Glasgow Student Guide
Glasgow is home to a student population of around 41,000, which means the city centre is a hive of activity.
Nightlife
There are many traditional pubs dotted around the city centre. The Butterfly and The Pig is popular with students, and the pub can be found underneath The Buff Club nightclub. A popular student pastime is a Subcrawl: students ride the underground system, getting off at each of the 15 stops to have a drink at the nearest pub- be warned, the end of the evening can get very messy!
Culture and Live Entertainment
Music lovers can take advantage of venues like Barrowlands and King Tuts, live music halls with a varied range of live music events to suit every taste. The Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts is located in the centre of the city and provides a space for exciting contemporary visual art, performance and events.
It is advisable to keep an eye on their events calendar as some performances sell out fast. The Open Museum is a free museum service in the centre of the city and provides objects, displays and exhibitions which are available for loan. The service means there are always temporary, specialised exhibitions popping up around the city.
Shopping
Shopaholics can get their fix at The Buchanan Galleries, a large shopping centre, which has all the usual high street stores and features a flagship John Lewis store. Shoppers with a larger budget might want to try Princes Square, an upmarket shopping mall specialising in designer jewellery and clothes. Vivienne Westwood has two stores in Princes Square. Those looking for a bargain can try De Courcy’s Arcade, a small shopping arcade with lots of second-hand clothes, music and book shops.
Where Can I Study?
There are 4 universities in Glasgow: University of Glasgow, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Caledonian University and the University of the West of Scotland.
The University of Strathclyde is the largest university in the city and provides places of study to around 26,000 students. The university is organised into four faculties: humanities and social sciences, engineering, science and business. The main campus is the John Anderson Campus and can be found near George Square in the centre of Glasgow.
The University of Glasgow is the second largest university in the city and is home to over 23,000 students. The university is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world and was founded in 1451. The Times World University Rankings placed the university at 102nd. Glasgow University has a strong reputation in the fields of law, medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry. The main campus of the university is on Gilmorehill in the west of the city centre, although there are additional campuses in Loch Lomond and Dumfries.
Glasgow Caledonian University is home to a student population of around 17,000 and is situated on one main campus in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow. The university has faculties in business, engineering and computing, health and social care, life sciences, law and social sciences and nursing midwifery and social health. The faculty of business is one of the largest business schools in Scotland.
The University of West Scotland (or UWS) is home to around 18,000 students. The university is spread across four campuses in Paisley, Hamilton, Ayr and Dumfries. The Crichton Campus in Dumfries operates in partnership with the University of Glasgow.
Should I Study in Glasgow
A student’s honest opinion:
“Glasgow as a student city is friendly, and welcomes all new students with open arms.
The population of the West end of Glasgow is primarily made up of students, so much so that the economy almost entirely depends on it; unlike other cities in the UK where the attitude toward students might be annoyance or suspicion, Glasgow’s four major separate schools (University of Glasgow, Glasgow Caledonian, Strathclyde University and Glasgow School of Art) see to it that the city and its businesses have no choice but to adapt to the perpetuating flow of student life.
Having lived with members of three of the four above – all except Glasgow Caledonian – I can say with confidence that the experiences of all three are similar: that Glasgow is a beautiful city thriving with culture, architecture, museums, music and art and for a young person new to the city, there are endless discoveries to be made.
From shopping on the newly updated high street, to hunting for bargains in one of the many charity shops strategically placed on the University’s main road, to summer afternoons in one of Glasgow’s beautiful and spacious parks or working on a dissertation in a coffee shop, one need never be at a loss for something to do.
Of course, when winter rolls around, snow shoes and a plentiful supply of disposable umbrellas are essential.” Hannah, 20