Powis Gates, Aberdeen University
Powis Gates, which form the entrance to the on-campus student dorms at the University of Aberdeen, were built in 1833. The Turkish-style minarets are topped by a crescent, which is the emblem of the Fraser family, who owned Powis estate.
Marischal College, Aberdeen, Scotland
Marischal College is a large granite building in Aberdeen, Scotland. Built in 1835, the building formerly housed the Marischal College of the University of Aberdeen.Today, the building is on lease from the University to Aberdeen City Council.
The system of higher education in Scotland is distinguished from that of England and the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) in a number of important ways.
Firstly, undergraduate degrees in Scotland are typically four years in length unlike in England, where degrees normally take three years to complete.
Secondly, in Scotland, students are admitted to a degree programme, such as Master of Arts, rather than to a specific subject. Students in Scotland are therefore allowed to study a broad range of subjects before deciding their specialisation (major). At the University of Aberdeen, most students confirm their honours subject (major) by the end of their second year.
Aberdeen Graduands on Graduation Day
The Master of Arts is the name of the four-year undergraduate degree awarded in the Liberal Arts, Humanities or Social Sciences by the Ancient Universities of Scotland – namely the University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and the University of St Andrews.*
The use of the word Master can sometimes be a little confusing, however, the Master of Arts is an important feature of the country’s proud academic tradition, stretching back over 500 years.
In the medieval universities of Europe, on which the ancient Scottish universities were based, the title of Master (Magister) was used to distinguish a graduate in Arts from an undergraduate. The baccalaureate was regarded as being only a preliminary step to the mastership, the degree which entitled the holder to teach at any European university.
Therefore, the Scottish custom of awarding the undergraduate Master of Arts degree recognises the distinct European academic heritage of Scotland’s ancient universities but also helps distinguish the broad-based, four-year, Scottish degree from the three-year system in England and the rest of the UK.
Schoolhill, Aberdeen, Scotland
Students, faculty and alumni of the University of Aberdeen will gather on 9th February this year to mark Founders’ Day. On Founders’ Day, the university community pays tribute to our historic origins as an Ancient University and in particular, the role played by William Elphinstone and our other patron fathers in the establishment of the University.
Bishop William Elphinstone, founder of the University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen was founded under the authority of a Papal Bull issued by Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) in 1495. Prior to this date, there were only four universities in all of Britain; Oxford and Cambridge in England and St Andrews (est. 1411) and Glasgow (est. 1451) in Scotland.
Pope Alexander VI’s bull was the result of a petition presented by William Elphinstone, the then Bishop of Aberdeen, with the support of King James IV of Scotland. The bull mandated for the establishment of a university in Aberdeen to teach and award degrees in Theology, Canon and Civil Law, Medicine, and the Liberal Arts.
Elphinstone, a graduate of the newly established University of Glasgow, had spent eight years studying and teaching Law at the University of Paris and the University of Orléans, before his appointment as Bishop of Aberdeen in 1483. During his time in France, he developed a strong reputation as an ecclesiastical lawyer and on his return to Scotland, Elphinstone became an important adviser to the King of Scotland, James III. In 1483, the year Elphinstone was appointed Bishop of Aberdeen, he was also appointed to the position of Chancellor of Scotland, the most senior legal office in the country.
On his return from Rome in 1495, Bishop Elphinstone quickly set about recruiting staff and students to his new university in Aberdeen. Most notably, he recruited the famous philosopher and historian Hector Boece from the University of Paris to serve as the university’s first Principal.
University and King’s College of Aberdeen
The name of Elphinstone’s university was initially St Mary’s, however it was subsequently changed to fully denominated University and King’s College of Aberdeen, probably in recognition of the support granted by the James IV. Work also commenced on the famous King’s College Chapel in 1498. By 1505, the University had thirty six staff and students. This number had expanded to forty two a decade later.
From its earliest inception, Bishop Elphinstone’s university was distinguished by its breadth of faculties and in particular the inclusion of Law (both Canon and Civil) and Medicine. Prior to the Reformation, the type of Law taught at most European universities was Canon Law (the law of the Church). Civil lawyers, i.e. those dealing in government legislation or personal law were generally trained within the legal profession itself, for example at the Inns of Court in London. Similarly, at the time Medicine was not taught as a formal subject at Europe’s universities. The creation of the post of Mediciner at Aberdeen was the first formal recognition of the subject by a university in Britain.
Bishop Elphinstone’s memory is today honoured by the impressive marble and bronze monument on King’s Lawn (pictured), opposite the entrance to the King’s College Chapel, in the heart of the university campus. While the monument is a fitting memorial to the university’s founder, the story behind its origin is also noteworthy.
Bishop Elphinstone Monument, University of Aberdeen
When Bishop Elphinstone died in 1514, his body was taken to King’s College Chapel, where it was buried before the altar. The Bishop’s original tomb however disappeared during the reformation.
On the lead up to 1914, the 400th anniversary of Bishop Elphinstone’s death, it was decided to commission a new monument. The project was beset by delays, most notably the First World War, and was not completed until 1931. While it was originally intended that the new monument would be placed within the chapel, upon completion, it was found to be too large to fit! In 1946, it was finally decided to move the monument to its present location outside the main entrance to the chapel.
This year’s Founders’ Day event will commence with an academic procession, followed by a service in King’s College Chapel. A reception will follow in the University’s Linklater Rooms, University of Aberdeen. Please refer to the university website for further details.
Study in Aberdeen 