Glasgow Caledonian University

Glasgow Caledonian University (informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley) is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen’s College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and Glasgow Polytechnic (founded in 1971).

In June 2017, the university’s New York partner institution, which was founded in 2013, was granted permission to award degrees in the state, the first higher education institution founded by a foreign university to achieve this status.

The University traces its origin from The Queen’s College, Glasgow (founded 1875) and the Glasgow Polytechnic (founded 1971). The Queen’s College, which specialised in providing training in domestic science, received the Royal accolade of being named after Queen Elizabeth in its centenary celebrations in 1975. Queen Elizabeth was, herself, Patron of the College since 1944. Glasgow Polytechnic, which was one of the largest central institutions in Scotland, offered externally validated degrees and diplomas in engineering, science, and the humanities: the first of which was a BA in Optics, followed by degrees in Social Sciences (1973) and Nursing (1977).

On 1 April 1993, the two institutions amalgamated to form Glasgow Caledonian University. The new university took its name from Caledonia, the poetic Latin name for present-day Scotland. The main campus of the university is built on the site of the former Buchanan Street Station, built by the Caledonian Railway.

Independent research carried out in 2015 revealed that the University contributes over £480m to Scotland’s economy each year with the quantifiable lifetime premium of a one-year class of graduates estimated at around £400m, bringing the University’s total annual economic impact to around £880m in Scotland alone.

Annie Lennox was installed as GCU’s first female chancellor, taking over the role from Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, at a ceremony in July 2018. Pamela Gilliesis the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, appointed in 2006.

GCU offers academic programmes in all of the Scottish Funding Council funding groups but medicine, dentistry and teacher education. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise gave the University an ‘internationally recognised’ research profile in a multitude of disciplines. Over 70% of the University’s research submissions were judged as being internationally recognised and 30% were deemed world-leading or of international excellence. In 2015, the QAA awarded the University its highest judgement for academic standards, whilst praising the University’s innovative academic approaches. In 2013, GCU was awarded the HR Excellence in Research Award by the European Commission, in recognition of its commitment to the development of researchers. This has been retained in 2015 following its two-year review.

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Courses Available

• Accounting, Business, Management and Marketing
• Architecture, Building, Planning and Design
• Biology and Biomedical Sciences
• Computer Science and Information Technology
• Engineering
• Foreign Studies (Language, Literature and Linguistics)
• Health Professions
• Hospitality and Culinary
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Law and Legal Studies
• Veterinary, Agricultural and Food Sciences

How to Apply?

For International Students

Types of Scholarships Available

Scholarships