University of Edinburgh

Key facts

Checked against the sources listed at the bottom of this page on 9 November 2026.

About the University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh was founded by the town council under a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and officially opened in 1583. It is one of Scotland’s four ancient universities and, according to Wikipedia, the sixth-oldest university in continuous operation in the English-speaking world.^[6]

It is organised in three colleges: Arts, Humanities & Social Science, Medicine & Veterinary Medicine, and Science & Engineering.^[1] In 2025/26 the university matriculated 48,820 students, 29,660 of them at undergraduate level, 12,615 on taught postgraduate programmes and 6,550 on research programmes.^[1] By origin, 12,990 came from Scotland, 11,390 from the rest of the UK, 3,500 from the EU and 20,895 from overseas.^[1]

The student factsheet notes that the total includes about 2,900 visiting or exchange students, 2,800 postgraduates writing up and 2,885 non-UK online learning students, groups that the national HESA definition would normally exclude.^[1] Compare this total with other universities’ “students enrolled” figures with care.

How is the University of Edinburgh ranked?

In the QS World University Rankings 2027, published on 18 June 2026, the University of Edinburgh is 35th in the world.^[2] A summary of the same ranking puts it 5th among UK universities.^[9]

The university’s own undergraduate page adds further claims in its own words: 4th in the UK for research power in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (source named there: Times Higher Education), 7th in Europe and 15th in the world among student cities (QS Best Student Cities 2026), and 19th in the world in the Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s most international universities (2026).^[2] Rankings differ by publisher and year, so treat one position as one view. How we compile rankings.

What can you study at the University of Edinburgh?

The undergraduate prospectus counts 350 degrees across more than 50 subjects, many of them joint honours degrees.^[7] Subjects sit in three colleges:^[1]

• Arts, Humanities & Social Science: the largest college, with 27,640 students.
• Science & Engineering: 12,870 students.
• Medicine & Veterinary Medicine: 8,310 students.

Postgraduate study is divided into taught master’s degrees and research degrees. Taught programmes are listed in the university’s degree finder, where each programme page shows its own fee, start date and entry requirements.^[10]

For planning, the BSc Computer Science page estimates average living costs in Edinburgh at £1,546 a month for a single undergraduate in 2026-27, or £13,914 for a 39-week academic year and £18,552 for a full year.^[11] Your own costs depend mainly on your accommodation.

How much does the University of Edinburgh cost in 2026-27?

Undergraduate: international students

International (and EU) undergraduates pay a fixed annual fee for the whole degree, based on the year they started.^[3] The 2026-27 table for continuing students shows the fixed amounts by year of entry:^[3]

We could not read a printed amount for students who start in 2026; the page for new students only describes the fixed-fee rule. The Undergraduate Guide 2027 gives indicative levels for 2026 of “a fixed annual fee starting at £28,000”, £36,800 for laboratory- and studio-based degrees and £39,700 for veterinary medicine, and says fees for 2027 were not yet confirmed.^[7] Check your own programme in the degree finder for the exact figure.

Medicine (MBChB): the international fee for 2026-27 is £54,650 a year.^[8] The guide mentions £51,961 including the levy paid by international students at Scottish medical schools,^[7] which matches the 2025-entry line on the fee page,^[8] so the guide figure appears to be one year older.

Undergraduate: home students

For students who qualify for the Scotland fee rate the fee is £1,820 a year in 2026-27.^[3] The Undergraduate Guide says that, for eligible Scottish students, the fees are paid by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).^[7] Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the Channel Islands pay the rest-of-UK rate of £9,790 for 2026-27, subject to Parliamentary approval, rising to £10,050 for 2027-28.^[3]

Postgraduate

Postgraduate fees are set per programme, award and start date and are shown in the degree finder.^[10] We could not read the amounts, so we state none here.

How do you apply to the University of Edinburgh?

• Undergraduate, full-time: every application must be made online through UCAS, the UK’s central admissions service. You can choose up to five degree programmes (four for medicine or veterinary medicine). Edinburgh cannot see your other choices until it has made its decision.^[4] For part-time study you apply directly to the university.^[4]
• Postgraduate: for most programmes you apply online through the degree finder. Choose the programme, then the award, duration, delivery mode and start date in its “Applying” section.^[10]

Offers are made on the basis of your tuition fee status, and competition can differ between fee status categories.^[4] We give no deadlines here because they change every year and differ by programme; check the programme page before you start.

Which English level do you need?

Undergraduate: the required level depends on the degree and is shown in the undergraduate degree finder. Unless you are a national of a majority English-speaking country, your English-language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old at the start of the month in which your degree begins. IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE, Oxford ELLT and Oxford Test of English Advanced results must be no more than two years old, whatever your nationality.^[5] The requirement must be met in a single test; IELTS General and IELTS One Skill Retake are not accepted for undergraduate entry, and TOEFL MyBest Score is not accepted.^[5] TOEFL introduced a new scoring scale on 21 January 2026, and Edinburgh lists both scales in the degree finder.^[5]

Postgraduate: the same two-year rule applies to the main tests, which must be taken in a single sitting; Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency count for three and a half years. IELTS General is not accepted. For online programmes only, one component that is missed by no more than 0.5 can be improved with one attempt of the IELTS One Skill Retake.^[12] Completion of the university’s English for Academic Purposes pre-sessional programme, or of the University of Glasgow in-person pre-sessional, can also meet the requirement.^[12]

More about studying in United Kingdom (UK)

• United Kingdom (UK): best universities
• Cost of Studying Abroad
• International Student Scholarships
• University Ranking Methodology

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