University Senate
Rectorial Election
The term of the current Rector comes to an end on 31 October 2026. An election will take place in October to appoint the next Rector of the University to serve for a 3-year term to 31 October 2029.
Nominations for Rector open at 9am on Wednesday 30 September and will close at 5pm on Wednesday 7 October.
Nomination forms will be available to download by 7 September 2026. Candidates must have a proposer who is a matriculated student and nominations from at least a further twenty matriculated students.
The election will be administered by Civica Election Services and voting will take place 15 - 16 October 2026.
All matriculated students of the University on the date that nominations close will be invited to vote in the election.
Briefing materials:
Role of the Rector 2026 (PDF)
2026 Rectorial Election Timetable and Rules (PDF)
Candidates interested in standing for election as Rector are strongly encouraged to contact the University's Court Office (court@st-andrews.ac.uk) to arrange for an informal discussion about the role.
Any queries relating to the election rules should also be directed to Court Office in the first instance.
The University Senatus Academicus or Senate, is the supreme academic body under the presidency of the Principal. Until the end of the Academic Year 2019-20, the majority of the Senate鈥檚 non-ceremonial business was delegated to a smaller body, the Academic Council. In September 2020, and in consequence of the changes required by the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016, the current Academic Council was formally reconstituted as the University Senatus Academicus (the Senate), with an increased elected component of staff and students, to a maximum of 55 members in total.
The Senate provides academic governance within the University and considers business associated with research, learning and teaching matters and the related student experience. It is also a forum for discussing the University鈥檚 academic strategy and new academic initiatives that have importance for the University as a whole. Its membership consists of ex officio members (Principal鈥檚 Office members, Deans of Faculty and Heads of School) and elected members (Senate Assessors on the University Court, student representatives and staff members elected directly from constituencies representing the academic schools).
The Senate also approves all degrees to be conferred by the University, and graduations ceremonies are officially an adjourned meeting of Senate. Senate is chaired by the Principal as President of Senate and meets four times a year (twice per semester).
The membership of Senate is regulated by Ordinance No.133 of the University Court.