Foundation of Faculty of Science, 1893

The Faculty of Science at the University of Edinburgh was formally established in 1893.

It was instituted under the terms of Ordinance No 31 of the Universities (Scotland) Act 1889 which had established the degree of B.Sc. (Bachelor of Science) and D.Sc. (Doctor of Sience). Prior to this the teaching and conferring of degrees in scientific subjects had been split between the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Medicine, and from 1864 had been overseen by the Science Degrees Committee. A Department of Science was still maintained in the Faculty of Arts for some time after the creation of the Faculty of Science in 1893. Some of the subjects taught at this time under the new faculty included Natural History, Anatomy, Geology, Agriculture and Rural Economy, Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Botany, Physiology and Engineering. The first Dean was James Geikie (1839-1915), Professor of Geology, who was re-elected annually until he resigned his chair in 1914.