Introduction to the College

What is the College of Science and Engineering and what are its key functions, structures and aims?

College vision

We deliver impact for society.

As part of a truly global university, rooted in Scotland’s capital city, we make a significant, sustainable and socially responsible contribution to the world.

College mission

We discover, develop and share knowledge.

As a centre of academic excellence we aim to:

provide the highest-quality research-led teaching and learning;
challenge the boundaries of knowledge, research and disciplines;
enable our graduates and staff to be exceptional individuals equipped to address global challenges;
promote good health, economic growth, cultural understanding and social well-being.

University of Edinburgh Strategic Plan

Senior Management

Head of College

Professor Iain Gordon

College Registrar

Anne Payne

Full College Office staff contact list

Staff and student numbers

The College of Science and Engineering currently has:

10,796 total students
- 7,559 undergraduate students
- 1,352 postgraduate taught students
- 1,599 postgraduate research students
- 286 online learning students
2,897 total staff
- 1,786 academic staff
- 1,111 professional services staff

Figures from February 2024

College structure

The University of Edinburgh is comprised of 21 academic schools, each school belongs to one of three colleges:

College of Science and Engineering (CSE)
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS)
College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine (CMVM)

There is also an administrative office within each College which carries out specific centralised functions on behalf of their schools (see College Office).

We also have two centres of excellence, EPCC specialising in Supercomputing and the Bayes Centre , the Universityʼs innovation hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Our Schools and Centres

The seven College Schools are:

Physics and Astronomy

And our two centres of excellence:

EPCC

The Bayes Centre

Kings Buildings Library — The Library at King's Buildings

Research

As a major, comprehensive university we conduct research of the highest standard across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Our discipline-specific research is impressive but we also focus on challenging our researchers to explore the space between traditional disciplines, creating transformational discoveries that enrich society.

REF 2021 results

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions.

As a College, our REF 2021 results were outstanding.

96% of our research was classed as either world leading or internationally excellent with 55% classed at the highest level of world leading.

When including the assessment of our joint submissions, we are in the top 5 in the UK across all Schools and College Centres for research power and two of our units of assessment are at the very top (from Times Higher Education rankings). No other university outside of the Oxford-Cambridge-London “golden triangle” achieved this level of performance.

More information on our Research

The College Office

The College Office is the central administrative function at CSE and carries out the following tasks:

central admissions and administration for undergraduate and postgraduate students in Science & Engineering
on-course administration for all students
administration of promotions and other academic staff affairs
estates, finance, procurement and human resources services for the College
public engagement and communications services for the College
support for research and strategic projects
a number of other cross-College or cross-University programmes

More information on the College Office

History

Science has been taught at Edinburgh since the sixteenth century, when it was known as 'natural philosophy'. The seventeenth century saw the institution of the University Chairs of Mathematics and Botany, followed the next century by Chairs of Natural History, Astronomy, Chemistry and Agriculture. During the eighteenth century, the University was a key contributor to the Scottish Enlightenment and it educated many of the leading scientists of the time.

Many famous and important alumni have studied here including Charles Darwin.

Location

The College is located across two sites within Edinburgh at King's Buildings and the Central Campus

Location & map