The College

We are one of three academic Colleges at the University of Edinburgh, with more than 4,000 staff and around 28,000 students from 150 different countries.

Head of College Professor Sarah Prescott speaks about the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. CAHSS is one of three academic colleges at the University of Edinburgh and offers one of the broadest ranges of academic choice in the UK.

Hello, everyone. My name is Sarah Prescott and I'm Vice Principal and Head of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. This is a very large college. We have about 4,000 staff and 28,000 students crossing primarily undergraduate but also postgraduate taught and postgraduate research as well. We also have an additional approximately 5,000 students working primarily through the Centre for Open Learning, but on diplomas, certificates, et cetera. So it's a really exciting place to be, a real range of students. I think they come from about 150 countries across the world. I think one of the real positives about the College and about the University of Edinburgh is the people that we're fortunate to work alongside. The College is also very broad and diverse in terms of its structure. Our College hosts 11 academic schools, the cross-university Centre for Open Learning, the Edinburgh Futures Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities. It's very large and diverse but this makes it an incredible place to work and study.

Our students, staff, alumni and friends are our lifeblood and most valuable asset. Our culture focuses around community, with staff and student experience and wellbeing firmly at the centre of all we do. Our world-leading research and teaching spans across a breadth of disciplines from business, education, law and sport; to politics, philosophy, psychology, languages and linguistics.

We offer one of the broadest ranges of academic choice in the UK, attracting students at undergraduate and postgraduate level from over 160 countries. Our student community is made up of over 18000 undergraduate students, over 7800 postgraduate taught students, and over 2400 postgraduate research students. We also provide various pathways into undergraduate study, short courses and seasonal provision for approximately 2600 students.

CAHSS is a vibrant and diverse community, committed to producing outstanding research and teaching that enriches our culture and society, and enhances justice, well-being and sustainability across the globe. Inspiring and enabling our academic community to achieve their ambitious goals for research and knowledge exchange is our core focus.

We have around 3,700 academic staff and more than 1,300 colleagues in Professional Services roles across our 11 academic Schools, the Centre for Open Learning, the Edinburgh Futures Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities.

George Square gardens in spring : five of our schools, and many student facilities including the Main Library, are clustered around here.

Our academic standing

We are ranked 11th in the world and 4th in the UK for Arts & Humanities (QS World University rankings 2025). We are ranked 38th in the world and 7th in the UK for Social Sciences (World University Rankings).

We are also in the world's top 30 and the UK's top 10 universities for Anthropology, Classics and Ancient History, Education and Training, English Language and Literature, History, Law and Legal Studies, Linguistics, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology, Social Policy and Administration, Sociology, as well as Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025).

Strategy 2030

CAHSS support the University's Strategy 20230 initiative, which aims to improve and transition the learning and research environments across four broad themes: People, Research, Teaching and Learning, and Social and Civic Responsibility.

Strategy 2030

 

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