View source for Universities in Scotland

{{Short description|Overview of universities in Scotland}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
[[File:Marischal College from Broad Street 2012b.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Marischal College]], Aberdeen]]
{{see|List of universities in Scotland|Universities in the United Kingdom}}

There are fifteen [[universities]] in [[Scotland]] and three other institutions of higher education that have the authority to award academic degrees. 

The first university college in Scotland was founded at [[St John's College, St Andrews]] in 1418 by [[Henry Wardlaw]], bishop of St Andrews. [[St Salvator's College, St Andrews|St Salvator's College]] was added to St Andrews in 1450. The [[University of Glasgow]] was founded in 1451 and [[King's College, Aberdeen]] in 1495. [[St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews)|St Leonard's College]] was founded in St Andrews in 1511 and St John's College was re-founded as [[St Mary's College, St Andrews]] in 1538, as a Humanist academy for the training of clerics. Public lectures that were established in Edinburgh in the 1540s, would eventually become the University of Edinburgh in 1582. After the [[Reformation]], Scotland's universities underwent a series of reforms associated with [[Andrew Melville]]. After the [[Restoration in Scotland|Restoration]] there was a purge of Presbyterians from the universities, but most of the intellectual advances of the preceding period were preserved. The Scottish university colleges recovered from the disruption of the civil war years and Restoration with a lecture-based curriculum that was able to embrace economics and science, offering a high-quality liberal education to the sons of the nobility and gentry.

In the eighteenth century the universities went from being small and parochial institutions, largely for the training of clergy and lawyers, to major intellectual centres at the forefront of Scottish identity and life, seen as fundamental to democratic principles and the opportunity for social advancement for the talented. Many of the key figures of the [[Scottish Enlightenment]] were university professors, who developed their ideas in university lectures. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Scotland's five university colleges had no entrance exams. Students typically entered at ages of 15 or 16, attended for as little as two years, chose which lectures to attend and left without qualifications. There was a concerted attempt to modernise the curriculum to meet the needs of the emerging middle classes and the professions. The result of these reforms was a revitalisation of the Scottish university system and growth in the number of students. In the first half of the twentieth century Scottish universities fell behind those in England and Europe in terms of participation and investment. After the [[Robbins Report]] of 1963 there was a rapid expansion in higher education in Scotland. By the end of the decade the number of Scottish universities had doubled. In 1992 the distinction between universities and colleges was removed, creating a series of new universities.

All Scottish universities are [[public university|public]] and funded in part by the [[Scottish Government]] (through its [[Scottish Funding Council]]). In the 2023–24 academic year, approximately 281,500 students studied at universities or institutes of higher education in Scotland. Included in the figure are 173,800 students normally domiciled in Scotland, 33,100 from the rest of the United Kingdom and a further 73,900 [[International students in the United Kingdom|international students]].<ref name="HESA_domicile23/24">{{cite web|url=https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/20-03-2025/sb271-higher-education-student-statistics/location|title=Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2023/24 - Where students come from and go to study|publisher=[[Higher Education Statistics Agency|HESA]]|at=Figure 7 - HE student enrolments by HE provider and permanent address|access-date=20 March 2025}}</ref> The sector employs, directly and indirectly, six per cent of all jobs in the Scottish economy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ten things to know about Scottish Higher Education |url=https://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/ten-things-to-know/ |website=universities-scotland.ac.uk |publisher=Universities Scotland}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of universities in Scotland}}

