Portal:University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen portal

Coat of arms of the university

The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated Aberd. in post-nominals; Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Alexander VI on behalf of James IV, King of Scots to establish King's College, making it one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Along with the universities of St Andrews, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century.

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. The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £257.2 million of which £54.2 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £262.5 million.

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. (Full article...)

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View of the brutalist Zoology Building

The Zoology Building is a building of the University of Aberdeen. During construction, the building collapsed in 1966, killing five people. The building was subsequently completed, with a similar design, in 1970. It contains the Zoology Museum, housing exhibits from the university's zoological collections, which include the only known egg from the Jerdon's courser, confirmed via DNA testing.(Full article...)

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James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who created the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, and was a pioneer in several fields, being the first to derive the Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution. Born in Edinburgh and educated there and at Cambridge, Maxwell was made Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College in 1856, befriending the principal, Daniel Dewar, and later marrying his daughter Katherine. While in Aberdeen he studied the rings of Saturn, correctly proposing that they consisted of particles. After Marischal College merged with King's College to form the present day University of Aberdeen, Maxwell was not offered a position at the university, and instead moved to King's College, London, and then to Cambridge in 1871 to become Cavendish Professor of Physics. He died of abdominal cancer on 5 November 1879. (more...)

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Credit: Sarah-fryett

Elphinstone Hall (left) was built in 1931, designed by architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie. It was designed to be in keeping with the surrounding buildings of King's College. Like the those other buildings, it was built out of sandstone rather than the typical granite of the area. To the right in the background is Cromwell Tower.

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Did you know...

… that the University of Aberdeen was originally founded in 1495, making it the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world?
… that the mediaeval crown tower of King's College Chapel is one only two such steeples in Scotland?
… that physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell was Chair of Natural Philosophy at Marischal College from 1856 until 1860?
… that John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, who was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1762 until 1763, served chancellor of Marischal College from 1761?
… that the King's College, Aberdeen was founded in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone, following a papal bull from Pope Alexander VI?
… that The Rowett Institute, founded by Sir John Boyd Orr in 1913, merged with the University of Aberdeen in 2008?
… that the majority of Marischal College was leased to Aberdeen City Council in 2006, who re-developed it into offices?

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On this day

Events for 5 June relating to the university, its predecessor colleges, academics and alumni. College affiliations (pre-1860, where known) are marked in brackets.

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