Parents guide: About Abertay University

Why choose Abertay University?

Abertay University delivers industry-relevant degrees, in a wide range of subjects, with accreditations from professional bodies providing great career prospects. The skills and knowledge we teach are created in partnership with industry, so all our courses are vocational. Put simply, we produce work-ready graduates with degrees rooted in the real world.

The majority of undergraduate degrees provide work placements so they'll gain necessary career experience as they study. We know it's important to think outside the textbook, giving everyone the opportunity to combine theory with practice, to learn from industry professionals as well as brilliant academics.

An Abertay education gives our students great opportunities for personal development: intellectually, professionally, and individually.

A friendly and welcoming learning environment

We pride ourselves on our welcoming environment. Our academic community come from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures. With over 50 nationalities represented on campus, our courses attract everyone from local school leavers to overseas research students.

Abertay, based in the great wee city of Dundee in Scotland, is small, friendly and world class. It's also one of the safest and most affordable cities in the UK.

Being small gives us room to really get to know our students properly. And that's unique.

About our undergraduate degrees

Our wide-ranging undergraduate degrees help develop your student into a confident, independent thinker who's ready to face the challenges of the world of work.

All Scottish degrees last four years. And if you live outside of Scotland or overseas, we have some scholarships that are automatic, to help your child financially.

Scottish degrees are recognised globally and highly valued. Read more about studying in Scotland.

Where is Abertay University?

We are based in the city centre of Dundee, a city on the east coast of Scotland.

Located on the north bank of the River Tay (see Dundee on the map here), Dundee is Scotland's sunniest city.

We have beaches nearby where you can go kayaking or might see a dolphin or seal, as well as a vibrant city culture and busy nightlife.

Find out more on the Dundee Wikipedia page.

Getting here is straightforward.

BY AIR
Dundee Airport has regular flights from London Heathrow and Belfast City Airports.

International airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are an hour and a half away.

BY TRAIN
Dundee’s train station is about a 10-minute walk from our campus and has regular, direct train services to and from local cities such as Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. London’s Kings Cross is only six hours away. This daily service stops at places like Edinburgh, Darlington, York and Newcastle.

You can buy train tickets and check train times from sites such as:

BY COACH/BUS
Dundee’s bus (coach) station is a five-minute walk from campus. Scottish Citylink, National Express, the Stagecoach Group and Megabus services regularly arrive in Dundee from major cities around Scotland and the UK, including London.

Visit dundee.com for bus and train info.

Teaching and learning

Here at Abertay, we deliver a truly engaging learning journey.

There’s a strong emphasis on active learning, collaboration and developing work readiness. Over 80% of our undergraduate courses have work placements or internships available, either built in or as an options they can choose. Many also give them the chance to study abroad. This is designed so our students hit the ground running after graduation.

We take a blended approach to teaching, with practical sessions alongside workshops and tutorials supported by online learning.

This means putting knowledge into practice as much as possible so they develop essential career-based skills.

Lectures, tutorials and seminars - lectures enhance knowledge and expertise. These are often delivered and recorded online for future use. Tutorials, seminars and workshops are active discussions, with a small group of students led by a member of staff.

Work-related learning - work-related learning is a key feature at Abertay. This means work placements, internships, mentoring, study trips and even optional exchanges with universities around the world. Much of this is built into the course syllabus.

Assessment and feedback - assessments are often based on real-world problems, applying their learning from each module. The format varies, including quizzes, case studies, presentations, debates and essays.

They will receive feedback throughout each module to help prepare them for graded assessments.

MySuccess modules - starting university can be daunting. We help prepare our students academically and socially for university life with MySuccess modules. Focussing on areas that need to be developed such as academic writing and wellbeing.

Self-directed learning - it’s vital to add to their knowledge from lectures and tutorials by studying in their own time. Teaching staff provide guidance such as reading lists and activities in our virtual learning environment called MyLearningSpace. It's up to them to keep up to speed.

Micro credentials - we pride ourselves in giving students the flexibility to personalise their course. Micro credentials allow them to explore new topics and customise their studies depending on their interests.

Laboratory work - this is all about applying knowledge and developing practical skills in groups or individually. They will normally carry out supervised experiments and get to grips with equipment they'll use in their chosen field. Lab work is essential for many (though not all) courses.

Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) - when they graduate, they will receive their personal electronic Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), a comprehensive record of their academic grades, plus any wider achievements such as academic prizes, sports awards and extracurricular work. This supports applications for jobs or further study.

Academic staff

Our academic structure is based on three schools, and you can find out more about our academic structure here.

Apart from teaching, many of the staff are either actively involved in research, or work with industry or both. This gives your student the chance to learn from experienced academic leaders every single day of their studies.

We also have great industry contacts and bring in professionals to talk to students across all our courses.

Whatever they choose to do, their degree will be relevant to their chosen career.

To find out about our academics, their projects and publications, take a look at our Staff Directory.

History and alumni

Abertay's Alumni Network is a strong and diverse community of over 55,000 alumni who live and work throughout the world.

If you want to know more about what our graduates do when they leave Abertay, visit our Alumni section.

Abertay University opened as the Dundee Institute of Technology in 1888, and we have had university status for over 25 years. Find out more about our history. If you are interested in the institution, and the people who have been made it what it is today, why not check out our Archives?