Scottish Blog

The University of Glasgow is one of Europe’s most prestigious universities, not to mention Scotland’s.

The University of Glasgow was funded in 1451. By order of being chartered, the University of Glasgow was the 2nd oldest in Scotland and the fourth oldest of the English speaking world. The University was established via the permission of Pope Nicholas V after it was suggested to him by King James II. Being in medieval history of Europe, the University of Glasgow was created to directly compete with the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

As King James II wished, the University of Glasgow was established. Permission was given to Bishop William Turnbull to extend the city cathedral to include the university. Such an early yet prestigious start led the University of Glasgow to be one of the most established and respected institutions in the modern academic world. In fact the University of Glasgow is rated as the 81st best place in the Times University Rankings.

Being one of the oldest established institutions, the University of Glasgow has a wide reaching and complete set of academic subjects, including law, medicine and dentistry. Along side these, there are more traditional subjects including philosophy, theology, history and literature.

In the present time, the University of Glasgow has almost 20,000 students, of whom four thousand are post-graduate. Almost 40% of the students are from the greater Glasgow area, which is proportionately high for Scottish universalities.

The University of Glasgow receives an endowment from the government of one hundred and twenty million pounds, making it the fourth largest endowment in the modern United Kingdom. With the student population, this translates to the 5th largest per student endowment in the United Kingdom.

Unlike many Scottish Universities, the students at the University of Glasgow are not automatically entered in to the National Union of Students. Instead, the University of Glasgow has its own union, the Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council.