History of the University of Edinburgh

The founding of the University of Edinburgh is attributed to Bishop Robert Reid of Orkney, who left the funds on his death in 1558 that ultimately provided the endowment for the University of Edinburgh. The University was established by a Royal Charter granted by James VI in 1582. This was an unusual move at the time, as most universities were established through Papal bulls. What makes the University of Edinburgh even more unusual is the fact that its funding came the following year from the Town Council, making it in many ways the first civic university, known as the "Tounis College". It became the fourth Scottish university in a period when the much more populous and richer England had only two. By the 18th century Edinburgh was a leading centre of the European Enlightenment and became one of the continent's principal universities.

Before the building of Old College to plans by Robert Adam implemented after the Napoleonic Wars by the architect William Henry Playfair, the University of Edinburgh did not enjoy a custom built campus and existed in a hotchpotch of buildings from its establishment until the early 19th Century. The university's first custom built building was the magnificent Old College, now the School of Law, situated on South Bridge. Its first forte in teaching was anatomy and the developing science of surgery, from which it expanded into many other subjects. From the basement of a nearby house ran the anatomy tunnel corridor. It went under what was then North College Street (now Chambers Street), and under the University buildings until it reached the University's anatomy lecture theatre, delivering bodies for dissection. It was from this tunnel that the body of William Burke was taken after he had been hanged.

Towards the end of the 19th century, Old College was becoming too cramped and so Robert Rowand Anderson was commissioned to design a new Medical School premise in 1875. The medical school was more or less built to his design and was completed by the addition of the awe inspiring McEwan Hall in the 1880s.

The building now known as New College was originally built as a Free Church college in the 1840s and has been the home of Divinity at the University since the 1920s.

In addition, the University is responsible for a number of historic and modern buildings across the City, including the oldest purpose-built concert hall in Scotland, and the second oldest in use in the British Isles, St Cecilia's Concert Hall; Teviot Row House, which is the oldest purpose built Student Union Building in the world; and the handsomely restored 17th-century Mylne's Court student residence which stands at the head of Edinburgh's Royal Mile.

Edinburgh's Library pre-dates its University by three years. Founded in 1580, its collection has grown to become the largest university library in Scotland with over 2 million periodicals, manuscripts, theses, microforms and printed works. These are housed in the main University Library building in George Square - one of the largest academic library buildings in Europe, designed by Basil Spence - and an extensive series of Faculty and Departmental Libraries.The two oldest Schools - Law and Divinity - are both well-esteemed in their respective subjects, with Law being based in Old College, and Divinity being based in New College, on the Mound, just in front of the temporary home of the Scottish Parliament. Students at the university are represented by the Edinburgh University Students' Association, EUSA, comprising Edinburgh University Union (EUU) which was founded in 1889 and the Student Representative Council (SRC), founded in 1884 by Robert Fitzroy Bell.

Edinburgh University also boasts a student newspaper ("Student") founded by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1887.

In 2002 the University was re-organised from its 9 academic faculties into three 'Colleges'. While technically not a collegiate university, it now comprises the Colleges of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Science & Engineering (SCE) and Medicine & Vet Medicine (MVM). Within these Colleges are 'Schools' - roughly equivalent to the departments they succeeded. (However, it is notable that individual Schools have a good degree of autonomy regarding their finances and internal organisation) This has brought a certain degree of uniformity (in terms of administration at least) across the University.

Along similar lines, all teaching is now done over two semesters (rather than 3 terms) - bringing the timetables of different Schools into line with one another, and coming in to line with many other large universities (notably in the US, but to an increasing degree in the UK as well).