University of St. Andrews

The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is a public research university in St Andrews, United Kingdom. It is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland.<br><br>It was founded between 1410 and 1413, when a Papal Bull was issued by the Avignon Antipope Benedict XIII. In post-nominals, the university's name was historically abbreviated as "St And" (from the Latin Sancti Andreae). St Andrews is judged as world-class for teaching and research, and domestic league tables place it as the best university in Scotland; it is currently ranked as the fourth-best university in the UK according to the most recent university league table produced by The Guardian (see Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom). The Physics and Astronomy department of St. Andrews ranks 3rd in UK after Cambridge and Oxford. According to the Sunday Times, St Andrews is "firmly established as the leading multi-faculty alternative to Oxford and Cambridge".<br><br>The Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking names St Andrews among the world’s Top 20 Arts and Humanities universities. St Andrews has a diverse student body and cosmopolitan character due to its over 30% intake of international students from well over 100 countries, with 15% of the current student body coming from North America.<br><br>Throughout its more recent history, St Andrews has maintained strong links with leading academic institutions in the United Kingdom including the Oxbridge and also the top research schools from United States and Canada, including McGill, Harvard, MIT and Princeton to name a few.