University of Aberdeen

The University of Aberdeen (Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public research university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, and one of the four ancient universities of Scotland.阿伯丁大学（苏格兰盖尔语：Oilthigh Obar Dheathain）是位于苏格兰阿伯丁市的一所公立研究型大学，也是苏格兰四所古老大学之一。

It was founded in 1495, when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, obtained a papal bull from Pope Alexander VI on behalf of King James IV to establish King's College.学校创办于 1495 年，时任阿伯丁主教兼苏格兰大法官的威廉·埃尔芬斯通代表国王詹姆斯四世，从教皇亚历山大六世处取得诏书以设立国王学院。

The university in its present form was created in 1860 by the merger of King's College with Marischal College, and it is placed 233rd in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.如今的阿伯丁大学于 1860 年由国王学院与马歇尔学院合并而成，在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中位列第 233。

History

• King's College, formally the university and King's College of Aberdeen, was founded on 10 February 1494 by William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, at the request of King James IV.国王学院正式名称为“阿伯丁大学与国王学院”，由阿伯丁主教兼苏格兰大法官威廉·埃尔芬斯通应国王詹姆斯四世之请，于 1494 年 2 月 10 日创立。

• The foundation made Aberdeen one of Scotland's four ancient universities and the fifth-oldest university in the English-speaking world.这一创举使阿伯丁成为苏格兰四所古老大学之一，也是英语世界第五古老的大学。

• King's College was modelled on the University of Paris and was intended mainly as a law school, and it soon became the most famous and popular of the Scottish seats of learning.国王学院以巴黎大学为范本，最初主要定位为法学院，并很快成为苏格兰各学府中最负盛名、最受欢迎的一所。

• Its first principal, appointed in 1500, was the humanist scholar Hector Boece, a friend of the founder Elphinstone.其首任院长于 1500 年任命，是人文主义学者赫克托·博伊斯，也是创始人埃尔芬斯通的朋友。

• In 1497 the college established the first chair of medicine in the English-speaking world, giving it the earliest medical teaching post of its kind.1497 年，该学院设立了英语世界第一个医学教授席位，成为同类院校中最早的医学教学岗位。

• The first book printed in both Edinburgh and Scotland was the Aberdeen Breviary, written by Elphinstone and Boece in 1509.在爱丁堡乃至整个苏格兰印制的第一部书籍是《阿伯丁祷文集》，由埃尔芬斯通与博伊斯于 1509 年撰写。

• Following the Scottish Reformation of 1560, King's College was purged of its Roman Catholic staff but remained largely resistant to change.1560 年苏格兰宗教改革之后，国王学院清除了天主教教职人员，但在其他方面大体上仍抗拒变革。

• In April 1593 George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal, founded a second university in Aberdeen, Marischal College, in the city's New Town.1593 年 4 月，第五代马歇尔伯爵乔治·基思在阿伯丁新城创办了第二所大学——马歇尔学院。

• Aberdeen was then highly unusual in having two universities in one city, the same number as existed in all of England at the time.当时的阿伯丁在同一座城市里拥有两所大学，这一情形极为罕见，数量竟与当时英格兰全国相当。

• The two rival colleges clashed repeatedly, sometimes in court and sometimes in street brawls between their students.这两所彼此竞争的学院冲突不断，有时对簿公堂，有时则是双方学生在街头斗殴。

• Duncan Liddell endowed the first chair of mathematics at Marischal College in 1613, though the first professor was not appointed until 1626.邓肯·利德尔于 1613 年捐资设立马歇尔学院第一个数学教授席位，但首位教授直到 1626 年才获任命。

• In 1641 Charles I united the two colleges for twenty years as the Caroline University of Aberdeen, the closest they came to full union before modern times.1641 年，查理一世把两所学院合并为“阿伯丁加洛林大学”，维持了二十年，这是近代之前二者最接近完全合并的一次。

• After the civil conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Oliver Cromwell's regime completed a fuller union in 1654, which survived until the Restoration of 1660 rescinded it.在三王国战争的内乱之后，奥利弗·克伦威尔的政权于 1654 年完成了更彻底的合并，该合并一直延续到 1660 年王政复辟将其废止。

• Charles I is still counted as one of the university's founders for his part in creating the Caroline University.由于查理一世促成了加洛林大学的建立，他至今仍被视为该大学的创始人之一。

