Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
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One of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the UK, Queen’s University Belfast (Queen’s) boasts an impressive track record of continued excellence.
A member of the highly regarded Russell Group, Queen’s is ranked inside the world’s top 180 universities (QS World Rankings 2019) and joint second in the UK for its impressive facilities (Times Higher Education). It is also considered amongst the ten most beautiful universities in the UK and is based in the centre of Belfast, the capital city of Northern Ireland and ranked the number one region in the world to visit by Lonely Planet in 2018.
Queen’s boasts some remarkably impressive alumni including two Nobel Prize winners, Seamus Heaney and David Trimble. It continues to provide exceptional outcomes for its graduates, with its research-based learning leading to over 94% of graduates finding work within six months of leaving.
The university is proud of its standing as an institution open to all, regardless of social class, race or gender. Over 30% of students are from lower socio-economic groups and it is the UK’s leading institution for accessibility. A range of support networks are in place for students to provide the necessary help and advice to assist with their student experience.
Queen’s impressive facilities are the subject of ongoing investment, including the new GBP 50 million McClay Library housing 1.2 million books, computers and the iconic CS Lewis Reading Room, with interior inspired by the author’s work including a hand-carved replica of the wardrobe door from The Chronicles of Narnia.
State-of-the-art fitness facilities include a fitness centre with a 25-metre swimming pool and outdoor 3G pitches. Queen’s also has theatres, restaurants and its own music venue, Mandela Hall.
2024 301
2023 301
2022 301
2025 206 4
2024 202 31
2023 233
2024 201 3
2023 198 3
2022 201
An independent analysis by London Economics showed the huge impact Queen’s University Belfast has on the British economy.
The study showed a GBP 1.9 billion contribution to the economy at a cost ratio of 6:1.
It also found it supported a further 2,570 jobs across the UK, in addition to the 3,700 staff directly employed, and it highlighted the public purse benefits by an average of GBP 101,000 per year for each full-time undergraduate.
A GBP 5 million investment in a partnership with the University of Aberdeen will create 100 new doctoral study opportunities. Students will be based both in the School of Natural and Built Environment and School of Biological Sciences as they take advantage of a unique opportunity. There will also be places created for 335 postgraduate students studying 28 different disciplines over the next five years.
Queen’s University Belfast is amongst those to benefit as part of the Northern Bridge Consortium along with Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and Ulster. It marks a new era of the collaboration between the alliance to provide world-class education across all arts and humanities disciplines.
£13,708 Undergraduate Fees are for indicative purposes, check with institution for details
£17,619 Postgraduate Fees are for indicative purposes, check with institution for details
£5,500 Living costs
£3,400 To live on campus
Queen’s offers several scholarships for students across all levels of programmes, plus country-specific scholarships are available for postgraduate and PhD students.
Open to all new international students enrolling on full-time programmes, with no separate application necessary in order to be considered.
Scholarship paying full tuition fees for all years of programme to two new international students each year. Based on a number of conditions, application is necessary to be considered for this scholarship.
Full scholarships available for Chinese students starting PhD research.
Available for Vietnamese students looking to pursue PhD studies.
Awards are available for master's students from developing Commonwealth nations.
For Indonesian students wishing to pursue postgraduate studies.
Applicants for full-time undergraduate degrees must apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Details of the application process are available from British Council offices. For international applicants, a direct entry application form can be used when asked to provide information in advance of submitting a UCAS application, apart from Medicine and Dentistry applicants.
Postgraduate diplomas or taught master’s programmes usually require either a UK upper second-class (2:1) or lower second-class (2:2) undergraduate degree, with course specific entry requirements.
Pre-master’s graduate diplomas are offered by INTO Queen’s in Computing, Finance or Management courses.
To undertake PhD study at Queen’s, student require good grades in their bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes and must have studied at a recognised university, along with having a strong research proposal.
Queen’s entry requirements are specific to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, country of origin and courses, so students should check specific requirements.
Described as ‘Ireland’s Oxbridge’ by The Sunday Times, Queen’s is recognised regularly for its high standards of teaching. It’s membership of the Russell Group, an independent body of 24 top-ranking, research-led UK universities, adds to its prestige as one of the most reputed universities in the UK.
Queen’s also operates a number of schemes to reward and recognise teaching excellence, including the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS), Higher Education Academy (HEA) professional recognition scheme.
Some of Queen’s teachers who are major contributors to their fields include the following:
World-leading educationalist who has developed a shared education model in Northern Ireland also adopted in Israel and Macedonia. Appointed the first ‘UNESCO Chair on Globalising a Shared Education Model for Improving Relations in Divided Societies.’
Research Fellow at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security, and Justice, focusing research on unarmed resistance in protracted conflict, particularly in Israel-Palestine.
An international authority in the design of silicon integrated circuits for Digital Signal Processing, John has offered pioneering contributions to this field and co-founded two successful hi-tech companies.
Queen’s has various departments spread over three main faculties, namely Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Engineering and Physical Sciences and Medicine; Health and Life Sciences.
Queen’s provides international students with various study options, including undergraduate programmes covering a range of subjects such as Accounting, Aerospace Engineering, Biological Sciences, Business Management, Civil Engineering and Drama to Finance, French and Spanish, Mathematics, Software Engineering and Zoology.
Students have access to many postgraduate taught programmes in subjects including Advanced Food Safety, Applied Psychology, Business Communication, Education and Environmental Engineering to Global Health, International Business, Law, Public Health and Youth Justice.
It also offers a number of postgraduate research programmes including Accounting, Clinical Psychology, Ecosystem Biology and Sustainability, Ethnomusicology, Interpreting, Management, Planning and Theology.
International students can consider taking up pre-sessional English to help prepare for their academic study by improving English skills with a focus on subject-specific written work. Preparation courses are also available in partnership with INTO, offering a student experience with quality teaching and modern facilities. There is also an International Ambassador option giving special opportunities for international students to attend exclusive events as representatives of the Queen’s international student body and accessing free professional development courses.
Excellent on-campus facilities contribute towards an outstanding student experience at Queen’s in terms of both studying and living.
Contemporary apartments of various sizes, including studio, 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom with 24/7 security are available for students at Willow Walk.
Fresh from a GBP 50 million investment, the McClay Library blends traditional library features with top of the range technology to help with study. Computing and media services, IT training rooms, quiet study and group work areas, a café and language centre are all included amongst library facilities.
Known for its outstanding research work, Queen’s offers cutting-edge facilities to enable this research to take place across health sciences, business, engineering and computing labs. Amongst the most impressive facilities in this area are a financial trading room with Bloomberg terminals, research facilities for interdisciplinary health and life sciences, and innovative engineering hubs.
Queen’s has invested GBP 14 million in its Computer Science hub, integrating teaching and research, to deliver a stimulating environment for students for group and project work.
A hub of sport is provided at the Physical Education Centre (PEC), including a fitness area with over 140 pieces of equipment, a functional training and weights area, four studios, a 25-metre swimming and diving pool, two multi-purpose sports halls, a martial arts area, squash courts, handball courts and outdoor 3G grass pitches.
Other key campus features are a student union, art gallery and cinema hall.
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