at the beginning of the nineteenth century, scotland's five university colleges had about 3,000 students between them. they had no entrance exam, 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. although scottish universities had gained a formidable reputation in the eighteenth century, particularly in areas like medicine and had produced leading scientists such as joseph black (1728–99), the curriculum was dominated by divinity and the law and there was a concerted attempt to modernise the curriculum, particularly by introducing degrees in the physical sciences and the need to reform the system to meet the needs of the emerging middle classes and the professions. the result was two commissions of inquiry in 1826 and 1876 and reforming acts of parliament in 1858 and 1889.