The institution has announced fees of ?9,000 a year for ¡°rest-of-UK¡± students in 2012-13, along with what it described as a ¡°comprehensive¡± package of bursaries and financial aid.

That brings the cost of St Andrews¡¯ four-year degrees to ?36,000.

The University of Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt University have also announced fees of ?9,000 for rest-of-UK students. However, they have pledged to only charge for the first three years of their degrees.

Glasgow Caledonian University is the only Scottish institution to date to announce fees of under ?9,000: it plans to charge ?7,000 a year for three years with the final year free ¨C an average yearly cost of ?5,250 for its four-year courses.

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Students from Scotland and other European Union nations will continue to be exempt from fees.

Louise Richardson, principal and vice-chancellor of St Andrews, argued that the fees were lower than the cost of teaching.

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¡°We are not a wealthy institution,¡± she said. ¡°In spite of our age and our international standing, our endowment is remarkably small. Quite simply, we cannot afford not to charge ?9,000.¡±

However, Robin Parker, president of the National Union of Students Scotland, accused St Andrews of joining a ¡°farcical battle¡± over fees.

He said: ¡°By setting the price of a degree at ?36,000, another Scottish university principal has failed their students.

¡°St Andrews and Edinburgh are making it clear to students from the rest of the UK that it¡¯s not their academic ability but the size of their parents¡¯ bank accounts that really matters.¡±

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sarah.cunnane@tsleducation.com