University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh is a public research university located in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Founded in 1582 by King James VI and formally inaugurated in 1583, it is one of Scotland's four ancient universities as well as the sixth-oldest institution in continuous operation in the English-speaking world. It is also the oldest university in the United Kingdom. The institution played a significant part in establishing Edinburgh as a leading intellectual centre during the Scottish Enlightenment, earning the city the moniker "Athens of the North" as a result.
We are a member of various alliances of research-intensive institutions, including the Coimbra Group and the League of European Research Universities. We are also a member of the Russell Group, Una Europa, and Universitas 21, among other organisations. It had a total income of £1,112.5 million in the fiscal year ending on July 31, 2020, of which £296.1 million came from research grants and contracts. It has the third-largest endowment in the United Kingdom, behind only Cambridge and Oxford, with a total income of £1,112.5 million in the fiscal year ending on July 31, 2020. It comprises five major campuses in the city of Edinburgh, which contain numerous buildings of historical and architectural interest, such as those in the Old Town. The university has a total of 20,000 students.
With over 60,000 undergraduate applications received each year, the Institution of Edinburgh is the second-most popular university in the United Kingdom based on the number of applications received. With 35,375 students enrolled in 2019/20, it is the eighth-largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of enrollment. New students at the University of Edinburgh had the seventh-highest average UCAS points among British institutions in 2019. After serving as the university's Chancellor from 1953 to 2010, and since March 2011, the university has maintained close ties with the British royal family, which includes Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who served as Chancellor from 1953 to 2010, and Anne, Princess Royal, who has served as Chancellor since March 2011.
In addition to some of the most important personalities in contemporary history, the institution has produced a number of notable graduates. Writers such as Sir J. M. Barrie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as inventor Alexander Graham Bell, naturalist Charles Darwin, philosopher David Hume, and physicist James Clerk Maxwell, all studied at Edinburgh University. There are various leaders of state and government who have graduated from the institution. These include three British Prime Ministers, among others. Three Supreme Court Justices of the United Kingdom, as well as numerous Olympic gold medalists, received their education at Edinburgh. Currently, 19 Nobel Prize laureates, three Turing Award winners, two Pulitzer Prize winners, an Abel Prize laureate, a Fields Medalist, and an Abel Prize laureate and Fields Medalist are associated with the University of Edinburgh as alumni or academic staff as of October 2021.