University of Aberdeen

Founded in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone, the University of Aberdeen is Scotland's third-oldest university and among the oldest in the English-speaking world. Teaching is split between the historic Old Aberdeen campus — cobbled streets, the crowned tower of King's College Chapel, and the striking Sir Duncan Rice Library — the vast Foresterhill health campus shared with NHS Grampian, and Marischal College in the city centre. Work is organised across four faculties and twelve schools. Its research reputation is strongest in medicine and biomedical science, where the first full-body MRI scanner was developed, and in the earth and energy sciences: petroleum geology, geophysics, subsea and offshore engineering, and increasingly the energy transition, hydrogen, carbon capture and offshore renewables. Its law school is well known for oil and gas, maritime, natural resources and Scots law, and the university counts five Nobel laureates among its alumni and staff. For an Indian postgraduate this is the obvious choice if the target sector is energy. Aberdeen is Europe's oil and gas capital, and MSc programmes in integrated petroleum geoscience, sustainable energy geoscience, petroleum engineering, renewable energy engineering and energy economics sit inside a working industry cluster rather than beside it. Headline 2026/27 international fees run from £20,000 to £28,800, but eligible self-funded international masters students receive an £8,000 Aberdeen Global Scholarship deducted from that figure, which brings most programmes into the £12,000–£20,800 band — competitive against far lower-ranked English universities. Scotland's one-year taught masters plus the two-year Graduate Route keeps total cost down. Aberdeen itself is a granite-built North Sea city, quieter and cheaper than Edinburgh or Glasgow, with a long-established Indian student community; the winters are genuinely dark and cold. Alumni returning for further postgraduate study get a 20% fee discount.

At a glance

Institution

Public

Typical intakes in UK

Sep, Jan

Location

Aberdeen, UK

Typically for UK universities in this band, a three-year Indian bachelor's degree is accepted for master's entry, usually at a 2:1 equivalent — commonly 60-70%, or CGPA 6.5-7.5/10, with the higher end normally asked of graduates from less selective Indian institutions, and some courses in this band accepting a 2:2 (around 55-60%). English is typically IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.0 in each band, though some subjects ask for 7.0 or a higher per-band score. This is general guidance for UK entry rather than this university's published rule — your Vibedu counsellor confirms the exact requirement for your subject, free.

Indicative for international postgraduate applicants — your counsellor confirms the exact cut-offs and English scores for your chosen programme, free.