Edinburgh University

Founded in 1582, it’s the sixth-oldest university in the English-speaking world, ranked as one of the Top 10 in Europe and with a world-renowned medical school amongst the many jewels in its crown. Its buildings account for some of the city's most stunning architecture, making up a huge part of the look and feel of its majestic city.

With over 60,000 applications every year, Edinburgh University is the second most popular uni in the UK and one of the hardest to get accepted to. It has the biggest land endowment of any university in the UK after Cambridge and Oxford, and has links to the Royal Family, with the Duke of Edinburgh serving as Chancellor from 1953 to 2010 and Princess Anne taking the role since 2011.

It helped earn Edinburgh the nickname ‘the Athens of the North’ by playing a key role in the city becoming an intellectual hub during in the Age of Enlightenment, and its reputation for nurturing world-beating talent has continued ever since. Alumni include Charles Darwin, Joseph Lister, David Hume, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson and J.M. Barrie as well as a total of 23 Nobel Prize winners - pretty impressive footsteps to be following in!

iQ offer a range of student room options near Edinburgh University, all within walking distance of the university campus and Edinburgh's historic city centre. With Elliot House overlooking the Royal Terrace Gardens and giving views of Calton Hill, Grove handily situated between Haymarket Train Station and the glorious Meadows, and Fountainbridge on a direct bus route to the uni campuses outside of town, we’ve got all bases covered.

See all our Edinburgh student accommodation

Image credit: Loren Kerns