University of Stirling

Granted its Royal Charter in 1967, the University of Stirling is Scotland’s youngest university.

As well as being a major heritage site, Stirling’s stunning campus was also ranked 1st for its environment by International Student Barometer in 2016. Encompassing a loch and a golf course, the 330-acre parkland campus sits at the point where Lowland and Highland Scotland meet, in the shadow of the Ochil Hills.

The university also has other campuses – one in the Highlands, which offers a wide variety of medicine and teaching courses, and another in the Western Isles, situated close to Stornoway.

Considered one of Scotland’s leading universities for sport, Stirling has strong sporting alumni associated with it, including professional golfer Gordon Sherry and Olympic swimmer Todd Cooper and has a number of excellent sporting facilities.

It also ranks among the top research-intensive universities in the UK with strengths in the fields of health and wellbeing, the environment and people, culture and society, enterprise and the economy, as well as sport.

With a cohort of almost 14,000, students make up over a quarter of the total population of Stirling. International students number around 20 per cent of the whole and represent more than 120 nationalities between them.

The university is organised across five academic faculties and offers a range of flexible courses and study abroad opportunities

A recent large-scale infrastructure investment in the university's campuses has resulted in refurbished student accommodation and improved library facilities. The main Stirling campus also benefits from a wide range of restaurants and cafes, a 50 metre swimming pool, a publicly accessible art collection and the Macrobert Arts Centre comprising a theatre, cinema and bars.

The centre of Stirling, just a ten minute bus ride away, is a compact city that maintains a strong community feel.