The university as it is currently constituted was formed in 1860 by a merger between King's College and Marischal College, a second university founded in 1593 as a Protestant alternative to the former. The university's iconic buildings act as symbols of wider Aberdeen, particularly Marischal College in the city centre and the crown steeple of King's College in Old Aberdeen. There are two campuses; the predominantly utilised King's College campus dominates the section of the city known as Old Aberdeen, which is approximately two miles north of the city centre. Although the original site of the university's foundation, most academic buildings apart from the King's College Chapel and Quadrangle were constructed in the 20th century during a period of significant expansion. The university's Foresterhill campus is next to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and houses the School of Medicine and Dentistry as well as the School of Medical Sciences. Together these buildings form one of Europe's largest health campuses.^[5] The annual income of the institution for 2022–23 was £268.6 million of which £56.3 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £259.3 million.^[1]

Aberdeen has educated a wide range of notable alumni, and the university played key roles in the Scottish Reformation, Scottish Enlightenment, and the Scottish Renaissance. Five Nobel laureates have since been associated with the university: two in Chemistry, one in Physiology or Medicine, one in Physics, and one in Peace.^[6]

Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen

Chemistry Department

Cruickshank Building

Edward Wright Building

Fraser Noble Building

Geography Department

History Department

Faculty of Education

Zoology Building

The Rowett Institute

King's Pavilion

A mosaic of the University of Aberdeen coat of arms on the floor of King's College

National rankings

201–300

236=

158

Academics[edit]

Term[edit]

The academic year at Aberdeen was originally based upon the Scottish Term and Quarter Days, beginning with Martinmas (October – November), Candlemas (January – March), and ending with Whitsunday (April – June). However, today the academic term is divided into two semesters, the First Half-Session and the Second-Half Session, beginning in September and ending in May. Written examinations are sat in November and April and May, and graduation is celebrated either in November or at the end of June.^[59]

Libraries and Museums[edit]

The library was first located in the nave of King's College Chapel and then moved to a new site in the college in 1870.^[91] The current library contains one of the most extensive university library collections in the United Kingdom, with over a million volumes and a quarter of a million ancient and priceless books and manuscripts, including the Hortus sanitatis.^[92] The library at Aberdeen was given the right of legal deposit under the Statute of Anne (1710) but this was rescinded in 1837, and as a result has a rare collection of pre-Victorian novels.^[93] The core of the original library at King's College was formed from Elphinstone's books that he left to the university. The books were originally housed in a room in the south east tower (now the round tower). They were then moved to a building on the south side of Kings College Chapel, and in 1773 to the west end of the chapel. They were located in 1870 to a new building as illustrated. This library was extended in 1885, with galleries being installed in 1912, reading desks in 1932 and a mezzanine floor in 1964.^[94] The Queen Mother Library had been the university's main library since 1965, and the original library in King's College was replaced with the King's College Conference Centre in 1991. The Queen Mother Library was refurbished and expanded in 1982.^[95]

The Sir Duncan Rice Library was officially opened on 24 September 2012 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, replacing the Queen Mother Library. It was designed by the Danish architectural firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen at the cost of £57 million. The building sits on a base of Scottish stone. The ground floor is double-height with seven floors above. The building is clad in zebra-like jagged stripes of white and clear glass. In the interior void spaces are located centrally. Contrasting with the geometric exterior, the central atrium formed by the void spaces has an organic form, shifting in location across the levels. It has won numerous awards for its architecture.^[96]

The university also has the Taylor Law Library which is located in the taylor Building in Old Aberdeen, and the Medical Library on the Foresterhill Campus, which covers the Medicine and Medical Sciences disciplines.^[97] Christ's College also possesses its own Divinity library.

The university maintains several museums and galleries, open free to the public.^[98] The university's collections are internationally renowned and are recognised as of national significance by the Scottish Government. Originating in the eighteenth century, they now have over 300,000 items across a wide range of Human Culture, Medicine and Health, and Natural History. The Zoology Museum is officially classified as a Recognised Collection of national significance to Scotland and features displays from protozoa to the great whales, including taxidermy, skeletal material, study skins, fluid-preserved specimens and models.

Traditions[edit]

Sponsio Academica[edit]

The Sponsio Academica is the oath, originally in Latin, taken by students matriculating into the four ancient Scottish universities (Edinburgh, St. Andrews, Aberdeen and Glasgow). This tradition now has been digitised at Aberdeen and is agreed to as part of an online matriculation process. Originally, new students matriculated in Mitchell Hall where the Chancellor would give a welcoming address.

Since 1888 the School of Medicine has used a form of the Sponsio Academica for graduating students to affirm in response to the discontinuation of the oath hitherto taken by students in all faculties:^[121]

George Wishart, early Protestant reformer^[127]^[128]

Thomas Reid, founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense.^[129]

Alastair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer.^[130]

Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for the Olympics.^[131]

Gilbert Burnet, adviser to William III, philosopher, historian, and Bishop of Salisbury.^[132]

Patrick Manson, founder of the field of tropical medicine, the London School of Tropical Medicine, Dairy Farm, and the University of Hong Kong.^[133]

Alexander Bain, analytical philosopher, psychologist, educationalist, and founder of the first academic psychology and philosophy journal, Mind.^[134]

Robert Brown, botanist and discoverer of Brownian motion. (Was a student, but did not graduate).^[135]

John Arbuthnot, scientist, mathematician, court physician to Queen Anne, author, and co-founder of the Scriblerus Club. Fellow of the Royal Society (1704).^[136]