• The Aberdeen Philosophical Society, known locally as the Wise Club, held its first meeting at the Old Red Lion Inn on 12 January 1758.阿伯丁哲学学会当地人称作“智者俱乐部”，于 1758 年 1 月 12 日在老红狮客栈举行首次聚会。

• The Wise Club was founded by Thomas Reid, George Campbell, David Skene, John Gregory, John Stewart and Robert Traill, and it was disbanded in March 1773.智者俱乐部由托马斯·里德、乔治·坎贝尔、戴维·斯金、约翰·格雷戈里、约翰·斯图尔特与罗伯特·特雷尔创立，并于 1773 年 3 月解散。

• The Free Church of Scotland founded Christ's College in Aberdeen in 1843 to train ministers, and its museum and library held some 17,000 volumes.苏格兰自由教会于 1843 年在阿伯丁创办基督学院以培养牧师，其博物馆与图书馆藏有约 17,000 册图书。

• In 1859 the university hosted the first meeting in Aberdeen of the British Science Association, whose president that year was Prince Albert, the Prince Consort.1859 年，学校在阿伯丁主办了英国科学促进会的首次会议，当年的会长是王夫阿尔伯特亲王。

• At that meeting James Clerk Maxwell, then only 28, presented his newly discovered law of molecular velocities, now known as the Maxwell distribution law.在那次会议上，时年仅 28 岁的詹姆斯·克拉克·麦克斯韦发表了他新发现的分子速度分布定律，即今所称的麦克斯韦分布律。

• The two colleges merged on 15 September 1860 under the Universities (Scotland) Act 1858, which also created a new medical school at Marischal College.两所学院依据 1858 年《苏格兰大学法》于 1860 年 9 月 15 日合并，该法同时还在马歇尔学院设立了新的医学院。

• In 1873 Aberdeen students voted against opening university degrees to women, but all faculties were opened to women in 1892 and the first 20 matriculated women began in 1894.1873 年阿伯丁学生投票反对向女性开放大学学位，但各学院于 1892 年全部向女性开放，1894 年首批 20 名注册女生入学。

• The university's quatercentenary in 1906 was opened by Edward VII and Alexandra and featured four days of festivities across the city.学校于 1906 年举行四百周年庆典，由爱德华七世与亚历山德拉王后揭幕，全市连续四天举行庆祝活动。

• In February 2020 the Scottish Funding Council found that the university had failed to make best use of public funds in a settlement with a former principal, and it was ordered to repay £119,000 of grant finance.2020 年 2 月，苏格兰拨款委员会认定学校在与一位前校长的财务协议中未能善用公共资金，学校因此被要求退还 119,000 英镑拨款。

Academics

• The university is divided into twelve schools organised within a broad range of disciplines, with the larger schools grouped into three teaching colleges.学校下设十二个学院，分属广泛的学科领域，规模较大的学院归入三个教学学部之下。

• In the 2024/25 academic year Aberdeen had 13,930 students, of whom 9,815 were undergraduates and 4,115 were postgraduates.在 2024 至 2025 学年，阿伯丁大学有 13,930 名学生，其中本科生 9,815 人、研究生 4,115 人。

• The university offers more than 550 undergraduate degree programmes and more than 120 postgraduate taught programmes.学校开设超过 550 个本科学位专业与超过 120 个授课型研究生专业。

• The average Aberdeen entrant scored 184 points under 2022/23 HESA entry standards, the tenth highest in the United Kingdom.按 2022 至 2023 年度 HESA 入学标准数据，阿伯丁录取新生的平均成绩为 184 分，在全英国位列第十。

• The academic year is divided into two semesters, the First and Second Half-Sessions, running from September to May, with examinations in November and in April and May.学年分为两个学期，即前半学期与后半学期，从 9 月延续到次年 5 月，考试分别在 11 月以及 4 月和 5 月举行。

• Over 75 per cent of the university's research was classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework.在 2014 年英国高校科研评估（REF）中，学校超过 75% 的研究被评定为世界领先或国际优秀。

• Its highest internationally ranked subject is Divinity and Religious Studies, placed joint 25th in the world and 7th in the United Kingdom.其国际排名最高的学科是神学与宗教研究，位列世界并列第 25、英国第 7。

• Medicine is ranked 4th in the United Kingdom by the Complete University Guide 2021, and Dentistry was ranked 1st in the UK by The Guardian in 2021.医学在 2021 年《完全大学指南》中位列英国第 4，牙医学在 2021 年《卫报》排名中位列英国第 1。

