Undergraduate study at St Andrews

Number 1 in the UK, the University of St Andrews offers an unforgettable higher education experience. Founded in 1413, Scotland’s oldest University is a mix of the dynamically modern and the evocatively historical.

Home to just over 8,000 undergraduate students, learn from leading academics and immerse yourself in your chosen field whilst exploring additional subjects through our flexible degree structure.

With 41% of our student body coming from outside of the UK, St Andrews provides a truly diverse and vibrant student community with a global outlook. As a St Andrews student you be joining a university which is progressive and forward-thinking. With more than 180 societies, 50 sports clubs and 500 student representatives, the student experience at St Andrews is consistently ranked highly by students.

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Student experience

St Andrews students are some of the most satisfied in the country. Find out what makes our student experience so unique.

Accommodation

Where you live is a big part of your university experience. Explore some of the options available.

Illustrative photo of students during a seminar at St Andrews.

Scholarships and funding

Find out more about scholarships, loans, and other ways to fund your degree.

How to apply

Ready for your next chapter? Find out what you need to do to make an application.

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Meet us

Explore opportunities to meet with us in St Andrews, online and in your country.

Foundation programmes

Gain english and academic skills to help prepare you for successful university study.

Flexible degree structure

The four-year structure for most of our degree programmes allows you to study a broad range of subjects before settling on your choice of degree.

You will study three subjects in first year and two or three in second year, depending on your subject. Third and fourth years are Honours years where you specialise further in your chosen subject.

Explore the flexible degree structure

Video transcript

The flexible degree structure at the University of St Andrews gives you more choice in your studies.

Most of our degrees take four years.

You start by studying three subjects and then specialise as you progress.

This gives you more breadth to your education as well as enabling you to study subjects you are passionate about.

At the start of your studies you will choose two additional subjects alongside the subject or subjects you have been
admitted to study.

In first year you will study three subjects each semester.

If you apply for a single honours programme within our Faculty of Arts you would pick another two subjects to make up your timetable.

In second year you can choose to change up to two of your subjects.

Maybe another field of study has caught your attention or your interests have changed.

The choice is there for you.

If you are studying a science programme in second year you will choose two subjects to make up your timetable instead of three.

Once you reach third year it is now time to decide what your final degree is going to be.

Together with your advisor of studies you will either choose to work towards a single honours degree or a joint honours degree.

Your single honours degree can be in any subject that you have studied at both first and second year levels already and does not have to be what you initially applied for.

Similarly a joint honours degree can be any two of the subjects you have studied at first and second year level.

The flexible degree structure lets you study multiple subject areas, learn more skills and change the course of your
degree should you find that another subject is a better fit.

Please visit our website to learn more about the subjects you can study or contact our admissions team.