University of St Andrews

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About University of St Andrews

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University of St Andrews
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Latin: Universitas Sancti Andreae


Motto AIEN ARISTEUEIN (Greek: Ever To Be The Best)
Established 1410-1413
Type Public University
Endowment £35 million, as of 31.7.04
Rector Simon Pepper OBE
Chancellor The Rt. Hon. Sir Menzies Campbell CBE QC MP
Principal 1,804
Students 6,808
Location St Andrews, Fife, Scotland

The University of St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland and third oldest in the English-speaking world, having been founded between 1410 and 1413. It is a renowned centre for teaching and research, situated in the small town of St Andrews, in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is one of the most prestigious universities in the UK, attracting students from over 100 countries. Independent school intake is high, but the university has an active widening participation policy. The modern library and many departments are in the town centre. The town's population of 16,000 is boosted considerably by the University's 7,000 students.


History
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. The University grew in size quite rapidly; St Salvator's College was established in 1450, St Leonard's College in 1511, and St Mary's College in 1537. Some of the college buildings in use today date from this period as does St Salvator's Chapel. 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, the university underwent many changes. The distinctive red gowns, which are still in use today, were adopted in 1672. Toward the end of the seventeenth century, the university considered and eventually rejected a move to Perth. In 1747, St Salvator's and St Leonards's merged to form the United College of St Salvator and St Leonard.

During the 19th century, student numbers were very low and the university faced the possibility of closing. In the 1870s, the student population was fewer than 150, and perhaps partly in response to this, the university founded University College in Dundee in 1897, which became a centre of medical and scientific excellence. This affiliation ended in 1967 when the college, renamed Queen's College, became a separate and independent institution of 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. Today, the university is growing in international reputation, attracting more students than ever before.


Reputation
It is currently listed as being the best university in Scotland, according to the Sunday Times Good University Rankings of 2006. It frequently features in the top ten of establishments in the UK as a whole. It has achieved the most consistently high ratings in research assessment exercises with no subjects receiving a rating less than 4 on a grading scale from 1-5*, with 5* marking outstanding international research. The departments of English and Psychology have received a 5* in the latest exercise, and 72% of staff across the university in received a 5 or 5* rating. The Philosophical Gourmet report ranks St Andrews' graduate philosophy programme as third in the UK. The joint programme with Stirling University is ranked second in the UK and joint 13th in the world with UC Berkeley.

Nearly eight in ten graduates obtain a First Class or an Upper Second Class Honours degree. A similar proportion enter further employment requiring a respected degree or obtaining placements for further postgraduate research. The ancient Scottish universities award Master of Arts degrees 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.

Entry to the University is highly competitive; the latest UCAS figures show that there are generally eight applications for every place available, and the University did not enter Clearing at the end of the last admissions round. The standard offer of a place tends to require at a minimum AAABB at Scottish Highers for Scottish applicants, AAB at GCE A Levels for English and Welsh candidates, or a score of at least 36 points on the International Baccalaureate.


Governance and administration
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
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 routinely co-opted onto the Court. Several lay members are also co-opted and must include a fixed number of alumni of the University.


Academic Senate
The Academic Senate (in Latin Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the University. Its members include all of the Professors of the University, certain senior Readers, a number of Senior Lecturers and Lecturers, and two students. 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, and
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.


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:

The Principal: Dr Brian Lang
Master of the United College and Deputy Principal: Professor Keith Brown
Secretary and Registrar: Mark Butler
Vice-Principal (Research): Professor Alan Miller
Vice-Principal (Learning and Teaching): Professor Ronald Piper
Vice-Principal (External Relations): Stephen Magee
Quaestor and Factor: Derek Watson
Assistant to the Principal: Hugh Martin


Student Residences
St Andrews is characterised amongst Scottish Universities as having a significant number of students in University operated accommodation. Residences include:

Albany Park
Andrew Melville Hall
David Russell Apartments (a new apartment complex built on the site of the now-demolished original David Russell Hall)
Deans Court
Fife Park
Gannochy House
John Burnet Hall
McIntosh Hall
New Hall
St Regulus Hall
St Salvator's Hall
Stanley Smith House & Angus House
University Hall


Former Residences
In addition to the residences listed above, the University formerly also had the following residences:

