Aberdeen the City

Aberdeen is an attractive city in which to live, from the buzz of a cosmopolitan city centre to the green park, open spaces and sandy beaches.

Welcome to Scotland's third largest city - a place with a lively combination of historic charm, thriving economy and cosmopolitan community. Aberdeen, home to 250,000 people, is the perfect centre for work, leisure and play.

Big enough for the ‘big city’ experience, student-friendly Aberdeen is compact enough to make it easy to find your way around and make friends. From the historic 15th century University campus in Old Aberdeen it’s just a short bus ride to the bustling city-centre of Europe’s energy capital. Local crime rates are low, and the University operates a ‘Safe Campus’ code for the benefit of students.

Aberdeen is an attractive city in which to live, with its abundance of green parks and open spaces. To the east of the city lies the North Sea and a coastline of sandy beaches, while to the west stretches Royal Deeside, the beautiful valley of the River Dee. It’s just half-an-hour from the buzz of Union Street to the tranquillity of the nearby hills and countryside in one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland. Where else can you have lectures in the morning and ski in the afternoon, or sail, or wind surf, or hill climb, or canoe or...? From seaside to mountainside – it is all on your doorstep at Aberdeen! Look on our website for the huge range of sports and other activities waiting for you at Aberdeen.

Nightlife

At night Aberdeen really lights up with a night-life second to none. The huge variety of pubs and clubs ranges from trendy nightclubs, to cosy, old world pubs full of atmosphere and everything in between.

A vibrant music scene includes regular major tours by the biggest names around and an eclectic mix of venues and dance floors promote the home-grown talent of local acts and Djs.

With a student population of over 50,000, Aberdeen caters for all tastes in arts, culture, leisure and entertainment. Aberdeen has lots to offer, with the well-known His Majesty’s Theatre, Music Hall and Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) regularly attracting national and international artists and companies. Four cinema multiplexes, Art Gallery, Maritime Museum and first-class sports and leisure facilities means there is always plenty going on.

Culture

The University is committed to supporting a wide range of cultural activities. Highlights include the Director’s Cut series that attracts leading film-makers to Aberdeen to discuss their work, University Music which offers a programme of concerts throughout the academic year, and the University's Music Prize - now an established international composition event. This year, the University of Aberdeen was proud to host Europe's biggest science festival. The British Science Festival welcomed a host of celebrated scientists and leading thinkers to Aberdeen for a vibrant celebration of science, engineering and technology. 

Shopping

Aberdeen has everything a city in the UK should have and more.You’ll find all the major supermarket and retail chains here, with four large city-centre shopping malls, including the piazza-style Academy and new Union Square. From high street stores and designer boutiques to quirky independent outlets and thrift shops, shopaholics will be delighted by the quantity and quality of places on offer.

More for Your Money

You may be surprised to hear that students find Aberdeen a cheaper city to live in than Edinburgh or Glasgow. If you need to boost your budget, Aberdeen City and Shire’s buoyant local economy means there is no shortage of holiday and part-time work. Visit www.ausa.org.uk for more information.

More Information

For more information about Aberdeen, you can have a look at some of these websites:

The University of Aberdeen has teamed up with the Lonely Planet to create an exclusive new travel guide and iphone app showcasing all that the Granite City has to offer students:

 Fast Facts

  • A 15-minute walk east of the campus leads to the salt-tanged air of Aberdeen's miles and miles of sandy beach
  • As well as a mind-expanding stretch of sandy beach, Aberdeen has its own permanent fun fair, complete with 100ft Grampian Eye Ferris wheel, three roller coasters and a log flume. Nearby you'll also find a swimming pool, sauna, climbing walls skate park, restaurants, cafes and a 10-screen cinema
  • Aberdeen is full of great multi-cultural grazing grounds. Restaurants and takeaways include Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Mexican, Polish and Turkish
  • Aberdeen's harbour mouth is one of the best locations in Scotland for watching dolphins from the shore
  • Three of Scotland's five main ski centres are only two hours from campus. Aviemore, the Cairngrm Mountain, Glenshee and the Lecht provide perfect pistes for board-riders and alpine skiers
  • The University's cultural engagement programme includes year-round events like Director's Cut Series, Cafe Science Programme and University of Aberdeen Music Prize
  • Fifteen miles south of campus the historic fishing port of Stonehaven has an attractive cliff fringed harbour and the gloriously crumbling Dunnottar Castle. It's so picturesque Franco Zeffirelli filmed Hamlet with Mel Gibson here
  • For 267 years the city of Aberdeen had two universities when there were only two universities in the whole of England
  • "Bon Accord". Knowing what Aberdeen's motto means really helps you feel at home. In case anybody asks it means 'happy to meet, sorry to part, happy to meet again'.