Over 400 members of staff at Scotland's universities earn more than the first minister, despite a funding crisis engulfing the sector that could see lower paid roles axed.

A Ferret analysis as part of our Who Runs Scotland series found at least 400 university staff are paid more than John Swinney, whose combined MSP and first ministerial salary is £135,605.

In total 1,250 members of staff across the country's 15 universities were paid more than £100,000 per year.

This figure puts them in a bracket with some of the highest earners in the country. Our analysis showed just under three per cent of the total Scottish university workforce earns upwards of £100,000. Their annual salaries collectively cost £175m per year.

That is equivalent to nearly a quarter of the main teaching grant - the biggest chunk of funding universities receive from the Scottish Government.

A number of universities across the country have announced that they are making cuts, including to jobs. Growing staff costs are one of the factors blamed, alongside a stagnation in government funding and a drop in the recruitment of international students.

Universities Scotland, which represents the higher education sector, said institutions need to pay enough to attract "experienced" people to navigate "challenging and volatile operating environments". That requires salaries that match "market rates across the UK and globally," the body claimed.

Universities on the edge: How can we solve the funding crisis?

Critics argued that while high pay is not the root cause of the funding crisis, vast salaries for senior staff are difficult to rationalise when students and lower-paid employees are "struggling". Low pay and job insecurity were endemic problems in the sector, one claimed.

They called for increased public scrutiny to ensure management teams and other top staff are justifying high salaries amid job losses and cuts to programmes.

John Swinney's pay has remained at £135,605 since 2009, when former first minister Alex Salmond introduced a pay freeze for ministers following the global financial crisis. This freeze was partially lifted in April 2025, but Swinney declined to take the increase.

Pay discrepancy

Our analysis looked at the annual accounts of every Scottish university in 2024, apart from Dundee, for which we used 2023 figures because it is yet to publish accounts for last year.

The University of Edinburgh has the largest workforce of any Scottish institution, and employs 385 staff who earn six figures, including those known as "clinical staff" who work in medicine as well as teaching in education.

This includes principal Sir Peter Mathieson, whose basic salary rose by 2.5 per cent in January to nearly £380,000. The pay rise came just weeks before Mathieson told Edinburgh staff it was seeking £140m in cuts which would result in a "smaller staff base".

Mathieson has also faced scrutiny for taking a second role at a firm linked to the university, which critics within Edinburgh described as a distraction from tackling the problems facing the institution.

'A slap in the face': Edinburgh uni staff rage at principal's second job amid layoffs

Edinburgh is one of two Scots universities - alongside St Andrews - where the principal is paid more than ten times the median employee.

The University of Glasgow has the second highest number of staff on high salaries, with 350 employees on £100,000 or more and the principal paid nine times the median member of staff.

At Stirling university, principal Gerry McCormac received a basic salary of £414,000, with his full pay and benefits package equating to £438,000, making him the highest paid figure in Scottish academia in 2024.

Dire warnings

A number of institutions across Scotland have announced redundancies. Edinburgh launched a voluntary severance scheme in January and said in February that £140m of cuts to its budget in the next 18 months will mean a "smaller staff base", with cuts going beyond those who have already left thr...