Students face weeks of disruption after lecturers voted to walk out over changes to their pensions.
Hundreds of academic staff at Dundee and St Andrews are poised to take part in the strike action, which is being touted as the biggest of its type the country has seen.
The University and College Union announced 14 strike dates at nine Scottish institutions.
The escalating wave of strikes is due to start with a two-day downing of tools on February 22.
Under the timetable announced on Monday, it will culminate with a week-long walk-out from March 12.
Staff are furious at changes to their retirement package by Universities UK.
The representative body has backed swapping a pension scheme where there is a guaranteed retired income for one where income depends on the performance of the stock market.
Sally Hunt, UCU’s general secretary, said the strikes could be avoided if UUK drops its plans.
“Staff who have delivered the international excellence principals use to justify their own lavish pay and perks are understandably angry at efforts to slash their pensions,” she said.
“They feel let down by leaders who seem to care more about defending their own perks than the rights of their staff.
“Strike action on this scale has not been seen before on Scottish or UK campuses, but universities need to know the full scale of the disruption they will be hit with if they refuse to sort this mess out.”
Across the UK, staff at 61 institutions have signed up for the strike.
Nearly 500 members of staff across Dundee and St Andrews universities supported strike action in the ballot, on an average turnout of 62%.
A spokesman for UUK said: “Changes to USS pensions have been agreed by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC).
“That decision is a necessary step, made in the best interests of university staff, to put USS on a sustainable footing for the long-term.
“The scheme will continue to offer attractive pensions through market-leading defined contribution benefits.”
A spokesman for Dundee University said while they “understand the concerns of staff”, they are “disappointed” with the union for pursuing industrial action.
“There will be inevitable consequences for students although we will do everything we can to mitigate the effects and ensure there is as little disruption to their studies as possible,” he said.
He added: “We have just over 200 staff who have expressed support for the strike, from a total complement of almost 2000 staff who are eligible to be UCU members.
“We anticipate the vast majority of classes and student contact time will still proceed as normal, but we do not underestimate the effect on individual students who may be affected.”
A spokesman for St Andrews said: “The university will do all it can to minimise any adverse impact on our students and we hope that UCU will take a similarly responsible stance.”
Strike dates
Week one – Thursday 22 and Friday 23 February (two days)
Week two – Monday 26, Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 February (three days)
Week three – Monday 5, Tuesday 6, Wednesday 7 and Friday 8 March (four days)
Week four – Monday 12, Tuesday 13, Wednesday 14, Thursday 15 and Friday 16 March (five days)
