Where are all the locals? - Lack of Scots students at leading universities

Many of them arrive to the University of ­Edinburgh as socially ambitious young adults ready to expand their knowledge and appreciation of the world. This is fantastic. However, why do we not hear a ­Scottish ­accent? Maybe the Scottish students are not ­interested in imbibing the speciality grounds from Rwanda. But what about in the classrooms of ­Scotland’s leading universities?

Two of Scotland’s oldest and most prestigious ­higher education institutions, the University of ­Edinburgh and St Andrews University, have ­developed a ­reputation as places of study for English and American students – not for the Scottish. Yes, there are a few token Scottish people lurking in the corners of these universities trying to make sense of Foucault while also attempting to fit into the ­international make-up of their class. But these people are few.

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In my Spanish class in the city of Edinburgh, the teacher from Andalusia asked us language-learners to describe our cities with a short tourist slogan. I responded “Edimburgo: una ciudad escocesa sin ­Escoceses/Edinburgh: a Scottish city without ­Scottish people”. I was exaggerating, but the teacher and other language-learners, some non-Edinburgh Scots and some internationals, swiftly hummed in agreement and expressed their astonishment that being in the city felt like being in England – a quip many Glaswegians will throw at us east coasters.

I add that it also feels like being in a ­cosmopolitan city. But why does the city centre of Edinburgh feel like being in a global microcosm? The ­university ­dominates this space. And rather than relying on ­anecdotal evidence for this idea, I share a ­statistical overview of two leading Scottish universities to ­highlight the lack of Scottish students at these ­institutions.

In the latest Higher Education Statistics Agency data for 2019/20, we see that the constitution of the undergraduate population in these two universities is skewed towards non-Scottish students. At the ­University of Edinburgh, Scottish students made up 33% of the student body, and at St Andrews ­University, they constituted a similar amount of 32%. The Times and The Guardian have reported in recent years on the large American student population at St Andrews; earning it the colloquial reputation of being an American university.

To contextualise this information, we need to compare these numbers with some other main Scottish universities, for which I will use ­Glasgow, Dundee, Strathclyde, Stirling and Aberdeen. At these ­universities respectively, the Scottish ­population of the total is 65%, 73%, 85%, 70% and 59%. From this context, we see that Edinburgh and

St ­Andrews’ ­Scottish student population is miniscule in ­comparison to these other Scottish universities.

So what does that mean for Scotland’s future given that most of our political and social leaders study at top universities in Scotland and the rest of the UK?

First off, diversity is a wonderful and prosperous aspect of any life experience, be it in education, at work or in our social lives. For ­two of Scotland’s leading universities, it is ­auspicious to ­attract the world’s most ­ambitious ­students, ­future leaders and global thinkers. These people contribute to our intellectual ­exchange, personal development and our ­understanding of subjects from myriad perspectives.

However, the problem is that ­without Scottish students in humanities and ­social science classrooms discussing ­topics such as gender dynamics and the legacies of imperialism with their ­international ­classmates, Scotland loses the benefit of diversity and ­intellectual exchange. As many students arrive to these two ­universities from outside ­Scotland, they most often leave after ­completing their studies. Thus, how does ­Scotland gain from its ­investment in its top ­universities?

OF course, there are Scottish students at these universities who do benefit from their experiences there. Nevertheless, the numbers are so few in the humanities and social sciences that it means that not many of Scotland’s future active citizens have benefited from this experience.

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Data on the total number of ­Scottish ­students at Scottish universities does not show us what they study. So we need to establish some assumptions about these figures. Scottish students are not all studying humanities and social ­sciences. Therefore, the numbers in these ­classrooms are likely to be even smaller than at the university as a whole.

This conclusion becomes evident when we look at the percentage of Scottish students compared to their non-Scottish counterparts in the UK studying social sciences, historical and philosophical studies, and languages and area studies. Important to note, the data available only details the number for the UK as a whole – not in Scotland specifically. For social sciences, 7% of students were from ­Scotland, historical and philosophical studies 7%, languages and area studies 8%.

From these figures we can assume that in demographically skewed student ­bodies at the Universities of ­Edinburgh and St Andrews, the humanities and ­social ­sciences group have similarly low ­percentages of Scottish students. Thus, Scottish participation at these ­universities’ humanities and social ­sciences ­departments is extremely low. Why does that matter for Scotland’s ­society?

Humanities and social sciences are key subjects that teach our global population how to think critically, to increase our consideration for others, and to support local and transnational development. Moreover, they are the subjects that most global politicians studied in order to ­inform their attempts to improve our lives.

For example, from the 2019 UK ­General Election, the top six most studied subjects by MPs came from humanities and social sciences; representing 65% of university qualified MPs. Owing to humanities and social science degrees’ non-alignment to a specific job sector, they are frequently the degree of choice for the well-connected, leisurely classes. Humanities and social science subjects enable these people to enhance their appreciation of society and governance in order to facilitate their ­careers in politics.