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Henry Wardlaw.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Bust of Bishop [[Henry Wardlaw]], founder of St. Andrews University]]
Until the fifteenth century, Scots who wished to attend university had to travel to England or to the Continent.<ref name=Websterpp124-5>B. Webster, ''Medieval Scotland: the Making of an Identity'' (St. Martin's Press, 1997), {{ISBN|0-333-56761-7}}, pp. 124–5.</ref> This situation was transformed by the founding of [[St John's College, St Andrews]] in 1418 by [[Henry Wardlaw]], bishop of St. Andrews.<ref>P. Daileader, "Local experiences of the Great Western Schism", in J. Rollo-Koster and T. M. Izbicki, eds, ''A Companion to the Great Western Schism (1378–1417)'' (BRILL, 2009), {{ISBN|9004162771}}, p. 119.</ref> [[St Salvator's College, St Andrews|St Salvator's College]] was added to St. Andrews in 1450. The other great bishoprics followed, with the [[University of Glasgow]] being founded in 1451 and [[King's College, Aberdeen]] in 1495.<ref name=Durkan2001>J. Durkan, "Universities: to 1720", in M. Lynch, ed., The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp. 610–12.</ref> Initially, these institutions were designed for the training of clerics, but they would increasingly be used by laymen.<ref name=Websterpp124-5/> International contacts helped integrate Scotland into a wider European scholarly world and would be one of the most important ways in which the new ideas of [[Humanism]] were brought into Scottish intellectual life in the sixteenth century.<ref name=Wormald1991pp68-72>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0-7486-0276-3}}, pp. 68–72.</ref>

===Early modern era===
[[St Leonard's College (University of St Andrews)|St Leonard's College]] was founded in [[St Andrews]] in 1511 and St John's College was re-founded as [[St Mary's College, St Andrews]] in 1538, as a [[Humanist]] academy for the training of clerics.<ref>J. E. A. Dawson, ''Scotland Re-Formed, 1488–1587'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007), {{ISBN|0748614559}}, p. 187.</ref> Public lectures that were established in [[Edinburgh]] in the 1540s would eventually become the [[University of Edinburgh]] in 1582.<ref name="Wormald1991pp68-72"/> A university also briefly existed in [[Fraserburgh University|Fraserburgh]]. After the Reformation, Scotland's universities underwent a series of reforms associated with [[Andrew Melville]], who was influenced by the anti-Aristotelian [[Petrus Ramus]].<ref name="Wormald1991pp68-72"/> In 1617 King James VI decreed that the town college of Edinburgh should be known as King James's College.<ref>J. Wormald, ''Court, Kirk, and Community: Scotland, 1470–1625'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), {{ISBN|0748602763}}, p. 185.</ref> In 1641, the two colleges at Aberdeen were united by decree of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] (r. 1625–49), to form the "King Charles University of Aberdeen."<ref name=Ditchburn2002pp332-3>D. Ditchburn, "Educating the Elite: Aberdeen and Its Universities”, in E. P. Dennison, D. Ditchburn and M. Lynch, eds, ''Aberdeen Before 1800: A New History'' (Dundurn, 2002), {{ISBN|1862321140}}, p. 332.</ref> Under the [[Scotland under the Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] (1652–60), the universities saw an improvement in their funding.<ref name="Mackieetal1991pp225and227-8">J. D. Mackie, B. Lenman and G. Parker, ''A History of Scotland'' (London: Penguin, 1991), {{ISBN|0140136495}}, pp. 227–8.</ref> After the [[Restoration in Scotland|Restoration]] there was a purge of Presbyterians from the universities, but most of the intellectual advances of the preceding period were preserved.<ref name=Lynchp262>M. Lynch, ''Scotland: A New History'' (Random House, 2011), {{ISBN|1-4464-7563-8}}, p. 262.</ref> The colleges at Aberdeen were de-merged.<ref name=Ditchburn2002pp332-3/> The five Scottish university colleges recovered from the disruption of the civil war years and Restoration with a lecture-based curriculum that was able to embrace economics and science, offering a high-quality liberal education to the sons of the nobility and gentry.<ref name=Anderson2003pp219-28>R. Anderson, "The history of Scottish Education pre-1980", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1625-X}}, pp. 219–28.</ref>