Hamilton Hall
Hepburn Hall
Southgait Hall
Kinnessburn Hall


Alumni
Arts and media
Crispin Bonham-Carter, actor
Gavin Douglas, poet and bishop
William Dunbar, poet
Robert Fergusson, poet
Hazel Irvine, television presenter
Sir David Lindsay, poet and diplomat
Ian McDiarmid, actor
Louise Minchin, newsreader
Siobhan Redmond, actor
Brian Taylor, journalist
Fay Weldon, feminist and writer

Education and academia
Sir Eric Anderson, academic
Walter Perry, Lord Perry of Walton, first Vice-Chancellor of the Open University
Dominic Sandbrook, historian and author
Lawrence Stenhouse, educational researcher

Politics and public affairs
Angie Bray, Conservative and Unionist politician
Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, diplomat
Christopher Chope, Conservative and Unionist politician
Barry Gardiner, Labour Party politician
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, royalist military commander
John Graham, 1st Viscount of Dundee, Jacobite military commander, "Bonnie Dundee"
Michael Fallon, Conservative and Unionist politician
Michael Forsyth, Baron Forsyth of Drumlean, Conservative and Unionist politician
Mark Lazarowicz, Labour Party politician
John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, Conservative and Unionist politician
Lewis Moonie, Baron Moonie, Labour Party politician
Madsen Pirie, founder, Adam Smith Institute
Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair, scientist and Liberal politician
George Reid, MSP (SNP) and Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish National Party
Alex Singleton, Director-General of the Globalisation Institute
Catherine Stihler, Labour Party politician
Desmond Swayne, Conservative and Unionist politician
Hugo Swire, Conservative and Unionist politician
James Wilson, signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence

Religion, church, and theology
David Beaton, Cardinal Archbishop of St. Andrews
George Buchanan (humanist), scholar, theologian, and playwright
Victor Premasagar, Old Testament Scholar and Moderator of Church of South India
Thomas Chalmers, theologian and leader of the Free Church of Scotland
Patrick Hamilton (martyr), Protestant Reformer
Alexander Henderson, theologian
Andrew Melville, scholar and theologian
Rev John Munro of Tain, dissenter opposing reforms of James VI.
Klyne Snodgrass, D.Phil. 1973, American scholar and theologian
Sheila Watson, archdeacon
John Witherspoon, theologian, President of Princeton University, and signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Royalty
James II of Scotland
Prince William of Wales, known at university as William Wales

Sciences
James Black, Nobel prize winner in Medicine
James Gregory, astronomer and mathematician
Richard Kemp, chemist and manufacturer of illegal supply of LSD - arrested as a result of Operation Julie
Walter Haworth, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
Alan MacDiarmid, Nobel prize winner in Chemistry
John Napier, mathematician

Miscellaneous
Alexander Berry, explorer, Australian pioneer/settler Coolangatta
James Crichton, polymath, the original "Admirable Crichton"
John Honey, student who rescued five men from a ship
Kate Middleton, current girlfriend of Prince William
Russell Kirk, conservative theorist and writer


Famous Rectors
In Scotland, the position of Rector exists in the four ancient universities - which are the Universities of 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 chairs meetings of the University Court, the governing body of the university, and is elected at regular intervals by their matriculated student bodies. This role is considered by many students to be integral to their ability to shape the universities' agendas.

Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves 1872-1874, Scottish theologian, jurist and evolution analyst
John Marwood Cleese 1970-1973, English actor and comedian
Joseph 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
James Matthew Barrie, 1919-1922, Scottish author
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 (approximately 15% of university in 2005[citation needed]). Many important American figures have been associated with the university. Benjamin Franklin, Bill Bryson, golfer Bobby Jones, and most recently, Bob Dylan and Michael Douglas, have been awarded honorary degrees.

Signatories of the Declaration of Independence
Also, 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 America 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 had an impressive list of credentials and was a significant public figure. He 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. His direct descendants may include the Academy Award winning actress Reese Witherspoon, who attended the private all-girl's Harpeth Hall School and Stanford University as a literature major.

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 Programs
Additionally, Emory University runs an exchange program with St Andrews called the Bobby Jones Scholars program, which allows for recent graduates of both universities to study at the other university. This program is also run by the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario.


