Ollscoil na Banríona | |
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Motto | Latin:Pro tanto quid retribuamus? |
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Motto in English | For so much, what shall we give back? |
Type | Publicresearch university |
Established |
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Endowment | £70.9 million (2024)[1] |
Budget | £474.2 million (2023/24)[1] |
Chancellor | Hillary Clinton[2] |
Vice-Chancellor | Sir Ian Greer |
Academic staff | 2,120 (2023/24)[3] |
Administrative staff | 2,590 (2023/24)[3] |
Students | 24,930 (2023/24)[4] 21,815FTE (2023/24)[4] |
Undergraduates | 17,655 (2023/24)[4] |
Postgraduates | 7,275 (2023/24)[4] |
Other students | 2,250[5] (Colleges) |
Location | , 54°35′3″N5°56′5″W / 54.58417°N 5.93472°W /54.58417; -5.93472 |
Campus | Urban |
Newspaper | The Gown |
Colours | Blue, green and black |
Nickname | QUB |
Affiliations | |
Website | qub![]() |
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The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known asQueen's University Belfast (Irish:Ollscoil na Banríona; abbreviatedQueen's orQUB), is apublic research university inBelfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of theQueen's University of Ireland and opened four years later, together withUniversity of Galway (asQueen's College, Galway) andUniversity College Cork (asQueen's College, Cork).
Queen's offers approximately 300academic degree programmes at various levels.[6] The current president andvice-chancellor isIan Greer. The annual income of the institution for 2023–24 was £474.2 million, of which £105.2 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £345.9 million.[1]
Queen's is a member of theRussell Group of research-intensive universities, theAssociation of Commonwealth Universities, theEuropean University Association,Universities UK andUniversities Ireland. The university is associated with twoNobel laureates and oneTuring Award laureate.
Queen's University Belfast has roots in the Belfast Academical Institution, which was founded in 1810 and which remains as theRoyal Belfast Academical Institution.[7] The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" in 1845, when it was associated with the simultaneously foundedQueen's College, Cork, andQueen's College, Galway, as part of theQueen's University of Ireland – founded to encourage higher education for Catholics andPresbyterians, as a counterpart toTrinity College, Dublin, then an almost exclusivelyAnglican institution.[7] Queen's College, Belfast, opened in 1849.[7] 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.[8] Some early students at Queen's University Belfast tookUniversity of London examinations.[9]
TheIrish Universities Act 1908 dissolved theRoyal University of Ireland, which had replaced the Queen's University of Ireland in 1879, and created two separate universities: the currentNational University of Ireland and Queen's University of Belfast.[7]
The university was one of only eight United Kingdom universities to hold a parliamentary seat in theHouse of Commons at Westminster until such representation was abolished in 1950. The university was alsorepresented in theParliament of Northern Ireland from 1920 to 1968, when graduates elected four members.
On 20 June 2006, the university announced a £259 million investment programme focusing on facilities, recruitment and research.[10] One of the outcomes of this investment has been a new university library; the McClay library was designed by Boston-based architectsShepley Bulfinch, working in association with Belfast architects, Robinson Patterson Partnership, and opened in July 2009. The building has been named in honour of SirAllen McClay, a major benefactor of Queen's University and of the Library.[11]
In June 2010, the university announced the launch of a £7.5 million Ansin international research hub withSeagate Technology.[12]
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.[13]
In addition to the main campus on the southern fringes of Belfast city centre, the university has two associateduniversity colleges,St Mary's andStranmillis, 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 aliberal arts core.
Although the university refers to its main site as a campus,[14] the university's buildings are spread over a number of public streets in South Belfast; primarily, University Road, University Square, University Street,Malone Road andStranmillis Road, with other departments located further afield such as inTitanic Quarter andPortaferry.
