UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

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University of Glasgow student records

Student records vary considerably with time. This is largely due to different record keeping practices over the centuries. Generally the records of students from the mid-19th century onwards give more detail than those created in the first 400 years of the University’s existence.

It is also worth noting that until the mid-19th century, many students did not bother to go through the formalities of matriculation and especially graduation. Instead, they would attend various classes and if necessary, for future employment purposes, obtain a certificate directly from individual Professors. This means that while a student may have attended the University of Glasgow in this period, but not left any record of their study in the University Archive.

In 1858 the Universities (Scotland) Act made matriculation compulsory.  Therefore if a person’s name, or any variations of their name, cannot be found, they were not a student of the University of Glasgow. They may, nevertheless, have studied at one of the several other colleges and Universities in the City. For a list of many of these with links to surviving archive collections, see the Gateway to the Archives of Scottish Higher Education.


Published sources

The names of graduates of the University up to 1911 can be found on the University of Glasgow Story.

The following printed books containing the names of graduates and matriculated students to 1897 are available in many major libraries and online (please note: the University of Glasgow is not responsible for creating or maintaining these online copies):

  • W Innes Addison, A Roll of the Graduates of the University of Glasgow from 31 December 1727 to 31 December 1897 (Glasgow, 1898).  (Available online here).
  • W Innes Addison, The Matriculation Albums of the University of Glasgow from 1728 to 1858 (Glasgow, 1913).  (Available online here).
  • Munimenta Alme Universitatis Glasguensis. Records of the University of Glasgow : from its foundation till 1727 (Glasgow: [Maitland Club], 1854) – 3 volumes plus separate index.  (Available online here).
  • W Innes Addison, Prize Lists of the University of Glasgow from Session 1777-78 to Session 1832-33 (Glasgow, 1902). (Available online here). 

Lists of the names of graduates were published annually in the University Calendar (part of the Gateway to Archives of Scottish Higher Education (GASHE) website) until 1977.

Ministers of the Church of Scotland: Hew Scott, Fasti Ecclesiae Scotianae: the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation, (Edinburgh, 1915): volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.


Archive sources

The main source of student records before 1858 is the Clerk’s Press (part of the GASHE website) collection of records.

The main source of student records after 1858 is the records of the Registrar (part of the GASHE website).


Accessing the records

Records of alumni who are still alive

The majority of information held on living alumni is regarded as confidential under the terms of the Data Protection Act. Almost all requests for information from, or about, living alumni are handled by the Alumni Office or Registry.

The Alumni Office help with reunions or putting lost friends in contact.

Registry provide transcripts, replacement parchments and certifying letters.