School of Informatics and our community

Here in the School of Informatics postgraduate students are an important part of our community.

Our facilities

You will be based in the School of Informatics’ main teaching building, Appleton Tower, located on the University's central campus in the George Square area of the city. The building provides purpose-built facilities and dedicated learning and teaching spaces. You will also have classes in the Nucleus Building, located in the King’s Building campus.

As an Informatics student you will have access to computing labs in Appleton Tower. All our desktops are high spec and run the latest version of Ubuntu.

In the project phase you will also have access to Appleton Tower's floor 9 (accessed only by master's students at this time) which has computing labs, private study spaces and beautiful panoramic views across Edinburgh.

Appleton Tower - level 9
Level 9 of Appleton Tower

Visit our buildings virtually

You can also explore the School of Informatics buildings and the surrounding areas on the University's Virtual Visit platform.

In this recording, 3rd year Informatics student, Donald Jennings takes you on a virtual tour around Appleton Tower. 

We recommend that students obtain a personal laptop for their studies, although it does not need to be new or powerful.

We have advice on what to buy, or how to borrow a laptop:  

Informatics Student Laptop Guidance

All students also have access to computing facilities in Appleton Tower, and remote access to computing servers to run software that is too demanding to set up or run on a personal machine. 


All students have a named Student Adviser who you can visit in the Informatics Teaching Organisation office, located in Appleton Tower. The team provide general support and guidance to students who are encountering difficulties with any aspect of University life.

Where appropriate they will liaise with other University Support Services, so they are able to provide the best possible support and advice for you. They can also help with a wide range of administrative and practical issues to do with your degree programme.


You can chat to students studying on postgraduate degrees with us about their experience of studying in Edinburgh. You can do this using our Unibuddy platform. You can use the filters to find students currently studying your chosen subject, or to find students from your home country.

Our students can't wait to chat to you and answer your questions about student life in Edinburgh.


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