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.[15]
The effective head of the university is its vice-chancellor. The current vice-chancellor, Ian Greer, was appointed in January 2018, following the sudden death of the previous vice-chancellor,Patrick Johnston.[17] Previous vice-chancellors have included Sir David Keir,Lord Ashby of Brandon,Michael Grant, SirArthur Vick, Sir Peter Froggatt,Sir Gordon Beveridge,Sir George Bain andSir Peter Gregson.[7]
The role of chancellor is a largely a ceremonial one, involving attending graduations, acting as an ambassador for the university abroad and serving as an advisor to the vice-chancellor. The current chancellor isHillary Clinton, who was appointed the university's first female chancellor in January 2020 (and was inaugurated in September 2021), taking over from previous incumbentThomas Moran, who died in August 2018.[2][18][19] Clinton had been given an honorary doctorate from the university in October 2018.[20][21] Previous chancellors have includedAnthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury,Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke,Sir Tyrone Guthrie,Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby,[22] andGeorge J. Mitchell.[23]
In the financial year ending 31 July 2024, Queen's had a total income of £474.2 million (2022/23 – £462.8 million) and total expenditure of £345.9 million (2022/23 – £466.5 million).[1] Key sources of income included £160 million from tuition fees and education contracts (2022/23 – £160.9 million), £107.4 million from funding body grants (2022/23 – £108.2 million), £105.2 million from research grants and contracts (2022/23 – £103.1 million), £12.4 million from investment income (2022/23 – £8.1 million) and £3.6 million from endowment donations (2022/23 – £3.1 million).[1]
At year end, Queen's had endowments of £70.9 million (2023 – £65.6 million) and total net assets of £658 million (2023 – £505.4 million). It holds thetwentieth-largest endowment of any university in the UK.[1]
National rankings | |
---|---|
Complete (2025)[24] | 25 |
Guardian (2025)[25] | 43 |
Times / Sunday Times (2025)[26] | 26 |
Global rankings | |
ARWU (2024)[27] | 301–400 |
QS (2025)[28] | 206= |
THE (2025)[29] | 201–250 |
Queen's University Belfast was admitted as a member of the self-appointedRussell Group of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006.[30][31] In the 2021Research 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).[32]
TheTimes Higher Education rankings 2018 placed Queen's 32nd out of 93 in the UK. In the 2024QS World University Rankings, Queen's was ranked 204. It ranked 258th among the universities around the world bySCImago Institutions Rankings.[33]
In the National Student Survey 2013, Queen's was ranked 12th in the UK for student satisfaction.[34]
Queen's is ranked 204 in the world according to the 2023QS World University Rankings. Research at the university includes investigations of cancer, sustainability, radiocarbon dating, wireless technology, creative writing, pharmaceuticals and sonic arts.[35] In 2016, the university ranked 36th in the UK according to theComplete University Guide.[36]
The university has been awarded theQueen'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 theQueen's Anniversary Prize for work in the field of engineering and technology[37]
The university also holds auniversity-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.[38]
|
Domicile[42] and Ethnicity[43] | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|
British White[a] | 71% | 71 | |
British Ethnic Minorities[b] | 7% | 7 | |
International EU | 6% | 6 | |
International Non-EU | 17% | 17 | |
UndergraduateWidening Participation Indicators[42][44] | |||
Female | 58% | 58 | |
Independent School | 2% | 2 |
Entrants to Queen's have, on average, 148A/AS-levelpoints and there are currently 6 applications per place, with about two-thirds of applicants coming from Northern Ireland and most apply for multiple courses.[45]The Sunday Times has described the Queen's admissions policy as "among the most socially inclusive in Britain and Northern Ireland".[45] 99.5% of first degree entrants are fromstate schools,[46] although this is mainly due to the lack of private schools in Northern Ireland. The university gives offers of admission to 86.1% of its applicants, the 3rd highest amongst theRussell Group.[47]
In the 2023/24 academic year, the total student population was 24,915, of whom 18,310 were undergraduates and 6,605 postgraduates.[4] In the 2016–17 academic year, the university had a domicile breakdown of 87:4:9 of UK:EU:non-EU students respectively with a female to male ratio of 56:44.[48] There was also a total student population of 2,250 at itsSt Mary's andStranmillis university colleges as of 2013/2014.[5]
The university was established with the aim of attracting both Protestant and Catholic students. While the university does not publish data on the religion affiliation of its students,Rupert Taylor, who conducted his PhD research on the university duringThe Troubles, argued in an article published in 1988 that "Whilst in the past, especially before the Second World War, Catholics were under-represented this is not currently the case". Taylor cites data showing that Catholic representation among undergraduates rose from 21.9 per cent in 1958/59 to 27.4 per cent in 1968/69 and 42.5 per cent in 1978/79.[49] By the late 1990s, 54 per cent of Queen's students were Catholics, compared to a 48 per cent share of the Northern Ireland population aged 18–25.[50] The growing share of Catholics in the student population is partially due to the tendency of middle-class Protestants to attend university in Great Britain rather than in Northern Ireland.[49]
In 2009, Queen's signed a joint venture partnership withINTO University Partnerships, creatingINTO Queen's University Belfast. The INTO centre is based on campus and provides a foundation year for international students who want to study at the university.[51]
TheStudents' 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 inIreland 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.[52]
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. TheMandela 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.
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.[53] The oldest society in Queen's University is theLiterary and Scientific Society which focuses on debating political, cultural and social issues within Northern Ireland. Established in 1850 byEdwin 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 asAn Cumann Gaelach and theUlster-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 threeEverest summiteers including Ireland's first,Dawson Stelfox.[54] 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[55] for their role in rescuing a young Nepalese climber left for dead near the summit.[56]
QUB is one of only 20 universities in the United Kingdom to have anAIESEC local chapter, developing leadership, business and soft skills in highly motivated students, as well as providing international opportunities through their work abroad program.
