University of Aberdeen
APM Academic Accreditation case study
The University of Aberdeen is Scotland’s third oldest university, founded in 1495 as Columbus was opening up the New World and the Renaissance was spreading throughout Europe.
With over 500 years of achievement behind it, the university is renowned for a dynamic approach to serving the needs of the 21st century. It is consistently among the top one per cent of the world’s universities (QS World University Ranking 2017) and has a community of 14,500 students drawn from 120 nationalities.
Five Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work carried out, or begun, at the university which played a key role in the invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and other inventions of great importance.
The university’s mission is to ‘maintain and enhance its distinctive contribution to society in a regional, national and international context’ through its programmes of education and professional training and by promoting excellent research.
In a recent assessment, 90 per cent of Aberdeen’s research activity was judged to be of international quality with 55 per cent being world-leading or internationally excellent.
Its schools – clustered across Arts and Social Sciences, Life Sciences and Medicine and Physical Sciences – encompass a broad range of disciplines.
The many notable alumni include former Chancellor Alistair Darling, scientist and mountaineer Dr Adam Watson, former chairman of the London Stock Exchange Sir Don Cruickshank, broadcaster James Naughtie and several leading MSPs.