Queen's University Belfast

The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (Irish: Ollscoil na Banríona; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of the Queen's University of Ireland and opened four years later, together with University of Galway (as Queen's College, Galway) and University College Cork (as Queen's College, Cork).

Queen's offers approximately 300 academic degree programmes at various levels. The current president and vice-chancellor is Ian Greer. The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £493.8 million, of which £112.4 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £511.5 million.

Queen's is a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universities UK and Universities Ireland. The university is associated with two Nobel laureates and one Turing Award laureate.

History

Queen's University Belfast has roots in the Belfast Academical Institution, which was founded in 1810 and which remains as the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" when it was associated with the simultaneously founded Queen's College, Cork, and Queen's College, Galway on 30 December 1845 as part of the Queen's University of Ireland – founded to encourage higher education for Catholics and Presbyterians, as a counterpart to Trinity College Dublin, then an almost exclusively Anglican institution. The institution's name directly honored the reigning British Monarch, Queen Victoria, in August 1849 by making an official royal visit to the Belfast campus with Prince Albert, where she signed the college's official roll book to commemorate its opening. Queen's College, Belfast, officially opened in October that year. Its main building, the Lanyon Building, was designed by the English-born architect, Sir Charles Lanyon.

At its opening, it had 23 professors and 195 students. Some early students at Queen's University Belfast took University of London examinations.

The Irish Universities Act 1908 dissolved the Royal University of Ireland, which had replaced the Queen's University of Ireland in 1879, and created two separate universities: the current National University of Ireland and Queen's University of Belfast.

In November 2025, it was announced that Dundalk Institute of Technology will become a constituent college of Queen's University Belfast from September 2026, thereby giving Queen's a Republic of Ireland campus for the first time. In May 2026, it was announced that Dundalk Institute of Technology would be renamed Dundalk University College in light of the partnership, and that Queen's University Belfast would begin conferring awards upon Dundalk students from 2027.

Parliamentary representation

The university was one of only eight United Kingdom universities to hold a parliamentary seat in the House of Commons at Westminster until such representation was abolished in 1950. The university was also represented in the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1920 to 1968, when graduates elected four members.

Contemporary university life

On 20 June 2006, the university announced a £259 million investment programme focusing on facilities, recruitment and research. One of the outcomes of this investment has been a new university library; the McClay library was designed by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch, working in association with Belfast architects, Robinson Patterson Partnership, and opened in July 2009. The building has been named in honour of Sir Allen McClay, a major benefactor of Queen's University and of the Library.

In June 2010, the university announced the launch of a £7.5 million Ansin international research hub with Seagate Technology.

Also in that year, Queen's was one of the largest employers in Northern Ireland, with a total workforce of 3,903, of whom 2,414 were members of academic, academic-related and research staff and 1,489 were administrative employees.

Campus

In addition to the main campus on the southern fringes of Belfast city centre, the university has two associated university colleges, St Mary's and Stranmillis, located in the west and south-west of the city respectively. These colleges offer teacher training for those who wish to pursue teaching careers and a range of degree courses, all of which are centred around a liberal arts core. From September 2026, Dundalk Institute of Technology will also become a university college of Queen's.

Although the university refers to its main site as a campus, the university's buildings are spread over a number of public streets in South Belfast; primarily, University Road, University Square, University Street, Malone Road and Stranmillis Road, with other departments located further afield such as in Titanic Quarter and Portaferry.

Organisation and governance

Faculties and schools

Academic life at Queen's is organised into fifteen schools across three faculties: the Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS); the Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (EPS); and the Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences (MHLS). Each of the faculties operate as a primary management unit of the university and the schools are the focus for education and research for their respective subject areas.

• Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• School of Arts, English and Languages
• School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
• School of Law
• Queen's Business School
• School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
• Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences
• School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
• School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• School of Mathematics and Physics
• School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
• School of Natural and Built Environment
• School of Psychology
• Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences
• School of Biological Sciences
• School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
• School of Nursing and Midwifery
• School of Pharmacy

Institutes and research centres

Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) – A subsidiary of the School of Biological Sciences, IGFS was established in 2013 primarily to research and address key questions about the future of the world's food systems.

The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute For Global Peace, Security And Justice – Established in 2012, the Institute aims to contribute to conflict transformation and social justice.

Institute of Cognition and Culture – Established in 2004, ICC is one of the world's first centres for research in the cognitive science of culture.

Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) – Established in 2003, ECIT aims to commercialize research and expertise in a variety of enabling digital communications technologies at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEECS).

Institute of Irish Studies – Established in 1955, the Institute was the first of its kind to be established in the world and is one of the leading centres for research-led teaching in Irish Studies and is an internationally renowned centre of interdisciplinary Irish scholarship.

Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) – Established in 1977, IPLS provides an internationally recognised and unique one-year postgraduate course for trainee barristers and trainee solicitors.

Institute of Spatial and Environmental Planning (ISEP) – A department of the School of Natural and Built Environment. Established in 2000, ISEP specialises in research projects regarding planning and development courses.

Academic profile

Research

Queen's University Belfast was admitted as a member of the self-appointed Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), which assesses the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, the university is ranked 37th by GPA and 24th for research power (the grade point average score of a university, multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of researchers submitted).

Rankings and reputation

The Times Higher Education rankings 2018 placed Queen's 32nd out of 93 in the UK. In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, Queen's was ranked 204. It ranked 258th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.

In the National Student Survey 2013, Queen's was ranked 12th in the UK for student satisfaction.

Queen's is ranked 204 in the world according to the 2023 QS World University Rankings. Research at the university includes investigations of cancer, sustainability, radiocarbon dating, wireless technology, creative writing, pharmaceuticals and sonic arts. In 2016, the university ranked 36th in the UK according to the Complete University Guide.

The university has been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher Education on several occasions, including for work in comprehensive cancer services and improving survival rates for patients in Northern Ireland. In 2015, Queen's was awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize for work in the field of engineering and technology

The university also holds a university-wide Athena SWAN Gold Award in recognition of work to support and transform gender equality in Higher Education and Research, thereby becoming the first university on the island of Ireland and only the second in the UK to achieve such an award.

Admissions

The university is designated as a 'high-tariff' institution by the Department for Education, with the average undergraduate entrant to the university in recent years amassing between 140–142 UCAS Tariff points in their top three pre-university qualifications – the equivalent of AAB to AAA at A-Level. Based on 2022/23 HESA entry standards data published in domestic league tables, which include a broad range of qualifications beyond the top three exam grades, the average student at QUB achieved 158 points – the 26th highest in the United Kingdom. There are about 6 applications per place, with about two-thirds of applicants coming from Northern Ireland and most apply for multiple courses. The Sunday Times has described the Queen's admissions policy as "among the most socially inclusive in Britain and Northern Ireland". 99.5% of first degree entrants are from state schools, although this is mainly due to the lack of private schools in Northern Ireland. The university gave offers of admission to 86.1% of its applicants in 2015, the third highest amongst the Russell Group.

Student life

Students' Union

The Students' Union at Queen's (QUBSU) is located opposite the Lanyon Building on University Road, and is provided for under the university's statutes. All students at the university are automatic members of the union, making it one of the largest unions on a single campus in Ireland and the UK. It is administered by the Students' Representative Council (SRC) (elected every October, on a faculty basis) and an executive (elected in March), who manage the operations of the union in conjunction with several full-time staff.

The old union building closed at the end of August 2018 to make way for construction of the new Students' Union building. Interim facilities were provided in other university buildings on Elmwood Avenue and, for the Speakeasy bar, an acquired space on the Lisburn Road (opposite the Medical Biology Centre).

The new Students' Union building, officially named One Elmwood opened to students on 5 September 2022 and houses the Students' Union, Student Guidance Services, the Union bar, and Mandela Hall. It also houses a café called Social and a SPAR retail outlet under the name Union Shop.

Union services

The students' union provides services including an advice centre with full-time staff to help with issues such as money problems, accommodation and welfare. Commercial services including a shop, kitchen lounge area and coffee franchise are also provided by the union. The Mandela Hall hosts numerous concerts each year as well as the majority the students' union's club nights. Student Disability, Student Wellbeing, Student Finance, Careers, Learning Development service and other services are also provided.

Clubs and societies

More than fifty sporting clubs and over one hundred non-sporting societies are recognised by the Students' Union Council and are therefore eligible to apply for an annual grant from the university. The oldest society in Queen's University is the Literary and Scientific Society which focuses on debating political, cultural and social issues within Northern Ireland. Established in 1850 by Edwin Lawrence Godkin, the society has been very successful and produced some of the finest orators within Northern Ireland. The Dragonslayers Gaming Society hosts one of Ireland's largest games conventions, Q-Con, in June of each year, and cultural groups such as An Cumann Gaelach and the Ulster-Scots Society are also present. There are a number of international societies at Queen's, including the International Students Society and the Malaysian Students Society.

The Queen's University Mountaineering Club is notable for producing three Everest summiteers including Ireland's first, Dawson Stelfox. Roger McMorrow and Nigel Hart also summited in May 2007, and were subsequently jointly announced Queen's University Graduates of the year for 2006/07 for their role in rescuing a young Nepalese climber left for dead near the summit.

Visual identity

The graphic identity, which includes the logotype, was originally created in 2000 by Lloyd Northover, the British design consultancy founded by John Lloyd and Jim Northover. It was most recently redesigned in October 2017 by Belfast-based brand consultancy, Mammoth, replacing the "Q" identity with an updated version of the university's crest.

Publications

The Law School publishes the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly (NILQ), a peer-reviewed quarterly journal published since 1936.

Notable alumni and academics

Queen's has many distinguished alumni, including former president of Ireland Mary McAleese; Nobel Prize winners poet Seamus Heaney and politician Lord Trimble; former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick; Lords Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Lord Hutton and Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, justice of The Supreme Court of United Kingdom; former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Lord Alderdice and former and current Northern Ireland ministers Sir Reg Empey, Mark Durkan, Nigel Dodds and Conor Murphy, and former Irish Free State minister and prominent Sinn Féin member Eoin MacNeill.

Other alumni include poet Paul Muldoon; actors Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea; comedian and presenter Patrick Kielty; novelists Patrick Hicks and Brian McGilloway; playwright and screenwriter Lisa McGee; broadcasters Nick Ross, Bernadette Collins and Annie Mac; journalist Chris Smith; scientists John Stewart Bell, Frank Pantridge and Thomas Henry Flewett. Other alumni include John Bodkin Adams, Trevor Ringland and David Cullen (2007 winners of the Arthur Ashe for Courage Award), David Case (Air Commodore, the highest ranking Black officer in the British Armed forces), Tim Collins (former Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment), Michael Farrell (an Irish civil rights activist, writer and former leader of People's Democracy), Drew Nelson former Grand Secretary of the Orange Order, and Elizabeth Gould Bell, the first woman to practice medicine in Ulster.

Эх сурвалж: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)