The University of Stirling is a public university founded by Royal charter in 1967. It is a plate glass university located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airthrey Castle estate close to Stirling. Since its foundation, it has expanded to four faculties, a Management School, a Graduate School, and a number of institutes and centres covering a broad range of subjects in the academic areas of arts and humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and health sciences and sport.
The University campus is set within 330 acres (1.3 km2) of grounds beneath the Ochil Hills, 2 miles from the centre of Stirling, close to the town of Bridge of Allan. It is regularly described as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world and was ranked 1st in the UK for its campus environment in the International Student Barometer 2016. It is situated on the site of the historic Airthrey estate which includes the Robert Adam-designed 18th century Airthrey Castle and includes the Hermitage woods, Airthrey Loch, Airthrey Golf Course and a 50-metre swimming pool.
The University of Stirling student accommodation can cater for almost 3,000 students in over 20 properties located on and off campus. Most accommodation is in university halls and located on campus. There are town houses at Alexander Court for families and groups of students. Of the 2,000 rooms located on-campus, 800 were built since 2013 as part of a £40m investment programme in student accommodation which was completed in September 2015.