Our History

The University is founded by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, with the ambition “...to found a university, which would be open to all and dedicated to the pursuit of truth in the service of others”. The University of Aberdeen becomes the UK's fifth university.

The University opens with 36 staff and students, having eight years earlier boasted the first chair of medicine in the English-speaking world. The University embraces all the known branches of learning - arts, theology, and canon and civil law.

King's College and Marischal College merge to form the University of Aberdeen. Initially, arts and divinity are taught at King's and law and medicine at Marischal.

The University opens all Faculties to women and in 1894 the first 20 matriculated female students begin their studies. Four women graduate in arts in 1898; by the following year, women make up a quarter of the Faculty.

The first of five Nobel Prizes is awarded for work begun or carried out at the University. Inventions include the life-saving drug insulin and the development of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

The University launches its ambitious fundraising campaign with the aim of raising £150 million to mark the start of the University's sixth century of existence. In 2004 this continues with a £9 million investment programme to appoint exceptional academics to the University, thereby strengthening the intellectual capital of the institution.

The Institute of Medical Sciences at the Foresterhill campus is completed. The custom-built Institute provides state-of-the-art facilities for medical researchers and their students. Six years on, the Suttie Centre, the new training centre at the heart of the academic and hospital campus opens for the modern teaching of anatomy linked to other medically-related sciences.

In 2005 the University celebrates 500 years of teaching and learning and The Old Town House on King's College campus is transformed to become a visitor gateway to the University and Old Aberdeen.

2006 sees the enhancement of student facilities on campus. 'The Hub', an £8 million renovation project, boasts a superb range of services, including dining, retail and drop-in centres for the student community.

The University's first class sports and leisure facilities are further boosted by the opening of the newly developed Aberdeen Sports Village, a £28 million Olympic standard sports centre highlighting the University's commitment to sustaining sporting excellence.

The University's brand new £57 million Sir Duncan Rice Library opens to students and the wider community. The library is established as a major intellectual and cultural learning centre for students in the 21st century.

The new Aquatics Centre opened in May 2014. The centre provides a first class training and competition venue for elite athletes and offers a community facility that encourages participation in water-based activities at all ages and abilities. The world-class facility includes a 50-metre, 10 lane Olympic-standard swimming pool, an international-standard diving pool with moveable floor and a health suite, and is located adjacent to Aberdeen Sports Village.

AFG (Al Faleh Group) College with the University of Aberdeen is a unique partnership between Al Faleh Educational Holding and the University of Aberdeen which opened its doors in September 2017.

In 2020, the University of Aberdeen launched 'Aberdeen 2040'. Over the next 20 years, we will fulfil our 20 commitments to be a more inclusive, interdisciplinary, international and sustainable university.

We strive to set an example to our sector and to society. In an era of significant global challenges, we are committed to exploring more sustainable solutions and breaking with convention in order to work towards Net Zero before 2040.

The University of Aberdeen's new £35 million Science Teaching Hub was officially opened by renowned scientist and broadcaster Professor Chris Jackson.

The 73,194 sq ft facility provides teaching and laboratory space over three floors and a central atrium which has been designed to inspire collaboration between the chemistry, medical sciences, biological sciences and geosciences students who will study there.

The University of Aberdeen made an admissions call to all aspiring students in India to its new branch campus in Mumbai after Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Edwards signed a Joint Venture agreement with a leading India-based education provider in the country on Tuesday 13 January 2026.