• Other strong subjects include Accounting and Finance, 4th in the United Kingdom, and Sports Science, 2nd in the United Kingdom, in the 2021 Complete University Guide.其他优势学科包括会计与金融位居英国第 4，运动科学位居英国第 2，均出自 2021 年《完全大学指南》。

• The university's income for 2024-25 was £257.2 million, of which £54.2 million came from research grants and contracts, against expenditure of £262.5 million.学校 2024 至 2025 年度收入为 2.572 亿英镑，其中 5420 万英镑来自科研拨款与合同，而支出为 2.625 亿英镑。

• In the financial year ending 31 July 2024 Aberdeen had total income of £264 million and endowments of £65.3 million, with net assets of £431 million.在截至 2024 年 7 月 31 日的财年，阿伯丁大学总收入为 2.64 亿英镑，捐赠基金为 6530 万英镑，净资产为 4.31 亿英镑。

• The Gifford Lectures were established in 1887 by Adam Gifford and began at Aberdeen with E. B. Tylor's lectures on the natural history of religion between 1889 and 1891.吉福德讲座由亚当·吉福德于 1887 年设立，并在阿伯丁大学以爱德华·泰勒 1889 至 1891 年间关于宗教自然史的系列讲座开篇。

• More than thirty Gifford Lectures have since been given at Aberdeen, by figures including Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth and Michael Polanyi.此后在阿伯丁大学已举行三十余场吉福德讲座，主讲人包括汉娜·阿伦特、卡尔·巴特与迈克尔·波兰尼。

• The annual Andrew Carnegie Lecture Series began in 2014, with the first lecture given by Matthew Barzun.年度安德鲁·卡内基讲座系列始于 2014 年，首场讲座由马修·巴尊主讲。

• In 2022 the university formed an international university alliance with the University of Calgary in Canada and Curtin University in Australia to address global challenges together.2022 年，学校与加拿大的卡尔加里大学及澳大利亚的科廷大学结成国际大学联盟，以共同应对全球性挑战。

• Aberdeen is a member of the University of the Arctic and takes part in its north2north mobility programme.阿伯丁大学是北极大学成员，并参与其“north2north”学生交流项目。

• Teaching is supported by the Sir Duncan Rice Library together with the Taylor Law Library in Old Aberdeen and the Medical Library at Foresterhill.教学得到邓肯·赖斯爵士图书馆，以及位于老阿伯丁的泰勒法律图书馆与福雷斯特希尔医学图书馆的支持。

• The university's collections include more than a quarter of a million ancient books and manuscripts gathered over five centuries.学校馆藏包括五个世纪以来收集的逾二十五万册古籍与手稿。

• Modern languages came under review in 2023, when just five students began single honours across the four modern language programmes, prompting a petition with over 18,600 signatures.现代语言学科在 2023 年受到审查，当时四个现代语言专业合计仅有五名学生开始修读单科荣誉学位，引发了一场超过 18,600 人签名的请愿。

• The consultation on modern languages ended in March 2024 after staff-led business proposals were accepted, removing the risk of compulsory redundancies.在教职员主导的办学方案获得认可后，关于现代语言的咨询于 2024 年 3 月结束，强制裁员的风险随之解除。

Campus

• The university has two main campuses, the King's College campus in Old Aberdeen and the Foresterhill campus next to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.学校有两处主要校区，即位于老阿伯丁的国王学院校区，以及紧邻阿伯丁皇家医院的福雷斯特希尔校区。

• The King's College campus covers some 35 hectares around the ancient college buildings, hosts about two-thirds of the built estate and lies two miles north of the city centre.国王学院校区环绕古老校舍占地约 35 公顷，容纳了全校约三分之二的建筑资产，位于市中心以北约两英里处。

• The historic King's College buildings form a quadrangle whose oldest parts, the Crown Tower and the chapel, date from around 1500.历史悠久的国王学院建筑围成一座方院，其中最早的部分——王冠塔与小教堂——约建于 1500 年。

• The Crown Tower is topped by a six-sided lantern and an imperial crown about 12 metres high, known as the Crown of Kings and often used as a symbol of the university, while the chapel choir retains original oak-canopied stalls in the French flamboyant style.王冠塔顶部立有一个六边形灯亭与一座约 12 米高的皇冠，被称为“王者之冠”，常被用作大学的象征，而小教堂唱诗班席则保留着原初的法国火焰式橡木罩棚座席。

