The University of St Andrews is Scotland’s first university, founded in the early 15th century. It is the third oldest university in the English speaking world. Teaching began in St Andrews in 1410 and the University was formally constituted by the issue of a papal bull in 1413. Over 900 degree courses are at the University across four faculties: Arts, Divinity, Medicine, and Science. About a third of its students come from Scotland while just under half are international, hailing from 140 different countries in total. The university has some of the lowest drop-out rates in the country. In 1892, the institution accepted its first women students, at a time when the majority of British universities still did not. The town of St Andrews is small – just 20,000 permanent residents live among protected conservation areas, meaning university staff along with 7,500 students makes up about half its population. Prominent St Andrew’s alumni include politician Alex Salmond, the inventor of logarithms John Napier, Prince William Duke of Cambridge and Catherine (née Middleton) Duchess of Cambridge.