School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh

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The School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh is part of the College of Science and Engineering and is based in Edinburgh, UK. Engineering has been taught here since the 1600s, and the university educated many famous engineers, including the Stevenson family, John Rennie, and Robert Stephenson. In 1868 the Regius Professor of Engineering created a formal school, with Henry Fleeming Jenkin as the first chair and beginning the Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree.

Initially part of the Faculty of Arts, the school joined the new Faculty of Science in 1893. Early 20th-century leadership under Thomas Hudson Beare helped grow student numbers, build new facilities, and establish separate honours in civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering (chemical engineering followed later). The school sometimes collaborated with Heriot-Watt College during its early development.

Ronald Arnold arrived in 1946, boosting research alongside teaching. The 1960s brought new facilities, chairs, and the establishment of separate departments: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. In the 1990s the school briefly included computer science and artificial intelligence as part of “Engineering and Information Technology” before becoming the standalone School of Informatics. Since 2002 the school has four main disciplines: chemical engineering; civil and environmental engineering; electronics and electrical engineering; and mechanical engineering, and it is the largest school in the College.

The school runs major research through institutes, including a long-running collaboration with Heriot-Watt University since 2005. The Edinburgh Research Partnership in Engineering supports joint research efforts.

The School has moved locations several times: Old College (until 1906), High School Yards (1906–1932), and its long-time home at King’s Buildings since 1932. The Sanderson Building, funded by James Sanderson, was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer and John Fraser Matthew and is Category B listed. Many alumni and staff are Fellows of major societies and members of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame.