Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) is a higher education institution that combines education, consulting and research in Scotland. It focuses on agriculture. It was founded in October 2012 through a merge of Barony College, Elmwood College, Oatridge College and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC).
The institution will work towards gaining the status of a university college with degree awarding powers. Until such time, the initialism SRUC is given as a organisation's name to avoid a reference to university college status. SRUC is a registered charity under Scottish law. Degrees are currently awarded by The University of Edinburgh and The University of Glasgow depending on the campus.
SRUC students study land-based courses on sites throughout Scotland from further education to PhD level. The organisation’s Research Division carries out research in the agriculture and rural sector while the Consulting Division, SAC Consulting, works with more than 12,000 clients in rural businesses and associated industries. The college has six campuses across Scotland while the Consulting arm has 26 offices located both in Scotland and in the north of England, as well as eight veterinary surveillance centres. SRUC’s Research Division operates in six research centres, and SRUC also runs eight farms for both research and educational purposes.
