STAR or St Andrews Radio and broadcast solely as an Internet station online for twenty-four hours a day. The radio station is now a sub-committee of the Students' Association under the name of the Broadcasting Committee. It broadcasts 24/7 during University term time.
- Web:
- An independent website has been set up by students at the university for topical discussion and an unbiased review of the town and University.
- On 15 August 2009, a group of independent St Andrews students launched a detailed and interactive unofficial 'survival guide' for incoming undergraduates providing information on the town and university life. The guide features a Twitter feed to interact with new students and a newsletter that encourages dialogue with current students.
- In 2010 StAnd Science, a student science and technology blog was launched.
Photo of University
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