University of Edinburgh Overview
The University of Edinburgh is a public university established in 1583. It has five campuses in Edinburgh—Scotland’s capital and one of its biggest cities. The Central Area Campus houses the main administrative offices, library, and facilities for humanities and social sciences. The other campuses are King’s Buildings, Easter Bush, Little France, and Western General Hospital. Tuition fees are higher for students coming from outside Scotland and the EU.
The university is divided into three colleges: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences; Medicine & Veterinary Medicine; and Science & Engineering, which together include 20 schools. The academic year follows a semester system, and teaching is primarily in English. Students can take free six-week introductory Gaelic courses to explore Scotland’s historic language. First-year undergrads from outside Edinburgh are guaranteed housing, and there are accommodation options for graduate students, with guaranteed spots for new non-EU postgrads.
A major research milestone tied to the university is the first-ever cloning of a mammal from an adult cell—Dolly the sheep, created at the university’s Roslin Institute in 1996. Other key research centers include the Centre on Constitutional Change, the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, and the UK Centre for Astrobiology.
University of Edinburgh Rankings
The University of Edinburgh is ranked #38 in the Best Global Universities list. Rankings are based on performance across widely recognized indicators of excellence.
Global Rankings
- #38 – Best Global Universities
- #8 – Best Global Universities in Europe
- #6 – Best Global Universities in the UK
Subject Rankings
- #187 – Agricultural Sciences (tie)
- #80 – Artificial Intelligence
- #10 – Arts and Humanities
- #52 – Biology and Biochemistry
- #39 – Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology (tie)
- #40 – Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
- #48 – Cell Biology (tie)
- #123 – Chemical Engineering
- #198 – Chemistry (tie)
- #196 – Civil Engineering (tie)
- #48 – Clinical Medicine
- #61 – Computer Science
- #69 – Ecology (tie)
- #128 – Economics & Business (tie)
- #39 – Education & Educational Research
- #209 – Electrical & Electronic Engineering (tie)
- #34 – Endocrinology & Metabolism
- #137 – Energy & Fuels (tie)
- #171 – Engineering (tie)
- #192 – Environmental Engineering
- #45 – Environment/Ecology
- #21 – Gastroenterology & Hepatology
- #69 – Geosciences (tie)
- #111 – Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
- #64 – Immunology
- #43 – Infectious Diseases
- #381 – Materials Science (tie)
- #50 – Mathematics (tie)
- #50 – Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
- #52 – Microbiology
- #37 – Molecular Biology & Genetics
- #274 – Nanoscience & Nanotechnology (tie)
- #40 – Neuroscience & Behavior
- #70 – Oncology (tie)
- #144 – Optics (tie)
- #46 – Pharmacology & Toxicology
- #330 – Physical Chemistry (tie)
- #51 – Physics (tie)
- #67 – Plant & Animal Science
- #46 – Psychiatry/Psychology
- #14 – Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
- #35 – Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
- #37 – Social Sciences & Public Health (tie)
- #33 – Space Science
- #36 – Surgery
2024-2025 Indicator Rankings
The university’s #38 global ranking is based on 13 performance indicators. Below is how it compares in each category:
- Global Score: 78.2
- Global Research Reputation: #54
- Regional Research Reputation: #52
- Publications: #78
- Books: #11
- Conferences: #83
- Normalized Citation Impact: #90
- Total Citations: #53
- Top 10% Most Cited Publications: #60
- Percentage of Top 10% Most Cited Publications: #115
- International Collaboration (Relative to Country): #684
- International Collaboration: #307
- Top 1% Most Cited Papers: #49
- Percentage of Top 1% Most Cited Papers: #97