A Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) is an ongoing research project led by one or more academic supervisors and comprising a team of students from any level of study (the ‘vertical’ aspect). The team of students can come from different subject areas with diverse backgrounds and skills across both arts and science.

The interest in VIP at St Andrews arose through the work of the Enterprise Education Committee seeking to embed enterprise capabilities and an enterprising mindset in the curriculum.

VIP modules were first offered VIP modules in academic year 2020-2021, with five projects commencing in Semester 1 and three projects commencing in Semester 2. Subsequently, more projects have started up, representing a diverse range of research activities at St Andrews; from mapping dolphin acoustic data to exploring the politics of war veterans.