Facts & Figures

Fast Facts

• Founded in 1495, the University of Aberdeen is Scotland's third oldest university and the fifth oldest in the UK
• Community of more than 130 nationalities, with 14,000 students and 3,600 staff
• Programmes: Bachelor, Masters and PhD
• Disciplines: Arts & Humanities, Business, Social Sciences, Law, Engineering, Geosciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Medicine

History

• The University marked its 525th birthday by celebrating its rich and diverse achievements of the past and the launch of a new strategic vision – Aberdeen 2040
• In 1497 became the first university in the English-speaking world to have a Chair in Medicine
• Teaching Gaelic since the 18th Century

Reputation

• Ranked in the top 20 universities in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2022 and Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022)
• In the top 160 universities in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2022)
• Ranked 5th in the UK for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey 2021)
• In the top 60 universities in the world for positive impact on society (Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021)
• Scottish University of the Year 2019 (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2019)
• 2nd in the UK for medicine (Guardian University League Table 2022)
• 3rd in the UK for sports science (Complete University Guide 2022)

Campus

• One of the UKs Top 10 Most Beautiful Historic campuses
• Sir Duncan Rice Library named one of the most beautiful in the world (CEOWORLD magazine, 2016)
• Global international networks: dedicated campus in the Gulf State of Qatar and an Alliance with Curtin University
• Outstanding sports facilities include Olympic-standard Aberdeen Sports Village and Aquatic Centre

Research

• Five Nobel Laureates are associated with the University of Aberdeen
• 75% of research classified as world leading (REF 2014)
• The University was presented with the 2018 Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its world-class health services research
• 14th in the UK for Science Collaboration (CWTS Leiden 2021)
• Top 30 in the UK for Science Impact (CWTS Leiden 2021)
• 10th in the UK for Life Sciences Spinout (Beauhurst 2021)
• Global Top 100 and 16th in the UK for Research Quality, as measured by citations (Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022)
   

League Tables

The national and global league tables are calculated using different criteria and weighting but all include; student satisfaction, student to staff ratio, graduate prospects, and entry grades.

League Table	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide (UK)	44	45	44	40	26	27	27	20
Guardian University League Table (UK)	41	41	36	46	51	34	20	20
Complete University Guide (UK)	44	40	42	40	28	29	26	38
Times Higher Education (UK)	26	29	30	28	22	25	25	22
Times Higher Education (World)	178	172	188	185	158	168	178	158
QS World Rankings (UK)	24	23	23	24	27	28	28	28
QS World Rankings (World)	137	137	141	158	172	194	207	205
Shanghai Rankings (UK)	=22	=22	=21	=22	=22	=21	-	-
Shanghai Rankings (World)	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300	201-300	-	-

Subject Rankings