• The Cromwell Tower, built between 1658 and 1662 opposite the Crown Tower, gained an observatory on top in 1826.建于 1658 至 1662 年间、位于王冠塔对面的克伦威尔塔，于 1826 年在塔顶增设了一座天文台。

• The 1913 New Building, known as New King's, was the first of the modern buildings on the King's campus, followed in 1930 by Elphinstone Hall.1913 年落成的“新楼”即新国王学院，是国王学院校区第一座现代建筑，其后于 1930 年建成埃尔芬斯通大厅。

• The Sir Duncan Rice Library, designed by the Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen, was completed in 2011, opened officially by Queen Elizabeth II in September 2012 and cost £57 million.邓肯·赖斯爵士图书馆由丹麦事务所施密特·哈默·拉森设计，2011 年完工，2012 年 9 月由英国女王伊丽莎白二世正式启用，造价 5700 万英镑。

• The university's Foresterhill campus, co-located with the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital, has housed medical teaching since around 1938.学校的福雷斯特希尔校区与阿伯丁皇家儿童医院及阿伯丁妇产医院同址而建，自 1938 年前后起便承担医学教学。

• The Doha campus in Qatar, known as AFG College with the University of Aberdeen, opened in May 2017 offering programmes in business, law, linguistics and public health.位于卡塔尔多哈的校区名为“AFG 学院与阿伯丁大学”，于 2017 年 5 月开办，开设商业、法律、语言学与公共卫生等专业。

• The neo-Gothic Marischal College, rebuilt in 1836-41 by the Aberdeen architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, was largely leased to Aberdeen City Council in 2008, and the building is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of neo-Gothic architecture in Great Britain.新哥特式的马歇尔学院由阿伯丁建筑师亚历山大·马歇尔·麦肯齐于 1836 至 1841 年间重建，2008 年大部分租予阿伯丁市议会使用，该建筑被普遍视为英国最出色的新哥特式建筑之一。

Reputation

• Aberdeen is placed 233rd in the 2027 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.阿伯丁大学在 2027 年泰晤士高等教育世界大学排名中位列第 233。

• It is placed 288th in the 2027 QS World University Rankings and 376th in the U.S. News Best Global Universities ranking for 2026-2027.学校在 2027 年 QS 世界大学排名中位列第 288，在 2026 至 2027 年度 US News 全球最佳大学排名中位列第 376。

• In the 2026 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Aberdeen falls in the 301-400 band.在由上海交通大学发布的 2026 年软科世界大学学术排名中，阿伯丁大学处于 301 至 400 区间。

• Aberdeen was ranked 119th in the world in TIME magazine's 2026 ranking of the world's top universities.在《时代》杂志 2026 年全球顶尖大学排名中，阿伯丁大学位列世界第 119。

• In 2025 it was ranked among the top 250 universities in the world and within the top 25 in the United Kingdom by The Guardian and The Times.2025 年，《卫报》与《泰晤士报》均把阿伯丁大学列入世界前 250 名、英国前 25 名之内。

• In the 2019 Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings Aberdeen was ranked 31st in the world, and it was named 2019 Scottish University of the Year.在 2019 年泰晤士高等教育大学影响力排名中，阿伯丁大学位列世界第 31，并获评 2019 年度苏格兰年度大学。

• Its Divinity and Religious Studies subject is its highest internationally ranked, at joint 25th in the world and 7th in the United Kingdom.其神学与宗教研究学科是国际排名最高的一门，位列世界并列第 25、英国第 7。

• According to OpenAlex the university has produced 96,127 research works that have attracted 7,851,743 citations, one of the largest research outputs among Scotland's ancient universities.据 OpenAlex 统计，学校已产出 96,127 项研究成果，累计被引用 7,851,743 次，位居苏格兰各古老大学研究产出前列。

• Five Nobel laureates have been associated with the university, two in Chemistry and one each in Physics, Physiology or Medicine and Peace.共有五位诺贝尔奖得主与该校相关，其中化学奖两位，物理学奖、生理学或医学奖与和平奖各一位。

• Aberdeen also ranked third in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for student satisfaction in 2025.2025 年，阿伯丁大学在苏格兰、威尔士与北爱尔兰地区的学生满意度调查中排名第三。

