The University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495, when King's College was established following a petition by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen, to Pope Alexander VI on behalf of King James IV. It is one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. King's College merged with Marischal College, founded in 1593, in 1860 to form the modern university. Around 14,000 students study at Aberdeen, from more than 130 countries, across more than 650 undergraduate programmes. The university established the first chair of medicine in the English-speaking world in 1497, and its research strengths span medicine, science, law, business, arts and the social sciences, with the Aberdeen Global Scholarship available to eligible self-funded international undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university's historic King's College campus sits in Old Aberdeen, with its crown-towered chapel and quadrangle, while the Foresterhill campus houses medicine and medical sciences. Aberdeen's position as the city with the most affordable student rental in the United Kingdom, according to the university, adds to its appeal for international students.