Our reputation

Making our impact by thinking differently

Since our founding in 1967, the University of Stirling has always been driven by transformative thinking and a spirit of innovation. Our mission is to do everything we can to give our students the knowledge and expertise to make their impact in the world.

Everything we do makes a positive difference to people's lives. We are an agent for change, connecting people, innovating and transforming the lives of our students, staff and the global communities we serve. We have a constant desire to innovate and improve in order to make a difference to society. It’s how we’ve earned our global reputation for high-quality teaching and internationally acclaimed research.

Stirling research: changing lives

Our aim is simple. From feeding the world to using psychology to catch criminals, we want to tackle the global issues of our time. Our multi-disciplinary researchers challenge assumptions, innovate thinking and find solutions.

Our research themes are:

Highly rated courses, high rate of employability

We’re proud of the way we prepare our students with life-long careers and employability skills. It’s why 96% of our graduates were in employment or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes 2020-21, HESA).

Our students love the way we teach. As part of the QS Stars University Ratings 2021, the University of Stirling was awarded 5 stars in the areas of teaching and employability. We're ranked top 10 in the UK for good teachers and expert lectures (International Student Barometer 2022).

The Stirling experience

Students are at the heart of everything we do, and we aim to provide one of the best all-round student experiences in the UK. Stirling is a beautiful, historic city with easy access to beautiful, wild landscapes and outdoor activities. We also enjoy fast transport links to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Find out more about the city of Stirling.

People in cycling studio

At the forefront of sporting excellence

From producing Olympians to teaching children to swim, we live and breathe sport. We’re Scotland's University for Sporting Excellence, a designation by the Scottish Government in recognition of our contribution to Scottish sport and for training Scottish athletes to successfully compete at international sporting events such as the Olympic Games and the Walker Cup.

Fish farm in loch

Winner of the UK’s highest academic honour

The Institute of Aquaculture was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2019.

Queen's Anniversary Prize

A beautiful campus

Our stunning campus, with its castle and loch enjoys views of the foothills of the Scottish Highlands. Our campus enjoys a vibrant and friendly atmosphere – we're 1st in the UK and top 3 in the world for campus environment (International Student Barometer (ISB) 2022).

International outlook, Scottish hospitality

Stirling is an international university that welcomes the world with proud Scottish hospitality. Thinking and working globally is part of our daily teaching and research practice. We’ve partnerships with over 70 universities worldwide while the contribution from our international students and staff from all over the world is crucial to our continued success and global outlook. We offer our students experiences of a lifetime through our Study Abroad programme and we prepare our students to thrive as global citizens in an increasingly connected world.

Ambitious future

Our global ambitions do not rest on our current success. We’ve launched new strategies with ambitious targets on our research profile and international standing so that we become one of the top 25 universities in the UK.

Read more about our Strategic Plan.