Student life

• The student body is represented by the Aberdeen University Students' Association, known as AUSA.学生群体由阿伯丁大学学生会代表，通称 AUSA。

• The elected rector, whose post dates from the university's foundation in 1495, chairs the University Court and represents students for a three-year term, and past rectors have included Winston Churchill and Andrew Carnegie.民选校长（Rector）一职可追溯至 1495 年建校之初，主持校务委员会并为学生代言，任期三年，历任者包括温斯顿·丘吉尔与安德鲁·卡内基。

• In November 2024 the Scottish folk singer Iona Fyfe was elected rector by the student body.2024 年 11 月，苏格兰民谣歌手伊奥娜·法伊夫被学生群体选为校长。

• The university's oldest student organisation is the Aberdeen University Debater, founded in 1848 as the King's College Debating Society.学校最古老的学生组织是阿伯丁大学辩论社，1848 年以国王学院辩论社之名创立。

• The Students' Union Building, formerly The Hub, opened in 2006 as a university-owned dining and social centre for students and staff.学生会大楼原名 The Hub，于 2006 年启用，是校方经营的、供学生与教职员使用的餐饮与社交中心。

• The Butchart Student Centre opened in 2009 and houses the Students' Association headquarters and facilities for student societies.布查特学生中心于 2009 年启用，内设学生会总部以及供学生社团使用的设施。

• Sport is managed by the Aberdeen University Sports Union, established in 1889, which encompasses more than fifty sports clubs.体育活动由创立于 1889 年的阿伯丁大学体育联合会管理，下辖五十余个体育俱乐部。

• Student media include The Gaudie, in circulation since 1934 and one of the oldest student newspapers in Scotland and the United Kingdom, funded by the students' association and distributed free of charge.学生媒体包括《The Gaudie》，自 1934 年发行至今，是苏格兰乃至全英国最古老的学生报纸之一，由学生会资助并免费发放。

• The Aberdeen Student Show has been staged every year since 1921 to raise money for charity under the Aberdeen Students' Charities Campaign.阿伯丁学生戏剧秀自 1921 年起每年上演，通过阿伯丁学生慈善运动为公益筹款。

Notable people

• William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, founded King's College in 1495 and the chair of medicine in 1497.阿伯丁主教兼苏格兰大法官威廉·埃尔芬斯通于 1495 年创办国王学院，并于 1497 年设立医学教授席位。

• George Keith, the fifth Earl Marischal, founded Marischal College in 1593 as a Protestant alternative to King's College.第五代马歇尔伯爵乔治·基思于 1593 年创办马歇尔学院，作为国王学院之外的新教替代选择。

• Hector Boece, the first principal of King's College, was appointed in 1500 and helped write the Aberdeen Breviary of 1509.国王学院首任院长赫克托·博伊斯于 1500 年获任命，并参与撰写 1509 年的《阿伯丁祷文集》。

• James Clerk Maxwell, professor of natural philosophy at Marischal College, presented the Maxwell distribution law in Aberdeen in 1859.曾任马歇尔学院自然哲学教授的詹姆斯·克拉克·麦克斯韦于 1859 年在阿伯丁发表了麦克斯韦分布律。

• Thomas Reid, the philosopher of common sense, helped found the Aberdeen Philosophical Society in 1758 and taught at King's College.常识学派哲学家托马斯·里德于 1758 年参与创立阿伯丁哲学学会，并在国王学院执教。

• John Macleod shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923 for the discovery of insulin.约翰·麦克劳德因发现胰岛素而共享 1923 年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。

• George Paget Thomson won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1937 for demonstrating the wave nature of the electron.乔治·佩吉特·汤姆孙因证实电子的波动性而获得 1937 年诺贝尔物理学奖。

• John Boyd Orr, later Lord Boyd Orr, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949 for his work on nutrition and food policy, and he was the first Director-General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.约翰·博伊德·奥尔后晋封奥尔勋爵，因在营养与粮食政策方面的贡献获得 1949 年诺贝尔和平奖，他还是联合国粮食及农业组织的首任总干事。

• Alistair Darling, an alumnus, served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the United Kingdom government.校友阿利斯泰尔·达林曾在英国政府中担任财政大臣。

• Yang Changji, a Chinese educator, studied at Aberdeen and later taught the young Mao Zedong in Changsha.中国教育家杨昌济曾在阿伯丁大学求学，后来在长沙教导青年时期的毛泽东。