University of Stirling

The University of Stirling stands on a 360-acre estate once home to Airthrey Castle, in the foothills of the Ochil Hills near Stirling. The campus mixes modern buildings with landscaped grounds that include Airthrey Loch and the Hermitage woods. In 2002 the International Council on Monuments and Sites named the estate one of the UK’s top 20 heritage sites of the 20th century. The university opened in 1967 as Scotland’s first new university in nearly 400 years, chosen from sites including Falkirk and Perth. Its first chancellor was Lord Robbins, author of the Robbins Review on university expansion. The Pathfoot Building, completed in 1968, once housed lecture theatres and a crush hall for contemporary Scottish art. The university is recognised for its human-rights programme run with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. It also hosts the Institute of Aquaculture and the Dementia Services Development Centre. The Cottrell Building, finished in 1970, remains the administrative heart of the campus. The Andrew Miller Building links the library, students’ union and MacRobert Arts Centre with retail outlets and a bookstore. The library reopened in 2010 after refurbishment and holds over half a million books plus archives of Patrick McGrath and Norman McLaren. The Pathfoot Building displays a fine-art collection of more than 300 works. Visitors walk through the estate’s wooded paths and past Airthrey Loch to reach the 18th-century castle. The MacRobert Arts Centre offers theatre and cinema open to the public. The sports centre includes a 50-metre pool built for national competitions and a nine-hole golf course. Student residences are scattered across the campus, with newer blocks added since 2013. The Gannochy National Tennis Centre and all-weather pitches support five performance sports. The setting beneath the Ochils and the blend of modern and historic buildings give the campus its distinctive atmosphere.