The philosophy and approach to education in Scottish universities is different in some ways from the U.S. system. Scottish students specialize in a specific subject, rather than study a wide range of subjects, as in the U.S. university system. Additionally, a greater emphasis is placed on independent study. Class size varies, but most the basic method of teaching undergraduate students is by courses of lectures given by specialists in particular subjects. Teaching may also involve small group tutorials, laboratory work, fieldwork, audio-visual and computer assisted learning aids, and further reading and research.
Lecture notes are almost always simply an outline of available material.
Students need to carry out their own research and reading to develop an understanding of the subject. UR students may enroll in any courses at St. Andrews, as long as they meet the prerequisites. Students at St. Andrews generally take 3 courses per semester, earning 5 UR credits for each course. Most tutorial groups are considerably smaller. Students going for the fall term only will not have to stay for the January examinations.