University of Stirling

The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; Scottish Gaelic: Oilthigh Sruighlea) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthrey Castle estate.

The university campus is approximately 360 acres (145 hectares) in size, incorporating the Stirling University Innovation Park and the Dementia Centre. The campus is located in the foothills of the Ochil Hills. In 2002, the University of Stirling and the landscape of the Airthrey Estate was designated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites as one of the UK's top 20 heritage sites of the 20th century.

As of 2022, the university has 14,000 part-time and full-time students. Stirling has international degree programme partnerships in China with Hebei Normal University, Singapore with Singapore Institute of Management, and Oman. The university offers a MSc in Human Rights & Diplomacy, which is the only Human Rights and Diplomacy programme in the world taught in partnership with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Stirling was the first new university to be established in Scotland for nearly 400 years. The original site of the campus was selected from shortlisted competing sites, which include Falkirk, Perth and Inverness. The author of the Robbins Review, which recommended an expansion of the number of universities in the UK during the 1960s, Lord Robbins, was appointed as the university's first chancellor in 1968. In 1967 a house for the university principal Tom Cottrell was completed, designed by architects Morris and Steedman. It was listed as category A in 2009.

The Pathfoot Building, which represented the first phase of development on the campus, was completed in 1968 and originally housed lecture theatres, offices and classrooms in addition to the 'crush hall' where the university displayed its emerging collection of contemporary Scottish art. The building was extended in 1979 to include a Tropical Aquarium and again in 1987 to include a Virology Unit associated with the university's Institute of Aquaculture. In 1993, the Pathfoot Building was selected by the international conservation organisation DoCoMoMo as one of sixty key Scottish monuments of the post-war era. It was also voted as one of Prospect's 100 best modern Scottish buildings. In 1970, development began on what was subsequently named the Cottrell Building, in memory of the university's first principal Cottrell. It comprises two parallel buildings with cross link corridors and interspersed courtyard gardens. The building today houses most of the university administration, lecture theatres, departmental offices, classrooms and computer laboratories. The University Library, Atrium and MacRobert Centre are housed in an adjoining building, the Andrew Miller Building, which was completed in 1971.

On 13 October 1972, during a visit to the new campus by HM The Queen, she was subjected to a rowdy reception by booing students, widely reported in the media. The students were protesting about the lack of social spaces in what was at the time a relatively newly built university. On the 14 October 1972 the University Court ordered an immediate investigation into the students’ behaviour. Twenty-four students allegedly involved were charged for the disruption. Jackie McKie was cleared on 15 December 1972. On February 12 1973 students boycotted the ensuing disciplinary trials. When Linda Quinn, the President of the Council of Students’ Association, appealed against her conviction in early March 1973, students organised a mass demonstration to mark the event. Eventually all charges were dropped. Linda Quinn completed her studies at Stirling. There were no further Royal visits until 2011, when Prince Edward formally opened the refurbished library.

A department of Business studies was set up in 1982. The Institute of Aquaculture, a research institute specialising in fish farming and genetics, opened the same year. In 1983 it sold 300 acres of land to Wang Laboratories. The R.G. Bomont Building (named after the second University Secretary), which houses the Faculty of Social Science, was completed in 1998. The Iris Murdoch building was opened in 2002 to house The Dementia Services Development Centre, and the Colin Bell Building was completed in 2003.

The university campus is set within 330 acres (1.3 km²) of grounds beneath the Ochil Hills, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the centre of Stirling, close to the town of Bridge of Allan. It is regularly described as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world and was ranked 1st in the UK for its campus environment in the International Student Barometer 2016. It is situated on the site of the historic Airthrey estate which includes the Robert Adam-designed 18th-century Airthrey Castle and includes the Hermitage woods, Airthrey Loch, Airthrey Golf Course. The Andrew Miller Building incorporates an Atrium, which contains several retail and food outlets including a bookstore, bank and general store. This building links the Library and Robbins' Centre Students' Union and has connecting bridges to the Cottrell Building, on-campus student residences and the MacRobert Arts Centre.