The University of Edinburgh

ed.ac.uk

Image of students walking in Edinburgh University's Old College quad.
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The University of Edinburgh is the sixth oldest university in the UK and the oldest civic foundation in the English-speaking world. Today, the University is home to over 49,000 students spread across five campuses around the city. These campuses also house some of the world’s most important collections, including art, musical instruments, natural history, geology, anatomy, rare books and manuscripts. 

The latest report from the Quality Assurance Agency awarded the highest rating possible for the quality of the student learning experience and 90% of their research was recently deemed world leading or internationally excellent. Research conducted here led to the discovery of chloroform anaesthesia, the Higgs boson particle and in-vitro fertilisation.

The University is also at the heart of the city of Edinburgh which is ranked the 2nd best student city in the UK, and 13th in the world.**
** QS Best Student Cities 2025
 

The University of Edinburgh

The University’s three Colleges host 21 Schools and is one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, ranked 4th in the UK for research power (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions), with 90% of our research activity classified as world leading or internationally excellent in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

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Facts & Stats

  • Consistently ranked as one of the top 50 universities in the world.
  • Ranked 27th in the 2025 QS World University Rankings.
  • Ranked 4th in the UK for research power, based on the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (Times Higher Education, Overall Ranking of Institutions).
  • 20 Nobel Prize winners who are alumni of the University or have been members of academic staff here.
  • Ranked in the UK’s top 10 universities for the employability of graduates. (Times Higher Education, Global Employability University Ranking 2023/4).
  • Ranked 19th in the world’s most international universities (Times Higher Education: The World’s Most International Universities 2024).
  • Consistently finishing in the top four of the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) rankings.
  • More than 320 student societies covering sport, politics, social and community support, and the arts.
  • Oldest student newspaper and oldest purpose-built student union in the world.
  • Home of the James Tait Black Prizes – Britain’s oldest literary awards.

Additional Information

Fees & Funding

Courses

International Students

Student Life

Research

They have a long history of delivering research firsts. Their researchers developed Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be genetically cloned from an adult somatic cell; the first genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine; the first automated industrial assembly robot; and the first in-vitro fertilisation. They also led the Atlas team at CERN, which co-discovered the Higgs Boson.

Employability

They offer strong employability prospects with their graduates are ranked 24th in the world by employers. (QS World University Rankings 2023/4). 

Facilities

Their facilities are excellent. They have 10 libraries including the third largest academic library in Europe. The university is home to one of the UK’s 15 Wellcome Trust clinical research facilities; the unique FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, the world’s most sophisticated ocean simulator; and host to the UK's National Supercomputer, ARCHER2.

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