What differentiates St Andrews from many other universities in the UK is the sense of community that is created by studying in a small, international, and diverse community. During an intensive one-year master’s program it can be hard to make connections with faculty and students which is so essential to one’s academic and professional future. Being part of a close-knit community makes it much easier to create the connections within your field of study and the university more broadly.
With 10,000 students, just under 2,000 of whom are post-graduates, in a town of just over 20,000 people, the energy and vibrancy of academic discussions is embedded throughout the town. While more than 600 years of history often makes one think of St Andrews for subjects like philosophy, diversity, classics and history (all of which are very strong), our academic strengths reflect the vibrancy and cutting-edge nature of a research-intensive academic community. Whether in neuroscience, entrepreneurship, or computer science to mention a few, faculty and students work closely together on research that is at the frontier of their discipline.
One of the hallmarks of St Andrews are the multi-disciplinary research centers. With seventy-three different centers covering topics as diverse as organic semiconductors; theology, imagination and the arts, and transnational and spatial history, students can expect to work closely with faculty and other students across the university.
Strengthening the classroom and research opportunities is the support for all aspects of university life. The careers centre, accommodation services, and student services are just some of the offices that students achieve academic and professional success and personal fulfilment. In fact, the annual National Survey of Students regularly ranks St Andrews amongst the top research universities in the UK, and students are some of the most positive about their university experience.
The University of St Andrews is an institution that offers students an ideal university-life balance. We are among the top-ranked UK universities in many subjects but as a recent graduate from the US, Bella Larozza who studied a Masters of Science in Finance and played field hockey said “The people are what make the place”