University of St Andrews

Undergraduate applications

UK students apply through UCAS. International students may apply through only one of three routes: UCAS, the Common Application or the St Andrews Direct Application; an application by any route counts as one of the five UK choices allowed each year. Applications need qualifications (achieved or predicted), a personal statement and an academic reference. Transfer, direct entry to second year (Faculty of Science) and part-time day and evening study are also offered.

Deadlines

• 15 October at 6pm (GMT): Medicine
• 13 January at 6pm (GMT): all other subjects, the equal consideration deadline (2027 entry prospectus)
• 30 June: all other international applicants

Applicants who apply by the relevant equal consideration deadline receive a decision by May of the year in which they apply.

Typical entry grades

Grades depend on the programme. The general ranges are SQA Highers BBBB to AAAAB; A-levels ABB to A*A*A; International Baccalaureate 36 (HL 6,5,5) to 38 (HL 6,6,6 plus SL 6,6,6). BTEC National Diploma (Level 3): D, D, D* where AAA is required and D, D, D where AAB is required. Also accepted: Cambridge Pre-U, Welsh Baccalaureate with A-levels, HNC ('A' graded unit), HND ('AA' graded unit), SWAP Access (AAA), Access to HE Diploma (minimum 45 Level 3 credits at Distinction and Merit) and Foundation Apprenticeships. T Levels are not currently accepted. All applicants must also meet general entry requirements: SQA National 5 (B) or GCSE (5) in English and in one of Biology, Chemistry, Computing Science, Geography, Mathematics, Physics or Psychology.

Contextual and widening access entry

Programmes list standard entry grades, lower minimum entry grades for widening access applicants, and gateway entry grades. A guaranteed offer is made to UK applicants who are care experienced, or who live in the 20% most deprived areas of Scotland (SIMD20) and attend a school with 30% or lower progression to higher education, provided the minimum asking rates in required subjects are met. Alternative routes for Scottish students include the FE-HE Pathways to Arts and Science and the Gateway programmes to Arts, Science and Medicine.

Interviews and tests

Most applicants are not interviewed. Interviews apply to Medicine, the Gateway and Pathway programmes, part-time study and the International Foundation programmes. Medicine applicants sit the UCAT.

International undergraduate entry

Country pages set out academic and English language requirements for each country. Overseas students whose school-leaving qualification is not recognised for direct entry can take an International Foundation programme (September or January entry), including International Year Zero in Business, Science, and Social Sciences and Humanities; Medical Sciences International Pre-Med and Extended International Pre-Med; and International Year One programmes leading to second year of science degrees. Applying is free with no entrance test, and accommodation is guaranteed.

English language requirements

Nationals of UKVI majority English-speaking countries, and applicants with a qualifying English-medium school-leaving qualification, normally need no test. Others need a test score within two years of the programme start date. Arts and Divinity (except English) use profile 3-D: IELTS Academic 7.0 overall with 6.5 in each component; PTE Academic 79 (76 in each); TOEFL iBT (pre-2026) 91; Duolingo 140. Science uses profile 7-D: IELTS Academic 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each component; PTE Academic 70 (64 in each); TOEFL iBT (pre-2026) 81; Duolingo 130. The School of English uses profile 1-D and Medicine profile 2-M. Pre-sessional courses of 4 or 10 weeks can meet the requirement; students needing a visa must hold a Secure English Language Test (SELT).

Postgraduate taught

UK applicants are expected to hold at least an upper second-class (2:1) honours degree or equivalent; country pages give equivalents (for example, a GPA of 3.5/4.0 or 65% for Ghana). Applications for MSc, MLitt, MRes, Conversion Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate programmes are made online from the course page, with a £50 application fee (waivers in some circumstances). Applications open in early August; most taught Masters start in September and close on 6 August 2026, and decisions take around three weeks once an application is complete.

Postgraduate research

MPhil, PhD, MSc(Res), MSt(Res), EngD, MFA and MRes Medicine applications can usually be made at any time, but some Schools and funders set deadlines, and many scholarships close between December and February. PhD applicants should identify a supervisor whose research matches their project. Start dates are 27 August, 27 September, 27 October, 27 January or 27 May, with September encouraged.

Visas

Overseas students typically need a visa, which requires a UKVI-approved SELT, and must show sufficient funds to complete their studies.

The University occupies sites across the town of St Andrews, Fife, with a further campus at Guardbridge.

• Town centre (St Andrews): historic heart of the University, including St Salvator's Quad and Chapel, St Leonard's Chapel, St Mary's College (Divinity) with St Mary's College Library and the 17th-century King James Library, the Main Library (the largest University library, with silent and group study areas and a café), the Butts Wynd Building with 24-hour PC classrooms, the Laidlaw Music Centre and Younger Hall.
• North Haugh (St Andrews): science and medical buildings, including the Medical and Biological Sciences Building, the Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, the Physics and Astronomy building with the JF Allen Library, the Purdie building with the Dr Ettie Stewart Steele Reading Room, the Gateway building with the Library at the Gateway, the University Observatory, and Powell Hall.
• East Sands (St Andrews): the Gatty Marine Laboratory, home of the Scottish Oceans Institute and the Sea Mammal Research Unit.
• Eden Campus (Guardbridge): Walter Bower House, with the Walter Bower House Reading Room and the Library's browsable store, and the scholarships and funding office.
• Kennedy Gardens (St Andrews): Kinnessburn, base of the International Foundation programmes and English language teaching.

Residences: undergraduate halls include Agnes Blackadder Hall, Andrew Melville Hall, David Russell Apartments, Fife Park, Gannochy House, John Burnet Hall, McIntosh Hall, Powell Hall, St Regulus Hall, St Salvator's Hall, University Hall and Whitehorn Hall, in catered and self-catered, standard and en suite options. Postgraduate residences include Angus House and Stanley Smith House, Deans Court, Gregory Place, The Grange (with parking, green spaces and a play area), Fife Park, Powell Hall and furnished houses in Leuchars, with studio apartments for couples. First-year undergraduates and overseas-fee postgraduate taught students can be eligible for an accommodation guarantee.

Other facilities: the libraries hold over one million print volumes; Saints Sport runs the Sports Centre, fitness services and more than 35 exercise classes a week; two primary care medical practices in the town work with the Student Health Hub, staffed by the University; and Student Services runs the Advice and Support Centre, disability, wellbeing, counselling and money advice services.