Provincial Committees were established in 1905 to administer Scotland's teacher training and within two years the Aberdeen Committee had acquired both the Church of Scotland and Free Church Colleges. Although impressive plans for a purpose-built training college in St Andrew Street were drawn up, the First World War delayed its opening until 1920. A green field site at Hilton was selected for the erection of two hostels in 1926.

Student numbers increased dramatically during the 1950s and 1960s, prompting the college to seek larger accommodation once again. A new college building, adjacent to the hostels at Hilton, was occupied from 1968. It soon became apparent that the College's continuing population growth meant that additional offsite accommodation would still be required. Part of the old college building in St Andrew Street and annexe buildings were used for teacher education until 1973, when the falling birth rate and consequent decline in demand for teachers resulted in a decline in student population.

In 1987, Aberdeen College of Education merged with Dundee College of Education to form the Northern College of Education. The Northern College operated as a unitary institution based on two campuses, serving teacher education and continuing professional development needs across Scotland and beyond.

The Aberdeen Campus focussed particularly on primary and secondary courses, while Dundee concentrated on primary, community education and social work. Northern College offered four Open University validated Initial Teacher Education programmes: BEd (Hons) Primary, PGCE (Primary), PGCE (Secondary) and BEd (Hons) Music. The MA Two European Languages with Teacher Education was also developed in conjunction with the University of Aberdeen.

Northern College offered an extensive range of postgraduate studies, which led to awards at various levels. The courses are predominantly part-time in nature, developed in modular, distance learning format, which caters for the requirements of teachers and community educators in remote locations throughout Scotland.
The College has also developed a significant international portfolio and has begun to exploit the opportunities provided by electronic communications to facilitate distance delivery and interaction.

On December 1, 2001, the Faculty of Education of the University of Aberdeen will be created following the Scottish Parliament's approval of the merger of Northern College of Education Aberdeen Campus with the University of Aberdeen. The Faculty will continue to provide teacher education and continuing professional development courses as well as exploring the vast array of potential new synergies across the University.