===Eighteenth century===
[[File:Old College of Edinburgh University.JPG|thumb|left|[[Old College, University of Edinburgh]], planned by [[Robert Adam]] and completed in the nineteenth century]]
In the eighteenth century the universities went from being small and parochial institutions, largely for the training of clergy and lawyers, to major intellectual centres at the forefront of Scottish identity and life, seen as fundamental to democratic principles and the opportunity for social advancement for the talented.<ref name=Anderson2001pp612-14>R. D. Anderson, "Universities: 2. 1720–1960", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp. 612–14.</ref> Chairs of medicine were founded at all the university towns. By the 1740s Edinburgh medical school was the major centre of medicine in Europe and was a leading centre in the Atlantic world.<ref>P. Wood, "Science in the Scottish Enlightenment", in A. Broadie, ed., ''The Cambridge Companion to the Scottish Enlightenment'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), {{ISBN|0521003237}}, p. 100.</ref> Access to Scottish universities was probably more open than in contemporary England, Germany or France. Attendance was less expensive and the student body more representative of society as a whole.<ref>R. A. Houston, ''Scottish Literacy and the Scottish Identity: Illiteracy and Society in Scotland and Northern England, 1600–1800'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), {{ISBN|0-521-89088-8}}, p. 245.</ref> The system was flexible and the curriculum became a modern philosophical and scientific one, in keeping with contemporary needs for improvement and progress.<ref name=Anderson2001pp612-14/> Scotland reaped the intellectual benefits of this system in its contribution to the [[European Enlightenment]].<ref name="HermanTwo">[[Arthur L. Herman|A. Herman]], ''[[How the Scots Invented the Modern World]]'' (London: Crown Publishing Group, 2001), {{ISBN|0-609-80999-7}}.</ref> Many of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment were university professors, who developed their ideas in university lectures. Key figures included [[Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)|Francis Hutcheson]], [[Hugh Blair]], [[David Hume]], [[Adam Smith]], [[James Burnett, Lord Monboddo|James Burnett]], [[Adam Ferguson]], [[John Millar (philosopher)|John Millar]] and [[William Robertson (historian)|William Robertson]], [[William Cullen]], [[James Anderson of Hermiston|James Anderson]], [[Joseph Black]] and [[James Hutton]].<ref name=Anderson2001pp612-14/>

===Modern era===
[[File:University of Stirling from Wallace Monument.jpg|thumb|right|The purpose-built modern buildings of the [[University of Stirling]]]]
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Scotland's five university colleges had no entrance exam, students typically entered at ages of 15 or 16, attended for as little as two years, chose which lectures to attend and left without qualifications.<ref name=Anderson2003p224>R. Anderson, "The history of Scottish education pre-1980", in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1625-X}}, p. 224.</ref> The curriculum was dominated by divinity and the law and there was a concerted attempt to modernise the curriculum, particularly by introducing degrees in the physical sciences and the need to reform the system to meet the needs of the emerging middle classes and the professions.<ref name=Anderson2003p224/> The result of these reforms was a revitalisation of the Scottish university system, which expanded to 6,254 students by the end of the century<ref name=Anderson2001pp612-14/> and produced leading figures in both the arts and sciences.<ref name=Checkland&Checkland1989pp147-50>O. Checkland and S. G. Checkland, ''Industry and Ethos: Scotland, 1832–1914'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), {{ISBN|0748601023}}, pp. 147–50.</ref> In the first half of the twentieth century Scottish universities fell behind those in England and Europe in terms of participation and investment.<ref name=Harvie1998pp78-9>C. Harvie, ''No Gods and Precious Few Heroes: Twentieth-Century Scotland'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 3rd edn., 1998), {{ISBN|0-7486-0999-7}}, pp. 78–9.</ref> After the [[Robbins Report]] of 1963 there was a rapid expansion in higher education in Scotland. By the end of the decade the number of Scottish Universities had doubled. New universities included the [[University of Dundee]], [[University of Strathclyde|Strathclyde]], [[Heriot-Watt University|Heriot-Watt]], and [[University of Stirling|Stirling]]. From the 1970s the government preferred to expand higher education in the non-university sector and by the late 1980s roughly half of students in higher education were in colleges. In 1992, under the [[Further and Higher Education Act 1992]], the distinction between universities and colleges was removed,<ref name=Paterson2001pp614-5>L. Paterson, "Universities: 3. post-Robbins", in M. Lynch, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), {{ISBN|0-19-211696-7}}, pp. 614–5.</ref> creating new universities at [[Abertay University|Abertay]], [[Glasgow Caledonian University|Glasgow Caledonian]], [[Napier University|Napier]], [[Paisley University|Paisley]] and [[Robert Gordon University|Robert Gordon]].<ref>R. Shaw, "Institutional and curricular structures in the universities of Scotland" in T. G. K. Bryce and W. M. Humes, eds, ''Scottish Education: Post-Devolution'' (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd edn., 2003), {{ISBN|0-7486-1625-X}}, pp. 664–5.</ref>

