0642 Streets of University of St Andrews

University of St Andrews

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The University of St Andrews(informally St Andrews University or St Andrews)is a reseach university in St Andrews,Fife,Scotland.It is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world .It was founded between 1410 and 1413 when a Papal Bull was issued by the Avignon Antiope Benedict XIII to a school of higher learning formed by a small group of Augustinian clergy.St Andrews is one of the four ancient universities of Scotland.In post-nominals the university's name is abbrevated as St And (from the Latin Sancti Andreae).

 

St Andrews is ranked as the fourth best university in the United Kingdom by the Guardinan University Guild.Its Physics and Astronomy programme is ranked second in the United Kingdom,after the University of Cambridge,by the times University Guilds.The Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking names St Andrews among the world's Top 20 Arts and Humanities universities.In the National Student Survey St Andrews had highest student satisfaction among Scottish Universities.

 

The University of St Andrews is located in the small town of St Andrews is rual Fife.In term time over a third of the town's population is either a staff member or students of the university.St Andrews also has a diverse student body with over 30% of its intake consisting of international students from well over 100 countries,and with 15% of the student body coming from North America.The University's sport teams compete in BUCS competions.The student body is well known for preserving a veriety of university traditions.

 

History

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Foundation

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The university was founded in 1410 when a group of Augustinian clergy,driven from the University of Paris by the Avignon schism and from the University of Oxford and University Cambridge by the Anglo-Scottish Wars,formed a society of higher learning in St Andrews,which offered courses of lectures in divinity,logic,philosophy,and law.A charter of privilege was bestowed upon the society of masters and scholars by the Bishop of St Andrews,Henry Wardlaw,on February 28,1411.Bishop Henry Wardlaw than successful petitioned the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII to support by granting the university a royal charter in 1532.A collage of theology and arts called St John's College was founded in 1418 by Robert of Montrose and Lawrence of Lindores St Salvator's College was established in 1450,by Bishop James Kennedy.St Leonard's College was founded in 1511 by Archbiship Alexander Stewart,who intended it to have a far more monastic character than either of the other colleges St John's College was reformed by Cardinal James Beaton under the name St Mary's College in1538 for the study of divinity and law.It was intended to encourage traditional Catholic teaching in opposition to the emerging Scottish Reformation,but once Scotland had formally spilt with the Papacy in 1560,it became a teaching institution for Protestant clergy.Some of the university building that date from this period are still in use today,such as St Salvator Chaple,St Leonard's College Chapel,and St Mary's College quadragle.At this time,the majority of the teaching was of a religous nature and was conducted by clerics associated with the cathedral.

 

Development

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During the 17th century and 18th century the university had mixed fortunes and was often beset by civil and religous disturbance.In a particularly acute depression in 1747,severe financial problems triggered the dissolution of St Leonard's College,whose properties and staff was were merged into St Salvator's College to from the United College of St Salvator's and St Leonard.Throughout this period student numbers were very low,for instance,when Samuel Johnson visited the university in 1773,the university had fewer than 100 pupils,and was in his opinion in a steady decline.He described it as "pining in decay and struggling for life". The poverty of Scotland during this period also damaged St Andrews,as few were able to patronise the university and its colleges,and with state support being improbable,the income they received was scarce.

 

Modern Period

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In the second half of the 19th century pressure was building upon universities to open up higher education to women.In 1876,the University Senate decided to allow women to receive an education at St Andrews at a level roughly equal to the Masters of arts degree that men were able to take at the time. The scheme came to be known as the "L.L.A. examination" (Lady Literate in Arts). It required women to pass five subjects at an ordinary level and one at honours level,and entitled them to hold a degree from the University.In 1899 the Universities (Scotland)Act made it possible to formally admit women to St Andrews and receive an education equal to that of male students.Agnes Forbes Blackadder became the first women to graduate from St Andrews on the same leval as men in October 1894,gaining he MA. She entered the university in 1882,making St Andrews the first university in Scotland to admit female undergraduates on the same level as men.In response to the increasing number of female students attending the university,the first women's hall was built in 1896,and was named University Hall.

