at the beginning of the nineteenth century, scotland's five university colleges had no entrance exams, students typically entered at ages of 15 or 16, attended for as little as two years, chose which lectures to attend and left without qualifications. the curriculum was dominated by divinity and the law. there was a concerted attempt to modernise the curriculum resulting in reforming acts of parliament in 1858 and 1889. the curriculum and system of graduation were reformed, entrance examinations introduced and average ages of entry rose to 17 or 18. there was a revitalisation of the scottish university system, which expanded to 6,254 students by the end of the century. major figures produced by the university system included william john macquorn rankine, thomas thomson, william thomson, 1st baron kelvin, david brewster, fleeming jenkin, joseph lister, william macewen, robert jameson, edward caird, james george frazer and patrick geddes.