==Present==

===Organisation===
[[File:Queen Margaret University main building.jpg|thumb|The Main Building of [[Queen Margaret University]]]]
There are fifteen universities in Scotland<ref name=uniscot>{{cite web |url=http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/index.php?page=briefing |title=Briefing |publisher=Universities Scotland |access-date=1 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723071847/http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/index.php?page=briefing |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and three other institutions of higher education which have the authority to award [[academic degrees]]. The [[University of the Highlands and Islands]] (UHI) gained full university status in 2011, having been created through the federation of 13 colleges and research institutions across the Highlands and Islands, a process that began in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/2239/uhi_is_awarded_taught_degree_awarding_powers |title=UHI is awarded taught degree awarding powers |publisher=Highland Council |date=26 June 2008 |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref>

All Scottish universities have the power to award degrees at all levels: undergraduate, taught postgraduate, and doctoral. Education in Scotland is controlled by the [[Scottish Government]] under the terms of the [[Scotland Act 1998]]. The minister responsible for higher education is the [[Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills]], currently [[Jenny Gilruth]] of the [[Scottish National Party]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/cabinet-and-ministers/cabinet-secretary-education-skills/ |title=Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills |publisher=[[Scottish Government]] |access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref> University status in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom today is conferred by the [[Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council|Privy Council]] which takes advice from the [[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-3708.pdf |title=The Privy Council, Standard Note: SN/PC/3708 |date=5 July 2005 |publisher=The Privy Council |pages=5–6 |access-date=6 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227183508/http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-3708.pdf |archive-date=27 December 2011 }}</ref><ref name=QAA>{{cite web|url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/daput |title=Degree-awarding powers and university title |publisher=[[Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education]] (QAA) |date=29 November 2012 |access-date=26 July 2014}}</ref>

===Funding and finances===
All Scottish universities are [[public universities]] and part funded by the [[Scottish Government]] (through its [[Scottish Funding Council]]<ref name=scotgov>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/UniversitiesColleges/16640 |publisher=The Scottish Government |title=Higher Education |access-date=6 July 2010}}</ref>) and financial support is provided for Scottish-domiciled students by the [[Student Awards Agency for Scotland]]. Students ordinarily resident in Scotland do not pay [[tuition fees]] for their first undergraduate degree, but tuition fees are charged for those from the rest of the United Kingdom. All students are required to pay tuition fees for postgraduate education (e.g. MSc, PhD), except in certain priority areas funded by the Scottish Government, or if another source of funding can be found (e.g. [[research council]] studentship for a PhD). A representative body called [[Universities Scotland]] works to promote Scotland's universities, as well as six other higher education institutions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.universities-scotland.ac.uk/ |title=Universities Scotland |access-date=7 September 2010}}</ref>

The total consolidated annual income for the fifteen Scottish universities for 2020–2021 was £4.38 billion of which £847 million was from research grants and contracts, with an operating surplus of £290.4 million (6.63%). £1.36 billion was received from the Scottish Funding Council via grants and £298.5 million was received from tuition fees of Home-domiciled students, defined as Scotland-domiciled students and European Union-domiciled students who began their studies prior to 2021–2022.<ref>{{cite web |title=EU Residence Guide - Tuition Fee Status of Students Starting Studies in 2021-22 |url=https://www.saas.gov.uk/files/592/eu-exit-guidance-uni-college.pdf |website=saas.gov.uk |publisher=Student Awards Agency Scotland |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref> The table below is a record of each Scottish university's financial data for the 2020–2021 financial year as recorded by the [[Higher Education Statistics Agency]]:<ref name="HESA Finance">{{cite web |title=What is the income of HE providers? |url=https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/finances/income |website=hesa.ac.uk |publisher=Higher Education Statistics Agency |access-date=22 February 2023}}</ref>