 

Up until the stat of the 20th century,St Andrews offered a traditional education based on classical languages,divinity and philosophical studies,and was slow to embrace more practical fields such as science and medicine that were becoming more popular at other universities.In response to the need for modernisation and in order to increase student numbers and alleviate finacial problems,the university merged with University College,Dundee in 1897,which had a focus on scientific and professional subjects.

 

After the incorporation of University College Dundee,St Andrews' various problems generally receded.Of note is that until 1967 many student who obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews had in fact spent most,and sometimes all,of their undergaduate career based in Dundee.

 

As the 20th century progressed,it become increasingly popular among the Scottish upper classes to send their children to the country's oldest higher learning institution,and the university's student population rose sharply.The revial has been maintained to the present day.

 

Despite this,there have been some notable changes.In 1967 the union with University College Dundee ended,when that College became an independent institution under the name of the University of Dundee.As a result of this St Andrews lost its capacity to provide degree in many area such as Lae,Accountancy,Dentistry,and Engineering,while it also lost the right to confer the undergraduate medical degrees MBCHB.However,the university has prospered in other ways.In 1972 the College of St Leonard was reconstituted as a postgraduate institute.

 

Links with the United States of America

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The University has had strong historical links with the United States,and several prominet Scottish-American have been accociated with St Andrews,most notable Andrew Carnegie who elected Rector,and whose name is gived to the Carnegie scholarship.Furthermore three of the signatories of Declaration of Independence attended or received degrees from St Andrews,including: James Wilson,John Witherspoon,Benjamin Franklin.

 

The University's American connections have continued into the present day,and has the highest proportion of its student body made up of American students,among British universities,with around 15% of undergraduates coming from the United States.Media reports have indicate that American students may attracted by the university's comparatively low tuition fees and the similar liberal arts curriculum.There is also a significant St Andrews alumni presence in American with graduate eligible for membership of institutions such as the Princeton Club of New York and the Algonquin Club.

 

Governance and Administration

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As with the other Ancient universities of Scotland,the governance of university is determined by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858.This created three bodies the General Council,University Court and Academic Senate (Senatus Academicus).

 

General Council

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The General Council is a standing advisory body of all the greduates,academics and former academics of the University.It meets twice a year and appoints a Business Committee to menage business between these meetings.Its most important functions are to appoint two Assessors to the University Court and elect the University Chancellor.

 

University Court

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The University Court is the body repsonsible for administrative and financial matters,and is in effect the governing body of the University.It is chaired by the rector,who is elected by the matriculated students of the University.Members are appointed by the General Council,Academic Senate and Fife Council.The President of the Students Representative Council and Director of Representation are ex officio members of the Court.Several lay members are also co-opted and must include a fixed number of alumni of the University.

 

Senatus Academicus

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The Academic Senate (Latin Senatus Academicus) is the supreme academic body for the University.Its members include all of the professors of the University,certain senior readers,a number of senior lecturers and lecturers and three elected students senate representatives-one from the arts and divinity faculty,one from the science and medcine faculty and one postgraduate student.It is responsible for aurthorising degree programmes and issuing all degrees to graduates,and for managing student discipline.The President of the Senate is the University Principal.

 

Office of the Principal

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The Principal is the Chief Executive of the University and is assisted in that role by several key officers,including the Deputy Principal,Master of the United College and Quaestor.The principal has responsibilty for the overall running of the university and presides over the University Senate.

 

Rector

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In Scotland,the position of Rector exists in the four ancient universities (St Andrews,Glasgow,Aberdeen,and Edinburgh)-as well as in the University of Dundee.The post was made an integral part of these universities by the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889.The Rector of the University of St Andrews chairs meeting of the University Court,the governing body of the University,and is elected by the matriculated student body to ensure that their needs are adequately considered by the university's leadership.Through St Andrews'history a number of notable people have been elected to the post,including John Clese,author and poet Rudyard Kipling and the British Prime Minister Archabald Primrose,5th Earl of Rosebery.

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