William Henry Besant

Licentiate
An individual who is granted a licence by the College (or Colleges). 

Single Qualification
Once the College was established, if a physician wanted to practice in Edinburgh and its surrounding neighbourhood, they were required to hold a College licence obtainable by examination. Graduates of Scottish universities were exempt from this, and the license, though not obligatory, was available to those who practiced outside of the College’s jurisdiction, provided they satisfied the examiners and paid the appropriate fees. Once the exam was passed, the physician in question would become a Licentiate of the College. In the early days, the College usually granted individuals a license and a Fellowship. As such, the initial intermediate state of Licentiate became largely redundant and was discarded. These early Licentiates are listed under Fellows in this database.

The new type of Licentiateship was introduced after the Medical Act in 1858 and the first examinations were held by the College in 1859.