The University of Aberdeen guarantees new full-time students a place in university or partner accommodation if they apply by its deadline, which was 28 August for 2026 entry, subject to its conditions. Most first years live at Hillhead Student Village, which houses around 2,000 students and is about 20 minutes on foot or a 5 minute bus ride from King’s College. Its 2026/27 rooms run from £111 a week for a single room with a shared kitchen and bathroom to £191 for an en-suite, on a 40 week lease for undergraduates, with bills, Wi-Fi and contents insurance included.
Robert Gordon University’s own rooms are at Woolmanhill Flats in the city centre, its largest site, at Garthdee Towers and Crathie Student Village by the campus, and at the Ramsay Development, which is for mature and postgraduate students. For 2026/27 they run from £101.92 a week for a standard room at Woolmanhill on a 49 week lease to £189.56 for an en-suite at Crathie or Ramsay on a lease of 42 weeks, with basic insurance included. RGU says its accommodation for students from outside the UK is limited and not guaranteed.
Private student accommodation in Aberdeen is open to first years, returning students and postgraduates, subject to each provider’s eligibility rules. You choose the building, the room and the contract length, and the agreement is with the provider. North East Scotland College students, whose City Campus is on the Gallowgate, book the same way.
Most teaching is at King’s College in Old Aberdeen, home to the arts, social sciences, physical sciences and the Sir Duncan Rice Library. Student accommodation near the University of Aberdeen clusters around Old Aberdeen and Hillhead, where the university’s own residences are. From the west end of the centre it is 40 to 45 minutes on foot, or a route 19 bus from Langstane Kirk on Union Street to the stop opposite the library. From Garthdee, routes 1 and 2 run through the centre and up King Street past the campus, so you can travel without changing buses; on foot it is 80 to 90 minutes.
Medicine, dentistry and most of the life sciences are at Foresterhill beside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, 25 to 30 minutes on foot from Justice Mill Lane or a route 3 bus from Guild Street. A free weekday shuttle, the 9U, links Hillhead and Old Aberdeen with the hospital for the university’s students and staff. Our University of Aberdeen page sorts the private rooms by distance from the campus.
RGU teaches on one campus at Garthdee, beside the River Dee. Caledon Court is across the road, a few minutes on foot from the Sir Ian Wood Building. From the west end of the centre, routes 1 and 2 from Holburn Junction take 15 to 20 minutes; on foot it is 45 to 50 minutes down Holburn Street. Our Robert Gordon University page sorts every property by distance from the Garthdee campus.
First Aberdeen runs most city buses. Adult singles start at £2.25, and the student tickets are £4.95 for a day, £23.50 for a week and £81 for a month on the app. For the student tickets you need to show a valid student ID issued by a Scottish institution, so a University of Aberdeen or RGU card works. The Grasshopper student ticket covers First and Stagecoach buses across the city for £5.40 a day or £25.50 a week. Under Transport Scotland’s Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel scheme, anyone aged 5 to 21 who lives in Scotland travels free with a National Entitlement Card, which covers many first years; you apply online with proof of your Aberdeen address.
Cycling from Garthdee to the centre takes about 20 minutes, partly on the traffic-free Deeside Way from Duthie Park. King’s College and the Garthdee campus both have bike parking. The city also has a pay-as-you-go e-bike hire scheme. Aberdeen station is on Guild Street by Union Square, about 15 minutes on foot from Justice Mill Lane. Trains take around 1 hour 15 minutes to Dundee, 2 hours 15 minutes to Inverness, 2 hours 30 minutes to Edinburgh and 2 hours 50 minutes to Glasgow Queen Street.
Rent at these properties comes with bills included for gas, electricity, water and internet, and the rooms are furnished. The room types:
Prices depend on the room, the contract length and the academic year. A lower weekly rent can still mean a higher total cost if the contract is longer. For 2027/28, a Silver En Suite at Caledon Court is £165 a week over 51 weeks, or £8,415, against £180 a week over 44 weeks, or £7,920. Most contracts run for a full academic year or longer, and some rooms are offered on part-year contracts that can suit placements and single-semester courses; ask the provider who can book them.
Private student buildings like these, which Shelter Scotland describes as buildings with at least 30 bedrooms let only to students, sit outside the private residential tenancy that covers most other private renting in Scotland. You sign a fixed-term common law tenancy instead. Check your tenancy agreement for the contract dates, any conditions for leaving early and the provider’s complaints procedure. Shelter Scotland also says your provider must remind you at least 28 days before you have to move out, and that the agreement renews if neither side ends it, so note the notice date.
Scottish law caps a deposit at two months’ rent, and the provider must lodge it with one of the three approved Scottish schemes within 30 working days. Some providers do not require a deposit and take advance rent instead, so check the payment terms on the property page.
Full-time students can be exempt from council tax. Aberdeen City Council does not bill a flat where everyone is a full-time student, but you have to apply for the exemption. If you share with someone who is not a student, they may still get a bill, with a 25% discount where they are the only adult counted for council tax. Our council tax guide covers the rest.
Water and sewerage charges in Scotland come with the council tax bill, and Scottish Water says a fully exempt student household does not pay them either. A TV Licence is a separate cost if you need one, which means watching or recording live television or using BBC iPlayer. If you have your own contract for your room, you will usually need your own licence.
A guarantor agrees to pay your rent if you cannot. Whether an overseas guarantor is accepted, and whether one is needed at all if you pay up front, varies by provider. Commercial guarantor services charge a fee, and providers may not accept them. Our guarantor guide has a section on Scotland.
Union Street and the pedestrianised Belmont Street off it have a range of pubs and bars, a few minutes’ walk from the west end. Cineworld is at Union Square by the station. Aberdeen Sports Village, next to Old Aberdeen, has a 50 metre pool, an athletics track and a large gym, and Seaton Park runs down to the Don behind Hillhead. Duthie Park and its winter gardens sit at the city end of the Deeside Way, a short ride from Garthdee. AUSA is on Elphinstone Road at King’s College and RGU’s union is in the Riverside Building at Garthdee, with The Terrace as its social space. See our guide to University of Aberdeen societies.
Rooms run from £145 to £180 a week with bills included. En-suite rooms in shared flats start lower than studios and one-bed apartments.
Old Aberdeen, which is where the campus is. Hillhead, about 20 minutes’ walk north of King’s College, is where much of the university’s own accommodation is. Of the private rooms on Mystudenthalls.com, the west end of the city centre is nearest, 40 to 45 minutes on foot or a route 19 bus.
The west end of the centre is 25 to 30 minutes on foot from Foresterhill, or a route 3 bus from Guild Street, and the free 9U shuttle links Hillhead and Old Aberdeen with the hospital on weekdays.
Caledon Court, across the road from the campus.
Yes. Private providers accept first years, returning students and postgraduates, subject to each provider’s eligibility rules.
No. These are private buildings run by companies, and your agreement is with the provider, not the university.
Gas, electricity, water and internet are in the weekly rent. A TV Licence, if you need one, is not, and contents insurance is included only where the provider says so.
Full-time students can be exempt. A flat where everyone is a full-time student has no bill once you apply to Aberdeen City Council, and if a non-student lives with you they may get a bill, with a 25% discount if they are the only adult counted.
They are capped at two months’ rent and must be lodged with an approved Scottish scheme within 30 working days. Some providers take advance rent instead, so check the payment terms.
It depends on the provider. Some accept an overseas guarantor, a commercial guarantor service or rent paid in advance, so ask before you book.
Routes 1 and 2 run from Garthdee through the centre and up King Street past King’s College. Under-22s who live in Scotland ride free with a National Entitlement Card.
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