{| class="sortable wikitable"
!University
!data-sort-type="number" |Government funding body grants (£m)
!data-sort-type="number" |Funding Body income as % of total income
!data-sort-type="number" |Home-Domiciled Teaching income (£m) 
!data-sort-type="number" |Overall Teaching income (£m) 
!data-sort-type="number" |Teaching income as % of total income
!data-sort-type="number" |Research income (£m) 
!data-sort-type="number" |Research income as % of total income
!data-sort-type="number" |Total income (£m)
!data-sort-type="number" |Operating surplus (£m) 
!data-sort-type="number" |Surplus as % of total income
|-
| [[University of Aberdeen]]
| 87.6
| 37.1%
| 16.6
| 74.4
| 31.5%
| 45.9
| 19.5%
| 235.9
| 7.0
| 2.96%
|-
| [[Abertay University]]
| 21.6
| 58.0%
| 6.1
| 10.4
| 28.0%
| 2.9
| 7.7%
| 37.2
| —0.9
| —2.49%
|-
| [[University of Dundee]]
| 93.4
| 33.8%
| 17.9
| 73.9
| 26.8%
| 74.4
| 26.9%
| 276.2
| 6.7
| 2.42%
|-
| [[University of Edinburgh]]
| 236.3
| 19.9%
| 41.4
| 435.0
| 36.6%
| 324.0
| 27.3%
| 1,187.4
| 127.3
| 10.72%
|-
| [[Edinburgh Napier University]]
| 66.3
| 50.6%
| 14.7
| 51.8
| 39.5%
| 3.7
| 2.8%
| 131.1
| —2.7
| —2.05%
|-
| [[University of Glasgow]]
| 198.4
| 24.4%
| 42.5
| 292.8
| 36.0%
| 173.3
| 21.3%
| 813.1
| 117.3
| 14.42%
|-
| [[Glasgow Caledonian University]]
| 73.8
| 54.9%
| 26.3
| 47.0
| 34.9%
| 5.4
| 4.0%
| 134.6
| —2.1
| —1.59
|-
| [[Heriot-Watt University]]
| 50.0
| 21.1%
| 17.6
| 128.1
| 54.5%
| 32.9
| 14.0%
| 235.1
| 2.2
| 0.94%
|-
| [[Queen Margaret University]]
| 20.7
| 47.0%
| 6.6
| 15.1
| 34.2%
| 3.0
| 6.8%
| 44.0
| —1.9
| —4.2%
|-
| [[Robert Gordon University]]
| 51.9
| 50.3%
| 18.5
| 40.3
| 39.0%
| 3.0
| 2.9%
| 103.2
| —2.5
| —2.45%
|-
| [[University of St Andrews]]
| 48.2
| 16.6%
| 7.0
| 121.9
| 42.0%
| 43.7
| 15.0%
| 290.4
| 40.5
| 13.95%
|-
| [[University of Stirling]]
| 53.7
| 43.1%
| 15.7
| 43.5
| 34.9%
| 13.3
| 10.7%
| 124.5
| 11.6
| 9.28%
|-
| [[University of Strathclyde]]
| 114.3
| 32.9%
| 37.2 
| 103.3
| 29.7%
| 88.0
| 25.3%
| 347.4
| —9.6
| —2.75%
|-
| [[University of the Highlands and Islands]]
| 110.2
| 74.0%
| 10.2
| 12.0
| 8.1%
| 14.5
| 9.7%
| 148.9
| —4.1
| —2.72%
|-
| [[University of the West of Scotland]]
| 77.3
| 60.2%
| 20.3
| 43.1
| 33.5%
| 4.8
| 3.7%
| 128.5
| 1.6
| 1.27%
|-
|}

