University

University of Glasgow

University
#139
Global Influence
University located in Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1451

About University of Glasgow

By James Barham, PhD

Founded by a decree (“papal bull”) issued by Pope Nicholas V, Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Only Oxford and Cambridge (see above) and, in Scotland, St. Andrews University (founded in 1413) are older.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, Glasgow was one of the first universities to accept students from the urban and commercial middle classes, instead of restricting entrance to the “gentry” (the landed aristocracy and the very wealthy).

In 1870, the university’s main campus was transferred from High Street in the downtown commercial district to the now–highly fashionable West End neighborhood. Today, the university comprises four major colleges:

  • College of Arts
  • College of Science and Engineering
  • College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences
  • College of Social Sciences

Moreover, several additional off-site campuses have been brought under the university’s umbrella over the years, notably the School of Veterinary Medicine, originally founded in Glasgow in 1862, and The Crichton, a University of Glasgow campus located in Dumfries, in southwestern Scotland, which comprises a number of different programs, centers, and institutes, including the Crichton Memorial Hospital.

During the first four centuries of its existence, Glasgow was associated with a number of influential intellectuals and public personalities, including:

  • Scholastic philosopher, John Major (Mair)
  • Reformation theologian, follower of John Calvin, and founder of Presbyterianism, John Knox
  • celebrated American Puritan divine, Cotton Mather

During the eighteenth-century Scottish Enlightenment, Glasgow was home to:

  • Philosophers, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, & Thomas Reid
  • Philosopher and father of economic thought, Adam Smith
  • Jurist, John Millar
  • Jurist and signer of the American Declaration of Independence, James Wilson
  • Novelist, Tobias Smollett
  • Author of the celebrated Life of Johnson, James Boswell
  • Physician and pioneering anatomist, William Hunter
  • Physician and medical philosopher, William Cullen
  • Inventor of the improved steam engine that powered the early decades of the Industrial Revolution, James Watt

During the nineteenth century, eminent Glasgow-connected scientists include the:

  • Mathematician/physicist/engineers, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) & William Rankine
  • Physicist and chemist, Joseph Black
  • Surgeon and antisepsis pioneer, Joseph Lister

In addition, Glasgow can claim the famous physician, missionary, and explorer, David Livingstone.

In the twentieth century, seven Glasgow-connected individuals have received the Nobel Prize, including:

  • William Ramsay and Frederick Soddy—chemistry
  • James W. Black—physiology or medicine

In addition, the astrophysicist and co-discoverer of pulsars, Jocelyn Bell (Burnell), who graduated from the university, was ignored by the Swedish Academy in its controversial 1974 physics prize award to her male pulsar co-discoverers.

Other well-known nineteenth- and twentieth-century individuals connected to Glasgow are:

  • Folklorist and author of The Golden Bough, J.G. Frazer
  • Ever-popular espionage and adventure novelist, John Buchan
  • Harley Street physician-turned-novelist, A.J. Cronin, author of The Stars Look Down and The Keys of the Kingdom
  • Veterinary surgeon and beloved author, James Herriot (James Alfred Wright) author of All Creatures Great and Small and many other story collections

Highly successful film and television adaptations have been made from the works of all three authors.

In an entirely different literary vein, the Scottish avant-garde novelist, James Kelman—who has created a supple and intelligible method of rendering the authentic Glaswegian dialect his characters use to recount their bleak-as-Beckett lives, taught at the university for a couple of years in the early 2000s.

The University of Glasgow has also contributed three Prime Ministers to the United Kingdom:

  • William Lamb (2nd Viscount Melbourne)
  • Henry Campbell-Bannerman
  • Bonar Law

According to Wikipedia, The University of Glasgow is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Along with the universities of St Andrews, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, the university was part of the Scottish Enlightenment during the 18th century. Glasgow is the largest university in Scotland by total enrolment and with over 19,500 postgraduates the second-largest in the United Kingdom by postgraduate enrolment.

University of Glasgow's Online Degrees

What Is University of Glasgow Known For?

