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The University of Aberdeen is one of the Ancient Universities Of Scotland . The first university in Aberdeen , King's College , was founded in February 1495 by William Elphinstone , Bishop of Aberdeen. It was originally known as St. Mary's College. In April 1593 a second university, Marischal College , was founded by George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal . It is often said that he desired a Protestant institution alongside the pre-Reformation King's College, but King's had been protestant since 1569 . It is possible that the founding of another college in nearby Fraserburgh in 1592 was the true cause; it's founder Sir Alexander Fraser was a business rival of Marischal. The two universities in Aberdeen were merged on 15 September 1860 in accordance with the 1858 Universities (Scotland) Act, which also created a new medical school at Marischal. The 1858 Act stated that the 'united University shall take rank among the Universities of Scotland as from the date of erection of King's College and University'. The University is thus Scotland's third oldest and the UK's fifth oldest University. ENROLMENT In 2000 - 2001 , the number of full-time students at the Institution was 13,278, including 9,906 undergraduates and 3,012 postgraduates. The university has more than 630 different first degree programmes and more than 90 postgraduate taught programmes. Following reforms the university now hold 3 colleges (College of Arts and Social Sciences, College of Life Sciences and Medicine and College of Physical Sciences) rather than the 5 faculities it had before. College of Arts and Social Sciences School of Divinity, History and Philosophy, School of Education, School of Language & Literature, School of Law, School of Social Science, University of Aberdeen Business School College of Life Sciences and Medicine School of Biological Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, School of Psychology, Graduate School College of Physical Sciences School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, School of Geosciences, Graduate School ARCHITECTURE & BUILDINGS The original buildings of both colleges are the glories of Aberdeen, though newer campus buildings are in largely Modernist style. King's College forms a Quadrangle with interior court, two sides of which have been rebuilt, and a library wing has been added. The Crown Tower and the Chapel, the oldest parts, date from 1500 . The former is surmounted by a structure about 40 ft (12 m) high, consisting of a six-sided lantern and royal crown, both sculptured, and resting on the intersections of two arched ornamental slips rising from the four corners of the top of the tower. The Choir of the chapel still contains the original oak canopied stalls, miserere seats, and lofty open screens in the French flamboyant style, and of unique beauty of design and execution. Their preservation was due to the enlightened energy of the principal at the time of the Reformation, who armed his folk to save the building from the Baron s of the Mearns after they had robbed St Machar's of its bells and Lead . Today, King's returns the favour by providing needed funds for the University as it fulfils its sometime occupation as corporate reception and exhibition area. Marischal College is a stately modern building, having been rebuilt in 1836 - 1841 , and greatly extended several years later at a cost of £100,000. The additions to the buildings opened by King Edward VII in 1906 , form one of the most splendid examples of modern Architecture in Great Britain ; the architect, Alexander Marshall Mackenzie , a native of Aberdeen, having adapted his material, white granite, to the design of a noble building with the originality of genius. The beautiful Mitchell Tower is so named from the benefactor (Dr Charles Mitchell ) who provided the splendid graduation hall. The opening of this tower in 1895 signalled the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the foundation of the university. The building is now mostly let to the local authority, although the University retains the Marischal Museum and Mitchell Hall, which is used for graduation ceremonies. The University Library comprises nearly 100,000 books. A Botanic Garden was presented to the university in 1899 . ALUMNI Famous alumni of the University include:
STUDENT REPRESENTATION The student body is represented at various levels within the University by the Students' Association (SA). PARTNER UNIVERSITIES
Robert Gordon University is also in Aberdeen. EXTERNAL LINKS
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