The Robert Gordon University, commonly referred to as RGU, is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon, a prosperous Aberdeen merchant, and various institutions which provided adult education and technical education in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of two universities in the city (the other is the much older University of Aberdeen).
According to the 2013 Times Good University Guide it is the best modern university in the UK, while according to The Guardian University Guide 2013 it is the best modern university in Scotland and 2nd-best in the UK. It was shortlisted for Sunday Times University of the Year 2012 and was named Best Modern University in the UK for 2012 by The Sunday Times University Guide. Of those who graduated from full-time undergraduate degrees in 2011, 2012 and 2013, over 97% were in employment or further study within six months - the most of any university in the UK.
The university, which brands itself “the professional university”, awards degrees in a wide range of disciplines from BA/BSc to PhD, primarily in (but not limited to) professional, technical and artistic disciplines and those most applicable to business and industry. A number of traditional academic degree programmes are also offered, such as in the social sciences. Disciplines available include the social sciences, life sciences, engineering, computing science, pharmacy, nursing, allied health professions, social work, law, accountancy, business administration, management, journalism, fine art, applied arts and design, and architecture. In addition, the university's academic and research staff produce world-class research in a number of areas.
RGU is a campus university and its single campus in Aberdeen is at Garthdee, in the south-west suburbs of the city amid parkland on the banks of the River Dee. The university also operates an Administration Building in Aberdeen city centre, at Schoolhill. Until summer 2013 a second campus was also located here and at St. Andrew Street nearby, but this campus has now closed apart from the Administration Building, which is to be retained. Academic departments located there have moved to new buildings at the main Garthdee campus.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Founding institutions
1.2 Child and adult education combined: Robert Gordon’s College (1881)
1.3 Splitting child from adult: Robert Gordon’s Technical College (1910 on)
1.4 Technical College to Institute (1965) to University (1992)
1.5 The Robert Gordon University (1992 to present)
2 Campus
2.1 City Centre facilities
2.1.1 Administration Building
2.1.2 Student Union
2.2 Garthdee campus
3 Organisation and governance
3.1 Academic faculties
3.2 Governance
4 Academic profile
4.1 Reputation and rankings
4.2 Graduate employment
4.3 Research
5 Symbols and Corporate Identity
5.1 Coat of Arms
5.2 Motto
5.3 Ceremonial mace
5.4 Tartan
6 Student life
6.1 Student Association
6.2 Student Media
6.3 Accommodation
6.4 Sports
6.5 Alumni
7 International partners
8 Honorary notable graduates
8.1 Donald Trump controversy
9 References
10 External links
History
Administration Building on Schoolhill in Aberdeen city centre.
Main plaza at Garthdee campus (2013)
The university derives from Robert Gordon's Hospital, an institution set up in the mid-18th century to provide the poor with a basic education and reasonable start in life, and the various educational institutions which developed in Aberdeen to provide adults with technical, vocational and artistic training, mostly in the evenings and part-time. Following numerous mergers between these establishments, it became Robert Gordon's Technical College in 1910, then following further developments became Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology in 1965 and began to conduct increasing amounts of research and provide degree-level education (by now mostly offering day classes to full-time students). Finally, it became a university in 1992. Unlike some modern universities in the UK which were created following the government reforms of 1992, it has never been a polytechnic (these were never part of the Scottish education system).
Founding institutions
Robert Gordon was a Scottish merchant, who had grown up in Aberdeen and graduated from Marischal College. Following a successful career, mostly in Danzig where he amassed a fortune, he retired to Aberdeen around 1720. In the last decade of his life, he prepared plans for a Hospital similar to that founded in Edinburgh by George Heriot. The purpose of Robert Gordon’s Hospital was “the Maintenance, Aliment, Entertainment and Education of young boys whose parents are poor and indigent… and to put them to Trades and Employment”. Gordon died in 1731, and left his entire fortune to the project. However, it took nearly two decades for buildings to be completed, with the first boys admitted in 1750. The aim was not a sophisticated education, but to provide the poor with a reasonable start in life. Boys were taken in between 8 and 11 years old and received food, accommodation and a basic education including English, Latin, writing and arithmetic. They left the Hospital between 14 and 16 years old as an apprentice in a trade or to a merchant. The Hospital expanded through the 18th and 19th centuries.
Meanwhile, in the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution led to a greater need for scientific and technical education for working-class adults, with “Mechanic’s Institutes” spreading through Scotland, patterned on that founded by George Birkbeck at Glasgow (he would later found Birkbeck College, the University of London’s night school). The Aberdeen Mechanic’s Institution opened in 1824 providing evening classes in subjects such as physics, chemistry, mathematics, book-keeping, maritime navigation and art. By 1855 it was receiving government funding as the School of Science and Art, with a Technical School founded two years later.
Bust of John Gray, whose philanthropy founded Gray's School of Art
Plate-glass windows reflect the colours of autumn at Gray's School of Art building, Garthdee campus.
Child and adult education combined: Robert Gordon’s College (1881)
Government education reforms in the 1870s saw the “Hospital” system fall out of favour and encouraged mergers with other educational establishments. As part of these reforms, the Aberdeen Mechanic’s Institute and Technical School merged with Robert Gordon’s Hospital in 1881. The resulting institution was known as Robert Gordon’s College. It provided an education for boys but as a day school only, and evening (and later day) classes for adults (male and female) in science, technology, commerce and general subjects. Art classes offered by the Mechanic’s Institution were transferred to a new, independent School of Art close by, paid for by local businessman John Gray and opened in 1885.
Splitting child from adult: Robert Gordon’s Technical College (1910 on)
By the end of the 19th century, Robert Gordon’s College was a major provider of technical education, receiving large government grants. Following further reforms, in 1903 the adult education part of the College was designated a Central Institution along with Gray’s School of Art (which became a Central Institution two years earlier), allowing the adult education activities to develop independently rather than under the control of the local School Board. However, even this was not sufficient to meet demand for technical education, and dedicated Technical Colleges were being set up in other Scottish cities. As a result, in 1910 adult education activities were split from the school and became Robert Gordon's Technical College. Also merged into the new Technical College was the city’s School of Domestic Economy which provided classes in domestic science. The day school for boys continued as Robert Gordon's College, and the two institutions shared a campus, buildings and until 1981, a Board of Governors and administrative staff.
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