Overseas university spotlight: University of Aberdeen (UK)
Set in Scotland's third largest city and founded in 1495, the University of Aberdeen is one of the six ancient universities in the UK.
Whilst walking along the cobbled High Street through the historic part of campus, I could easily imagine that I had stepped back in time.
It's also one of two universities in Aberdeen, which is located in the north of Scotland and closely tied to the shipping and energy industries.
Here are some of the highlights of my trip to campus in February 2023!
Campus
Although the University of Aberdeen has been around for more than 500 years, one of the first things you'll notice is that many of its buildings were built in the 1960s or onwards.
The new university library is really modern and 10 stories tall, sufficiently equipped to accommodate its 15,000 students.
When it comes to student housing, Hillhead Village is the most popular and accommodates about 2,000 residents.
With an on-site grocery store, bar, food facilities, pool tables, study spaces and athletic courts, it truly is both a nice and convenient place to live.
Students living in the residences can also participate in exercise classes like yoga and Zumba on site, a language cafe, pet therapy, art workshops, cooking classes and more.
There is also separate postgraduate housing as well as alcohol-free dorms.
To get to campus, it's about a 20-minute walk through Seaton Park or a 5-minute bus ride.
All students living in the dorms get a free membership to the very impressive Sports Village.
There are full-length indoor track and soccer fields and two pools, one specifically for diving.
Back on the King's Campus, students tend to hang out in the Students' Association building and the St. Machar Bar, which is located on High Street (the oldest part of campus).
Walking along High Street really felt a bit surreal, almost as if I were on a movie set.
Academics
The University of Aberdeen is ranked 13th in the UK and offers a wide-range of degree programs.
I was fortunate to be able to attend a fascinating lecture by Professor Bill Naphy (who is American) from the School of Divinity.
He gave a talk on the Aberdeenshire witch-hunt of 1597, where 200 of the 400 people tried in the region were executed (20% of whom were actually men).
One point that Professor Naphy really drove home though was the idea that at Aberdeen, students are taught to learn, rather than to memorize.
Aberdeen also has the oldest psychology department in the UK, dating back to 1896, and it is third in the UK for student satisfaction in this field.
This high student satisfaction may be attributed to the fact that there is a 6-to-1 student to staff ratio for tutorials, so students get a lot of personal attention, along with peer-assisted learning opportunities.
Aberdeen is also known for its professional degrees in the areas of law, medicine and engineering.
The City of Aberdeen
Aberdeen is known as the Silver City and the Granite City, as it was formerly the granite capital of the world.
So many of its buildings were made out of granite that they even sparkle in the sunlight.
Yes, the sun does come out in Aberdeen, but due to its location far north, it tends to go down around 3 p.m. in winter and doesn't come up until about 9 a.m.
On the flip side, summer days are LONG!
Comparatively to Glasgow, Aberdeen is much drier, about a third of its size and much more affordable, too.
Aberdeen is home to 200,000 people, 20% of whom were not born in the UK.
With a condensed city centre, you can really walk anywhere you need to go, including campus, which is about 30 minutes on foot.
You'll also no doubt notice the number of ships around the harbor, as Aberdeen is a logistics hub.
And for those looking to get out and about, it's only about a 15-minute walk to the beach and a 20-25 minute drive to the hills/mountains area -- meaning you can ski and surf in the same day!
The University of Aberdeen: Summary
The University of Aberdeen really surprised me.
From the ancient buildings along High Street, to the more brutalist ones from the '60s, to the really modern ones, like the new library, it has quite an interesting mix of architecture on campus.
It also has one of the best student villages I've seen in terms of recreational facilities and student programs.
I loved the walkability of Aberdeen, the friendliness of the locals and the unique phrases used by Aberdonians, such as 'fit like,' which means: hello, how are you?
And as one of the more flexible UK universities when it comes to testing and admissions, Aberdeen could be a great option for many U.S. students.
