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The Ancient universities of Scotland are those universities founded in Scotland during the medieval period, and comprise (list by year of being chartered):
- The University of St Andrews, founded 1411 by papal bull
- The University of Glasgow, founded 1451 by papal bull
- The University of Aberdeen, founded 1495 by papal bull (as King's College, Aberdeen)
- The University of Edinburgh, founded 1583 by Royal Charter
Marischal College
In April 1593, Marischal College, was founded by George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal, in Aberdeen. This put Aberdeen in the highly unusual position of being a single city with two universities; some 20th Century editions of the University's prospectus point out that for many years this was as many as existed in the whole of England. Marischal College later merged with King's College, of Old Aberdeen, to form the University of Aberdeen in 1860.
It is occasionally claimed that this was the "Protestant College", but it is possible that the founding of another college in nearby Fraserburgh in 1592 was the true cause; its founder Sir Alexander Fraser was a business rival of Marischal.
University of Dundee
The University of Dundee (chartered 1967) has a history dating back to 1881, is also governed under the Universities (Scotland) Acts and shares all of the organizational features with the ancients, and a line of descent through St Andrews, of which it was a part 1897 to 1967, before it split, taking with it the Schools of Law and Medicine amongst others.
Governance and administration
Each of the Ancient Universities is governed by a tripartite system of General Council, University Court, and Academic Senate, as defined by the Universities (Scotland) Acts.
In common with other Scottish universities the chief executive and chief academic is the University Principal who also holds the title of Vice-Chancellor as an honorific. The Chancellor is a titular non-resident head to each university and is elected for life by the respective General Council.
Each also has a Students' Representative Council as required by statute, although at the University of Aberdeen this has recently been renamed the Students' Association Council.
Degrees
The academic degrees awarded by the ancient are different from those of other Scottish universities, and share common features with the ancient universities in England.
Scottish Master of Arts
Uniquely, the four ancient universities, plus Dundee, award a degree bearing the title of Master of Arts ("MA") for undergraduate courses in Arts, Humanities, Fine Art, Divinity and sometimes Social Sciences; this is roughly equivalent to a bachelor's degree from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Postgraduate Master's Degrees in the Arts
Because MA is in use for the undergraduate Arts degree, the ancient universities award differing titles for their postgraduate Masters degrees in the Arts and Humanities. There is presently a move towards awarding a taught Master of Letters ("MLitt (T)") for the taught Masters degree, although for many years this was not the case and "MLitt" often refers to the more advanced two-year research degree. Similarly, the Master of Philosophy ("MPhil") degree is often now used for the research Masters degree, although some universities (such as Glasgow) used MPhil for both taught and research degrees. Edinburgh currently uses Master of Science ("MSc") for its taught Masters in the Arts (such as the MSc in English Literature), using the older meaning of science (i.e. knowledge). Some universities use the Master of Research ("MRes") degree, not always for research degrees. Due to this confusion, holders of an ancient Scottish Master's degree will generally specify whether it was a taught or research degree.See also
- List of universities in Scotland — including those which are not ancient.
- Medieval Universities in Europe
References
"Ancient universities of Scotland"