New College is a historic building at theUniversity of Edinburgh which houses the university'sSchool of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies inTheology andReligious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students inM.A.,M.Th. andPh.D. degree programmes come from over 30 countries,^[1] and are taught by almost 40 full-time members of the academic staff.^[2] New College is situated onThe Mound in the north of Edinburgh'sOld Town.

New College originally opened its doors in 1846 as a college of theFree Church of Scotland, later of theUnited Free Church of Scotland, and since 1935 has been the home of the School of Divinity (formerly the Faculty of Divinity) of the University of Edinburgh.^[3] As "New College" it continues the historical commitment to offer a programme of academic preparation for ministry in theChurch of Scotland, also made use of by ministerial candidates from other churches. In the 1970s the Faculty of Divinity also began offering undergraduate degrees in Theology and Religious Studies, and students in these programmes now make up the majority of the nearly 300 undergraduates enrolled in any given year.^[4]

The founding of New College came as a result of a religious conflict that emerged from theDisruption of 1843 in which clergy and laity left the establishedChurch of Scotland to establish theFree Church of Scotland – free from state connections and submitting only to the authority of Christ. New College was established as an institution for the Free Church of Scotland to educate future ministers and the Scottish leadership, who would in turn guide the moral and religious lives of the Scottish people. New College opened its doors to 168 students in November 1843 and, under the guidance of its first principalThomas Chalmers, oversaw the construction of the current building.^[4] A competition for design of the Free High Church and Free Church College was held in 1844 and, though not one of the winners, the design byWilliam Henry Playfair was chosen and built 1845–1850.^[5] At the formation of theUnited Free Church, the United Free Church wasgranted the buildings, and the continuingFree Church operated from new premises in 1907.^[6] This Free Church College was renamedEdinburgh Theological Seminary in 2014.

Prior to the 1929 reunion of the Church of Scotland, candidates for the ministry in the United Free Church studied at New College, whilst candidates for the old Church of Scotland studied in the Divinity Faculty of the University of Edinburgh. During the 1930s the two institutions came together, sharing the New College site on The Mound. "New College" can designate the site itself, or the legal entity that continues to function in an official relationship with the Church of Scotland, the Principal of New College appointed by theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland and responsible particularly for Church of Scotland candidates for ministry.

The current principal isthe ReverendProfessorSusan Hardman Moore. As the "School of Divinity," however, it is a unit in the University of Edinburgh with a much wider remit, and is led by the Head of the School of Divinity (currently ProfessorHelen Bond), who is appointed by the university, and who oversees the larger academic and financial operation. The Chair of Divinity at the School of Divinity is the oldest one at the University of Edinburgh, which can be dated back in 1620. Professor Rachel Muers took up the chair in August 2022 as the first woman who holds the post.^[7] Over the years, a number of notable figures have been among its academic staff, includingRobert Rainy,Thomas Chalmers,Hugh Ross Mackintosh,James Barr,Thomas F. Torrance,James S. Stewart,John Baillie,John McIntyre,Ruth Page,Norman Porteous,Marcella Althaus-Reid,Andrew F. Walls,David Fergusson and others.^[8]

As part of the celebration of the 175th anniversary of New College, the School of Divinity adopted the motto "Quaerite et Invenietis" (Seek and You Shall Find),^[9] voted for by the staff and students of the college, and was granted a Coat of Arms byJoseph Morrow, the currentLord Lyon King of Arms and an alumnus of New College.^[10]

Members of academic staff are all employees of the University of Edinburgh, and are today an international body of scholars of various persuasions in religious matters.

New College is rated among the best schools of theology, philosophical theology, and religious studies in the UK, according to the most recent nationalResearch Excellence Framework.^[11]

The School of Divinity offers six different undergraduate (Honours) degrees. The MA Theology allows students to focus on traditional areas of Christian studies (Biblical Studies,Ecclesiastical History,Christian Ethics, andSystematic Theology). The MA Religious Studies introduces students to the methods of the study of religion and a variety of religious traditions such asindigenous religions,Islam,Judaism,Christianity,Buddhist andHindu traditions. TheBachelor of Divinity prepares candidates for the ministry (and is open to other interested students also). The MA Religious Studies and English/Scottish Literature, the MA Philosophy and Theology, and the MA Divinity and Classics allow students to work cross-disciplinary.^[12]

The School also offers severalM.Th.,M.Sc. andM.Res. degree programmes^[13] (Biblical Studies, Science and Religion, Theology in History, Theology and Ethics,World Christianity,Islam & Christian–Muslim Relations, andReligious Studies), and is an internationally known centre forPhD studies in a broad spectrum of specialities. There is no confessional test for staff or students. Only a portion of the undergraduate students are ministerial candidates, and the majority enter a variety of careers after studies (e.g. teachers, libraries, TV/radio production, civil service, further professional studies in law, finance, social work, etc.).

New College is home to several research centres: theCentre for the Study of World Christianity (established byAndrew F. Walls, which has its own collection of archival material on the history of Christian missions); theCentre for Theology and Public Issues; and the centre for theStudy of Christian Origins.^[14]

New College is located in the city centre on Mound Place, overlookingPrinces Street Gardens, theScottish National Gallery, andPrinces Street. Theneo-gothic building was designed by the respected 19th century architectWilliam Henry Playfair.

The New College library was founded in 1843 as the Library of the Free Church College. It is the largest single-site theological library in the United Kingdom, holding a large collection of manuscripts, including the papers of Thomas Chalmers,John Baillie,J. H. Oldham and James S. Stewart.^[15][16]

The library is situated in the eastern wing of New College, and its splendid reading hall was originally built as the sanctuary of the Free High Kirk.

Rainy Hall is a gothic revival dining hall, adorned with heraldry and featuring a hammerbeam roof. It is at the centre of college life, used by students and faculty for conversation and meals.^[17]

As well as the teaching facilities and the library, the New College complex also includes theGeneral Assembly Hall of the Church of Scotland, which, however, remains the property of the Church, and is where annual meetings of theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland are held.^[18] This hall was used during the famousEdinburgh 1910 World Missionary Conference and was the temporary home for the debating chamber of theScottish Parliament from its establishment in 1999 until the completion of the newScottish Parliament Building at Holyrood in 2004.^[19]

Martin Luther King, Jr applied in 1951 to enter the Edinburgh School of Divinity when studying for Baptist ministry. but chose to enter theUniversity of Boston in the United States instead.^[20]

• Watt, Hugh (1946).New College, Edinburgh: A Centenary History. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.
• Wright, David F.; Badcock, Gary D., eds. (1996). "The Disruption and the Dream: The Making of New College 1843–1861".Disruption to Diversity: Edinburgh Divinity 1846-1996. Edinburgh: T&T Clark.ISBN 978-0567085177.

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• Bible colleges, seminaries and theological colleges in Scotland
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