The University of St Andrews was Scotland’s first university and only the third to be founded in the English-speaking world. It has a prestigious international reputation, and attracts students from all over the world — just under half of all students come from outside Scotland. The university generally features within the Top 5 of UK university rankings, and it is ranked second in UK by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025. Some of most famous alumni include Prince William Duke of Wales and Catherine Duchess of Wales.
Key Facts
- #2 in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025
- #2 in the Guardian Good University Guide 2025
- #4 in the Complete University Guide 2025
- #1 for History of Art, Architecture and Design, Politics, and History (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
- #2 for Chemistry, English, and Physics and Astronomy (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
- #3 for Geology, and Business, Management and Marketing (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024)
Latest undergraduate enrolment
- 8,347 full-time
- 669 part-time
Latest postgraduate enrolment
st-andrews.ac.uk
- According to the most recent Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey, 95.2% of undergraduate first-degree level graduates were in either full-time employment or further study.
- Over 900 degree courses are now offered at the university, organised across four faculties: Arts, Divinity, Medicine, and Science.
- The town of St Andrews is small – just 17,000 permanent residents live among protected conservation areas, meaning university staff along with 7,500 students makes up about half its population.
- The University secured a Gold Award in the 2017 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) based on the quality of teaching and the undergraduate experience.