University of Glasgow is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:

University of Glasgow's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered

Philosophy
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Logic
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Ethics
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Metaphysics
#59
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#45
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philosophy Degrees
Biology
#134
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#87
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Botany
#37
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#22
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Anatomy
#51
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#56
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Physiology
#87
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#89
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biology Degrees
Political Science
#159
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Government
#98
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Political Economy
#55
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#10
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Human Rights
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#280
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political-science Degrees
Engineering
#112
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#86
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Architecture
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#59
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Civil Engineering
#49
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#37
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Mechanical Engineering
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#113
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engineering Degrees
Communications
#83
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Grammar
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#24
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Journalism
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Linguistics
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communications Degrees
Literature
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Writing
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#81
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Philology
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Etymology
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literature Degrees
Mathematics
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Statistics
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Graph Theory
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#37
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Topology
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math Degrees
Medical
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Surgery
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Public Health
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Mental Health
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#88
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medicine Degrees
Education
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Higher Education
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#94
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Secondary Education
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Tertiary Education
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education Degrees
Law
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Civil Law
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#21
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Jurisprudence
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Common Law
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Business
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Management
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Finance
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Accounting
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business Degrees
History
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Modern History
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Economic History
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#30
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Ecclesiastical History
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#14
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history Degrees
Chemistry
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#75
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Organic Chemistry
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#46
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Inorganic Chemistry
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Chemical Engineering
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chemistry Degrees
Religious Studies
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Theology
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Ministry
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Canon Law
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religious-studies-hub Degrees
Physics
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Astronomy
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Astrophysics
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Cosmology
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physics Degrees
Computer Science
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Programming
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Database
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Artificial Intelligence
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computer-science Degrees
Economics
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Taxation
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Neoclassical Economics
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#14
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Classical Economics
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#17
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economics Degrees
Earth Sciences
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Geography
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#128
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Meteorology
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#63
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Mineralogy
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earth-science Degrees
Psychology
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Cognitive Science
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Social Psychology
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Psychoanalysis
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psychology Degrees
Anthropology
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Social Anthropology
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Ethnography
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Cultural Anthropology
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anthropology Degrees
Sociology
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Women's Studies
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Urban Studies
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Sociobiology
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sociology Degrees
Criminal Justice
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Policing
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Forensic Science
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Criminology
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criminal-justice Degrees
Nursing
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Psychiatric Nursing
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nursing Degrees
Social Work
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Empowerment
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Substance Abuse
#291
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Gerontology
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social-work Degrees

Who Are University of Glasgow's Most Influential Alumni?

University of Glasgow's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Political Science, Chemistry, and Philosophy. Here are some of University of Glasgow's most famous alumni:

Adam Smith
Adam Smith
A Scottish moral philosopher and political economist .
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Joseph Dalton Hooker
A British botanist, lichenologist, and surgeon .
James Boswell
James Boswell
A British lawyer, diarist, and author .
Lord Kelvin
Lord Kelvin
A British physicist and engineer .
Kazimierz Kuratowski
Kazimierz Kuratowski
A Polish mathematician.
David Livingstone
David Livingstone
A Scottish explorer and missionary .
James George Frazer
James George Frazer
A Scottish social anthropologist.
William Ramsay
William Ramsay
A Scottish chemist.
Joseph Black
Joseph Black
A British chemist .
Richard Price
Richard Price
A British philosopher, preacher and mathematician .
Francis Hutcheson
Francis Hutcheson
A Scottish philosopher .
John Knox
John Knox
A Scottish clergyman, writer and historian .

Who Are University of Glasgow's Most Influential Faculty?

University of Glasgow's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Political Science, Chemistry, and Philosophy. Here are some of University of Glasgow's most famous alumni:

Nils Melzer
A Legal scholar.
Dimitra Fimi
An Academic and author.
Sarah Cleaveland
Sarah Cleaveland
A British veterinary surgeon and epidemiologist.
Leroy Cronin
Leroy Cronin
A British chemist.
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch
Kristian Skrede Gleditsch
A Political scientist.
Catharina Stroppel
Catharina Stroppel
A German mathematician.
Faye Hammill
A Faye Hammill teaches nineteenth- and twentieth-century English and North American literature, has research interests in interwar writing .
Elena Korosteleva
Elena Korosteleva
A Political Scientist.
Hanna Kokko
A Finnish scientist known for her research on the evolution and maintenance of Sex.
Robert Dunn
A U.S. ecologist and biologist.
Fiona Macpherson
A Professor of Philosophy.
Naveed Sattar
A Scottish medical researcher.