Students' Association
The University of St Andrews Students' Association was formed in 1983 by the adoption of the principle of closer co-operation between the Students' Representative Council (SRC) and the Students' Union. The Union was founded in 1864 as a "Common and Reading Room" and was located in the "cloister" behind St Salvator's Chapel. The Students' Union of the University of St Andrews is the oldest in Scotland. The SRC is a statutory body established in 1885 but formalised by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889.


Societies
Students at the university form various voluntary societies for academic, social, political, religious and other reasons. 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, see Independent Student Groups in St Andrews.

The Student Archaeology Society
Azibo
The Breakaway Hillwalking Society
Bute Medical Society
The University of St Andrews, Student Catholics' Society
The Charities Campaign, including the annual Race to Paris
The website St Andrews University Conservative and Unionist Association
University of St Andrews Union Debating Society
The Economics Society
The Fencing Club
The University of St Andrews German Society
The University of St Andrews Gilbert and Sullivan Society
The Global Investment Group (non-affiliated)
The Hispanic Society
St Andrews University Juggling Society
The Kate Kennedy Club (non-affiliated)
The Korfball Club
The University of Saint Andrews Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transperson Society
St. Andrews University Labour Club
The St Andrews University Liberal Democrat Society
University of St Andrews Liberty Club
The Lumsden Club
St Andrews University Madrigal Group
St Andrews University Mountaineering Club
One World
The University of St Andrews Physics Society ("QuantumSoc")
The Pink Links Society
The Polish Society
The University of St Andrews Quaich Society
The University of St Andrews Real Ale Society
University of St Andrews Rock Music Society
The Royal and Ancient Poker Club
The Royal Cake Club
The St Andrews University Scottish Nationalist Association
St Andrews University Shinty Club
The Shire of Caer Caledon Medieval Society
The University of St Andrews Skydiving Club
The St Andrews Socialists (SAS) (non-affiliated)
The Strafford Club
The Toad Club
St Andrews Student UNICEF Society
St Andrews Voluntary Service (SVS)
Scotland-Romania Language Link
The Westoun Society


Media
Newspapers
The Saint is the longest-lasting 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 two other student newspapers in Britain - the Cherwell in Oxford and Varsity in Cambridge.
In 2006, on 17 April, the "Vine" magazine (supported by the Students' Association) was re-launched. The magazine claims to generate discussion and thought throughout the student population of the town.
The Chihuahua, which began in 2002, was a free alternative monthly magazine in an 8-page tabloid newspaper format, known for provocative and surreal humour which is not for the easily offended. The Chihuahua's disclaimer together with use of satire sometimes allowed it to tackle issues that the Vine is unable to but it rarely received complaints about content being unsuitable (merely that sometimes it is not funny). However the issue of November 27, 2006 attracted a large number of complaints to the extent that the society that ran the magazine was shut down for the publication of an issue that was deemed to breach several laws including Obscenity and Blasphemy. The University is likely to introduce a system of guidelines for any future publication of a similar nature. The Saint reported on the story in early March.

Radio:
On the 28th of February 2005, a number of St Andrews students launched the university's first FM station broadcasting over 3 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. The station had another successful run for two weeks from November 21st 2005, this time broadcasting for 24 hours a day for two weeks. The station also broadcast live 24 hours a day on the internet. The radio station is now a sub-committee of the Students' Association under the name of the Broadcasting Committee. Its most recent broadcast was from the 18th November 2006 to the 8th of December of the same year. This was the longest broadcast to date and achieved record numbers of listeners. The station currently plans to relaunch for a three week period beginning on the 13th of April.


Websites
There are two official sites for the students of the university: www.st-andrews.ac.uk which is the University's site, and www.yourunion.net which is the official site for the Students' Association. The Sinner (http://www.thesinner.net) remains a popular and unofficial website for the student population.


External links
St Andrews University Scarves
University of St Andrews website
University of St Andrews Students' Association Website
STAR FM 87.7 St Andrews Student Radio
The Saint - independent student newspaper
The Mitre - Defunct student newspaper
The Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA) - a research institute based at St Mary’s College, the Divinity School at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.


Ver 0.01
Updated on 17 Mar 2007
By Justin

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk