TEACHING
QUALITY
Queen's University, Belfast
38
th
NATIONAL
RANK
RANK
72.6%
FIRSTS
2:1s
2:1s
92.2%
COMPLETION
RATE
RATE
Key Stats
n/a
36th=
STUDENT
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
40th
RESEARCH
QUALITY
QUALITY
32nd
GRADUATE
PROSPECTS
PROSPECTS
Contact details
ADDRESS
University Road, Belfast, BT7 1NN View on map >
Telephone
Email
Website
Open days
contact the university
University Profile
Long dubbed Northern Ireland’s Oxbridge, Queen’s recruits on a wider stage than that might imply and gaining membership of the elite Russell Group of research intensive universities in 2006 has helped bring the university to a bigger audience.
Ranked in the top 200 in the QS World University Rankings and is in the process of recruiting scores of high-calibre academics, partly in order to move towards the top 100 over the next few years.
After recent gains in our league table, which saw it break into the top 30 for the first time in more than a decade in last year’s guide, Queen’s has fallen back this year with student satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey (NSS) dipping against an upward trend elsewhere. Our analysis of the NSS outcomes shows a fall to 83.3% from 85.4% last year, still good enough for the top 40 on this measure but a long way short of the top 10 fringes it occupied last year.
However, the undergraduate intake grew by more than 15%, as Queen’s achieved one of the biggest increases in applications at any university
More than half of the university’s submission to the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, placing Queen’s in the top ten in 11 subject areas. Its international profile is such that it is a favourite destination for American Fulbright Scholars, while – travelling in the opposite direction – it is also among the top ten universities in Europe for the number of students who go on work placements abroad as part of the Erasmus scheme.
Queen’s occupies a pivotal position in Northern Ireland with its alumni holding senior leadership positions in 80 of the country’s top 100 companies.
It has launched a £140m fundraising campaign, ‘Beyond’, with a focus on the student experience, including the City Scholars programme, which provides financial support and internships sponsored by alumni worldwide.
Strictly non-denominational teaching is enshrined in a charter which has guaranteed student representation and equal rights for women since 1908. The university is one of two in the UK to hold gold Athena Swan Awards for tackling the unequal representation of womenin science, engineering and technology.
Queen’s was one of four university colleges for the whole of Ireland in the nineteenth century, and still draws students from all over the island. However, the majority of students come from Northern Ireland and Queen’s suffers in the comparison of entry grades because relatively few sixth-formers take four A-levels here.
Over the past ten years, Queen’s has invested £350m in its campus, and plans to spend as much again over the next decade. The plans include a new home for the School of Law, a postgraduate and international student centre, a new building for Biological Sciences and a computer centre.
The biggest current developments are a £175m Institute of Health Sciences and the £32m Centre for Experimental Medicine, which will open next year. Completed projects include the £50m McClay Library, which added 200 PCs; the award-winning Elms Student Village; and a Student Guidance Centre.
The students’ union has had a £9m refurbishment and includes an area for students to improve their enterprise and employability skills. Skills development is embedded in all the university’s courses and the Degree Plus programme provides official recognition of extra-curricular activities and achievements to help graduates in the jobs market.
A tangible example of the accent on employability was the opening of the First Derivatives Trading Room in the Management School.Queen’s also opened the UK’s first Graduate and Executive Education Centre this year, which has quickly become a hub for business in Northern Ireland.
Undergraduates are encouraged to take language programmes from a “virtual” language laboratory, which provides online tuition from any computer in the university. IT facilities are good: Queen’s was the first institution to meet the national target of providing at least one computer workstation for every five undergraduate students.
Support for students has been enhanced by the establishment of new mentoring schemes involving students and alumni.
The university district is among the most attractive in Belfast. The university’s highly successful international arts festival has been running for 50 years, and Queen’s boasts the only full-time university cinema in the UK, as well as an art gallery and theatre, all of which are open to students and the wider community alike.
The much-improved city centre is not short of nightlife, but the social scene is still concentrated on the students’ union and the surrounding area.
Sports facilities, which include a university cottage in the Mourne mountains, have seen a £20m programme of investment. The new facility at Upper Malone features an arena pitch which can host football, rugby or Gaelic sport, another 14 pitches, a 3km recreational trail and conference facilities.
The Physical Education Centre provides physiotherapy, sports massage and podiatry, while a new Elite Athlete programme offers up to £8,000 of support for leading performers.
Ranked in the top 200 in the QS World University Rankings and is in the process of recruiting scores of high-calibre academics, partly in order to move towards the top 100 over the next few years.
After recent gains in our league table, which saw it break into the top 30 for the first time in more than a decade in last year’s guide, Queen’s has fallen back this year with student satisfaction scores in the National Student Survey (NSS) dipping against an upward trend elsewhere. Our analysis of the NSS outcomes shows a fall to 83.3% from 85.4% last year, still good enough for the top 40 on this measure but a long way short of the top 10 fringes it occupied last year.
However, the undergraduate intake grew by more than 15%, as Queen’s achieved one of the biggest increases in applications at any university
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last year.More than half of the university’s submission to the last Research Assessment Exercise was rated as world-leading or internationally excellent, placing Queen’s in the top ten in 11 subject areas. Its international profile is such that it is a favourite destination for American Fulbright Scholars, while – travelling in the opposite direction – it is also among the top ten universities in Europe for the number of students who go on work placements abroad as part of the Erasmus scheme.
Queen’s occupies a pivotal position in Northern Ireland with its alumni holding senior leadership positions in 80 of the country’s top 100 companies.
Strictly non-denominational teaching is enshrined in a charter which has guaranteed student representation and equal rights for women since 1908. The university is one of two in the UK to hold gold Athena Swan Awards for tackling the unequal representation of womenin science, engineering and technology.
Queen’s was one of four university colleges for the whole of Ireland in the nineteenth century, and still draws students from all over the island. However, the majority of students come from Northern Ireland and Queen’s suffers in the comparison of entry grades because relatively few sixth-formers take four A-levels here.
Over the past ten years, Queen’s has invested £350m in its campus, and plans to spend as much again over the next decade. The plans include a new home for the School of Law, a postgraduate and international student centre, a new building for Biological Sciences and a computer centre.
The biggest current developments are a £175m Institute of Health Sciences and the £32m Centre for Experimental Medicine, which will open next year. Completed projects include the £50m McClay Library, which added 200 PCs; the award-winning Elms Student Village; and a Student Guidance Centre.
The students’ union has had a £9m refurbishment and includes an area for students to improve their enterprise and employability skills. Skills development is embedded in all the university’s courses and the Degree Plus programme provides official recognition of extra-curricular activities and achievements to help graduates in the jobs market.
A tangible example of the accent on employability was the opening of the First Derivatives Trading Room in the Management School.Queen’s also opened the UK’s first Graduate and Executive Education Centre this year, which has quickly become a hub for business in Northern Ireland.
Undergraduates are encouraged to take language programmes from a “virtual” language laboratory, which provides online tuition from any computer in the university. IT facilities are good: Queen’s was the first institution to meet the national target of providing at least one computer workstation for every five undergraduate students.
Support for students has been enhanced by the establishment of new mentoring schemes involving students and alumni.
The university district is among the most attractive in Belfast. The university’s highly successful international arts festival has been running for 50 years, and Queen’s boasts the only full-time university cinema in the UK, as well as an art gallery and theatre, all of which are open to students and the wider community alike.
The much-improved city centre is not short of nightlife, but the social scene is still concentrated on the students’ union and the surrounding area.
Sports facilities, which include a university cottage in the Mourne mountains, have seen a £20m programme of investment. The new facility at Upper Malone features an arena pitch which can host football, rugby or Gaelic sport, another 14 pitches, a 3km recreational trail and conference facilities.
The Physical Education Centre provides physiotherapy, sports massage and podiatry, while a new Elite Athlete programme offers up to £8,000 of support for leading performers.
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Detailed Statistics
PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY
SCORE
RANK
Ranking
-
38 (29=)
Student experience
83.3
36th=
Research quality
18.7
40th
Ucas entry points
391
39th
Graduate prospects
75.1
32nd
Firsts and 2:1s
72.6
38th
Completion rate
92.2
27th=
Student-staff ratio
15.5:1
38th=
Services/facilities spend (£)
1,739
46th
World ranking
-
170 (172=)
VITAL STATISTICS
Undergraduates
(Full-time)
14,145
Undergraduates
(Part-time)
3,925
Postgraduates
(Full-time)
2,510
Postgraduates
(Part-time)
2,115
Applications/places
27,735/4,520
Applications/places ratio
6.1:1
STUDENT CITIES
Ciaran Gallagher, students’ union president
With all our resources you’ll feel that all your dreams and desires are catered for.
A lot of students go home at weekends, so campus can be quiet but it give the rest of us a chance to relax and do some work.
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Cost of living
Nightlife
Transport
Culture
ACCOMMODATION
Places in accommodation
2,000
Accommodation costs
£66-£110
Accommodation contact
FEES
NI/EU fees
£3,685
RUK fees
£9,000
Fees (placement year)
£720
Fees (international)
£12,650-£16,225
Fees (international, medical)
£16,750-£31,950
Finance website
Graduate salaries
£20,750
BURSARIES/SCHOLARSHIPS
>
The top 50 NI students on STEM course, year 1 scholarship of £1,000.
>
RUK students (excluding medicine & dentistry) with at least AAB at A-Level or equivalent, annual fee waiver of £2,500 or £1,750 plus benefits package; with ABB or equivalent, annual fee waiver of £1,750 or £1,000 plus benefits package; with offer grades, annual fee waiver of £1,250 or £500 plus benefits package.
SPORT
Sports points/rank
81, 103rd
Sport website
Student satisfaction
96.4%
95.5%
94.8%
92.4%
91.3%
91.0%
90.8%
89.6%
89.1%
88.2%
87.5%
87.4%
87.2%
87.0%
86.5%
86.0%
85.0%
83.5%
83.1%
82.8%
82.1%
81.7%
81.4%
81.3%
81.1%
81.0%
79.7%
79.2%
78.9%
76.6%
72.4%