Therefore, we need to increase the Scottish students who study in these ­departments at the nation’s top ­universities if we want to advance our Scottish society by having social, ­political and industrial leaders with strong ­understandings of these subjects. The top universities are “top” for a reason; they have the best facilities, instructors and researchers that empower their students to achieve their intellectual and personal ambitions.

By having more Scottish students ­absorbing a liberal education at its top universities, we will enable the growth of Scotland’s intellectual potential and build a more inclusive and considerate society.

In England, the University of Oxford and Cambridge have been the principal educators for the leaders of the ­“Britain project”. Whether it be educating ­colonial officials to direct the ­British ­empire, or for preparing future civil ­servants and ­politicians to support ­British control on the mainland, Oxbridge ­humanities and social sciences departments have been crucial elements in the ­education of ­British leaders. Although the ­number of Oxbridge graduates ­occupying ­parliament has also declined, Cantabs and Oxons continue to fill other influential socio-economic positions such as industry leaders, civil servants and financial decision-makers. So where do Scotland’s equivalent of Oxbridge students study?

Elite and ambitious Scots have also studied at these two prestigious universities. However, the privately educated Scot who studies Classics at Cambridge often remains in the “Golden ­Triangle” after graduating; taking up a job in ­London, but probably owning a holiday home in Fife in order to maintain their link to Scottishness. This archetype often supports the British project and contributes little to society in Scotland. Therefore, Scottish students at Oxbridge are unlikely to support social development in Scotland.

SO how does Scotland’s university system educate its future leaders and support the nation’s intellectual and social development? The rare Scottish student enters the liberal education departments of St Andrew’s or Edinburgh. Most of the Scots wanting to study social science or humanities disciplines go to the other universities. Dundee, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Aberdeen and Stirling have become the principal universities for Scottish students of these subjects to go to for their undergraduate education.

Glasgow University and others have become the establishments students flock to for humanities and social sciences

Problematic from this trend, these ­students are undermined from the start. Unless they are at the ­University of ­Glasgow, they do not receive the ­education standard from that of a ­Russell Group university. Their place of choice has resource issues with almost no ­research experience opportunities, no scholarships and grants to support study, limited physical sources and online ­databases, and a teaching body that are exhausted from being overworked due to lack of funding for staff.

Beyond the resource scarcity is the cultural capital issue of not studying at a lead university. Employers discriminate; there is no negating that reality. Whether consciously or subconsciously, reading a CV with a prestigious university on it leads employers to privilege people who studied at one. Moreover, receiving a first class education also often translates into a firstst class application. ­Consequently, Scottish students outside the elite ­university domain have to work extra hard to defeat preferences for high-titled university graduates.

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Thus, the Scottish university system does not support the individual development of its higher education populace, which transfers onto not supporting the society’s development.

One reason that there are so few ­Scottish students at St Andrew’s and ­Edinburgh is that governments have slashed funding for the humanities and social sciences for years. Therefore, these universities need to recruit non-Scottish fee-paying students to fund the departments. This reduces the space for accepting Scottish students.

Another factor is that to increase income, these universities need to build a global reputation to attract non-Scottish students. Educating Scottish students who stay in Scotland will not improve their global brands. Edinburgh and St Andrews educate non-Scottish students in order to attract more of these students so that they can fund their humanities and social sciences departments. It is a vicious cycle.

Our governments in Scotland and Westminster must do more to support these disciplines if we are to realise the intellectual potential of Scottish society through higher education in the humanities and social sciences.

These disciplines teach the majority of our social and political leaders how to lead. And for those who do not wish to be leaders, these disciplines are invaluable for teaching society how to think critically, how to research and how to communicate knowledge clearly. Together, these skills also create a more considerate and inclusive society.

Does Scotland want to harness its intellectual ability to engineer a Scotland that facilitates inspiring leadership, critical thinkers and compassionate citizens? If so, it needs to channel more resources into making this a reality through supporting Scottish students to study these disciplines.

Ultimately, St Andrew’s and Edinburgh do not contribute much to Scotland’s ­potential progress as a nation. They train many future leaders, but most of them will depart Edinburgh from Waverly Station or the airport at Ingliston to take their high-quality education to different polities.

We need more Scottish students sitting side-by-side with these individuals at the leading universities so that students who are more likely to remain in Scotland can augment the nation’s development.

And for those students not at ­Edinburgh or St Andrews, or one of the other medieval universities, we need more ­government support for the ­humanities and social sciences departments. ­People from all backgrounds deserve to ­enjoy the rewards of a high-quality liberal ­education in Scotland. Only by achieving that goal can we improve the way that the Scottish university system supports our national development.