===Students===
[[File:St Andrews gowns.jpg|thumbnail|right|St Andrews students in undergraduate gowns]]
In the 2022–23 academic year, 292,240 students studied at universities or institutes of higher education in Scotland, 228,005 of whom were full-time, 59.0% were female and 40.4% male. 59.5% of students were domiciled in Scotland, 11.5% from the rest of the United Kingdom, and the remaining 28.7% being [[International students in the United Kingdom|international students]] (4.5% from the European Union). Of all these, approximately 198,745 were studying at undergraduate level, 79,395 for a taught postgraduate degree (primarily a master's degree) and 14,105 for a postgraduate research degree (primarily PhD).<ref name="HESA">{{cite web|url=https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-study#provider|title=Where do HE students study?: Students by HE provider|work=[[Higher Education Statistics Agency|HESA]]|at=HE student enrolments by HE provider|access-date=12 September 2024}}</ref> The three largest universities by enrolment were the Universities of Glasgow (39,755 students), Edinburgh (39,110 students) and Strathclyde (24,860 students).<ref name="HESA"/>

===Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics===
The Scottish Universities Summer School in Physics (SUSSP) was established in 1960 by the four ancient Scottish Universities (Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and St. Andrews) to contribute to the dissemination of advanced knowledge in physics and the formation of contacts among scientists from different countries through the setting up of a series of annual summer schools of the highest international standard.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.sussp.ac.uk/ | title=Scottish Universities Summer Schools in Physics | date=19 March 2014 | access-date=13 November 2014 | author=Walker, Alan}}</ref> {{as of|2014}} it had increased to include Dundee, Glasgow Caledonian, Heriot-Watt, Paisley, and Strathclyde.

===Rankings===
{{See also|Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom}}

In the 2025 national league table rankings, five of the top twenty in both of ''The Guardian University Guide'' and in ''The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide'' were Scottish universities. In the 2025 global rankings, three Scottish universities featured in the world's top 200 universities in both of the ''QS'' and the ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings''.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! width=200px | University
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom#The Complete University Guide|Complete 2026]]'' (National)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings|title=Complete University Guide 2026|publisher=The Complete University Guide|date=10 June 2025|access-date=10 June 2025}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom#The Guardian|Guardian 2025]]'' (National)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/ng-interactive/2024/sep/07/the-guardian-university-guide-2025-the-rankings|title=Guardian University Guide 2025|work=The Guardian|date=7 September 2024|access-date=11 September 2024}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom#The Times/The Sunday Times|Times/Sunday Times 2025]]'' (National)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk-university-rankings|title=Good University Guide 2025|work=The Times|date=20 September 2024|access-date=20 September 2024}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[Academic Ranking of World Universities|ARWU 2024]]'' (Global)<ref>{{cite web|title=Academic Ranking of World Universities 2024|url=https://www.shanghairanking.com/rankings/arwu/2024|publisher=Shanghai Ranking Consultancy|date=15 August 2024}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[QS World University Rankings|QS 2025]]'' (Global)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.topuniversities.com/world-university-rankings|title=QS World University Rankings 2025|publisher=Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.|date=4 June 2024}}</ref>
! data-sort-type="number" | ''[[Times Higher Education World University Rankings|THE 2025]]'' (Global)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2025/world-ranking#!/length/25/locations/GBR/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats|title=THE World University Rankings 2025|publisher=Times Higher Education|date=9 October 2024|access-date=9 October 2024}}</ref>
|-

|-
| [[University of Aberdeen]]
| 30
| 12
| 15
| 201–300
| 236=
| 201–250
|-
| [[Abertay University]]
| 94
| 79
| 74
| —
| —
| —
|-
| [[University of Dundee]]
| 39
| 52
| 36
| 401–500
| 418=
| 301–350
|-
| [[University of Edinburgh]]
| 18
| 15
| 17=
| 40
| 27
| 29
|-
| [[Edinburgh Napier University]]
| 95
| 96
| 59
| —
| 801–850
| 501–600
|-
| [[University of Glasgow]]
| 31
| 14
| 16
| 101–150
| 78
| 87=
|-
| [[Glasgow Caledonian University]]
| 85
| 46
| 44
| —
| 1001–1200
| 601–800
|-
| [[Heriot-Watt University]]
| 25
| 66
| 51
| 801–900
| 256=
| 401–500
|-
| [[Queen Margaret University]]
| 113
| 91
| 105=
| —
| 951–1000
| —
|-
| [[Robert Gordon University]]
| 87
| 95
| 61
| —
| 901–950
| 801–1000
|-
| [[University of St Andrews]]
| 4
| 2
| 2
| 301–400
| 104
| 185=
|-
| [[University of Stirling]]
| 51
| 94
| 63
| 801–900
| 452=
| 401–500
|-
| [[University of Strathclyde]]
| 38
| 17
| 20
| 501–600
| 281=
| 351–400
|-
| [[University of the West of Scotland]]
| 127
| 121
| 121
| —
| —
| 601–800
|-
|}

In terms of rankings there are four distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK: [[Oxbridge]] comprising cluster one; a second cluster containing the remaining 22 [[Russell Group]] universities together with 17 other old universities, including Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, St Andrews, Stirling and Strathclyde; a third cluster containing 13 old universities and 54 new universities including the remaining Scottish universities; and a fourth cluster contains 19 new universities but no Scottish universities.<ref>Vikki Bolivera, [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905 "Are there distinctive clusters of higher and lower status universities in the UK?"], ''Oxford Review of Education'', 41 (5), 2015, pp. 608–27, DOI 10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905.</ref>

===Research Excellence Framework===

The below lists the outcome of the latest [[Research Excellence Framework]] undertaken in 2021 (the next REF is scheduled for 2028) by the four UK higher education funding bodies. The quality of research was rated 4* (world leading), 3* (internationally excellent), 2* (recognised internationally), 1* (recognised nationally) and unclassified. GPA measures the quality of research and Research Power is calculated by the GPA score of a university multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of researchers submitted. The rankings are out of 129 institutions as measured by output:<ref name="REF2021">{{cite web |title=REF 2021 Outputs |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/content/ref2021outputs |publisher=Times Higher Education |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref>

<!-- Alphabetical by name of higher education institution -->
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="border: none; background: none;"|
! colspan="5"| Quality profile %
|-
! University
! 4*
! 3*
! 2*
! 1*
! Unclassified 
! GPA ranking
! Research Power ranking
|-
|[[University of Aberdeen]]||29||51||19||1||0||53||37
|-
|[[Abertay University]]||12||52||31||4||0||97||108
|-
|[[University of Dundee]]||38||45||16||1||0||41||49
|-
|[[University of Edinburgh]]||41||45||12||1||0||19||4
|-
|[[Edinburgh Napier University]]||19||52||27||2||0||77||83
|-
|[[University of Glasgow]]||48||43||8||0||0||6||13
|-
|[[Glasgow Caledonian University]]||22||53||22||3||0||66||91
|-
|[[Heriot-Watt University]]||35||53||10||1||0||33||51
|-
|[[Queen Margaret University]]||14||37||40||8||2||116||116
|-
|[[Robert Gordon University]]||12||57||28||3||0||87||113
|-
|[[University of St Andrews]]||41||46||12||1||0||17||36
|-
|[[University of Stirling]]||27||51||21||1||0||58||53
|-
|[[University of Strathclyde]]||31||56||13||1||0||47||32
|-
|[[University of the Highlands and Islands]]||26||42||27||5||0||77||106
|-
|[[University of West of Scotland]]||12||46||32||9||1||114||85
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[List of universities in Scotland]]
*[[List of universities in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Student wings of political parties in Scotland]]
*[[Universities in the United Kingdom]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Scottish education|state=expanded}}
{{Universities in Scotland}}

[[Category:Universities in Scotland| ]]