Queen's provides housing for both undergraduates and postgraduates, although many students live at home and commute. In 2005/06, 36% of Queen's students lived in private accommodation within Belfast, 29% lived with parents or guardians, 20% in private accommodation outside of Belfast, and 10% lived in university maintained accommodation.[57]The university provides accommodation on a purpose-built student village called Elms Village, which has its own bar and shop, located on theMalone Road, south of the main campus, as well as in a number of houses in the South Belfast area, including at College Gardens and on Mount Charles.[58]
The university had hosted the annualBelfast Festival at Queen's since 1961 but announced in March 2015 that it would not continue to fund the festival.[59]
It runs the hugely successfulQueen's Film Theatre, described as Northern Ireland's leading independent cinema,[60] theBrian Friel Theatre and an art gallery, theNaughton Gallery at Queen's, which is a registered museum.[61] In 2008 the Naughton Gallery was awarded the Times Higher Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts.[62] Housed in the Lanyon building since 2001 is a marble statue byPio Fedi of the great physicistGalileo, portrayed deep in thought.[63]
The International Students Society holds the annual Culture Shock event at Whitla Hall. By holding performances from the diverse student community, Queen's provides one of the largest showcases of international culture in Northern Ireland.
Queen's Physical Education Centre (abbreviated to and known widely as the PEC) is one of the largest sports centres inIreland or theUK. This building houses many squash courts, several climbing walls and is home to QUB's senior men's and women's basketball teams.[64]
The University Playing Fields, also known as Malone Playing Fields, is located just over 2 miles (3.2 km) from the main campus, comprising 17 pitches forrugby, association football,Gaelic football,hockey,hurling,camogie, andcricket. In addition, there are threenetball courts, nine tennis courts, and an athletics arena where theMary Peters Track is situated. The area and its surrounding forest of Barnetts Demesne are mapped fororienteering.
QueensGaelic football team compete in theSigerson Cup and have won the trophy on 8 occasions, with the last victory coming in the 1999/2000 academic year.
The university's association football team,Queen's University Belfast A.F.C., play in theIrish Second Division. Queen's snooker team have won the British intervarsity title on a record nine occasions and are the current champions.[65]
Queen's University Belfast Boat Club is one of the most successful clubs in the university. The QUB boathouse, home of Queen's University Belfast Boat Club (QUBBC) and Queen's University of Belfast Ladies Boat Club (QUBLBC), is located on theRiver Lagan nearStranmillis. In 2010 they were reigning Irish Champions in men's Intermediate and Senior 8's. They are also reigning Irish University Champions in Men's Senior 8's, Women's Novice 8's and Women's Novice 4's.[66] They are the only rowing club in Ireland to have a full-time rowing coach.[67]
The graphic identity, which includes the logotype, was originally created in 2000 by Lloyd Northover, the British design consultancy founded byJohn Lloyd and Jim Northover. This identity was updated in 2011 by Belfast-based brand consultancy, Mammoth.[citation needed] Queen's visual identity was redesigned again in October 2017, also by Mammoth,[68] replacing the "Q" identity with an updated version of the university's crest.
The Law School publishes theNorthern Ireland Legal Quarterly (NILQ), apeer-reviewed quarterly journal published since 1936.[69]
Queen's has many distinguished alumni, including formerpresident of IrelandMary McAleese; Nobel Prize winners poetSeamus Heaney and politicianLord Trimble; formerPrime Minister of Northern IrelandLord Faulkner of Downpatrick; Lords Chief Justice of Northern Ireland,Lord Hutton andLord Kerr of Tonaghmore, justice of The Supreme Court of United Kingdom; former Speaker of the Northern Ireland AssemblyLord Alderdice and former and current Northern Ireland ministersSir Reg Empey,Mark Durkan,Nigel Dodds andConor Murphy, and formerIrish Free State minister and prominentSinn Féin memberEoin MacNeill. Also Thomas Andrews (1813–1885) was a longtime professor of chemistry at Queen's University of Belfast.Other alumni include poetPaul Muldoon; actorsLiam Neeson andStephen Rea; comedian and presenterPatrick Kielty; novelistsPatrick Hicks andBrian McGilloway; broadcastersNick Ross,Bernadette Collins andAnnie Mac; journalistChris Smith; scientistsJohn Stewart Bell,Frank Pantridge andThomas Henry Flewett. Other alumni includeJohn Bodkin Adams,Trevor Ringland andDavid Cullen (2007 winners of theArthur Ashe for Courage Award),David Case (Air Commodore, the highest ranking Black officer in the British Armed forces),Tim Collins (formerCommanding 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 theOrange Order, andElizabeth Gould Bell, the first woman to practice medicine inUlster.
Notable academics who have worked at Queen's includePaul Bew, Baron Bew, SirDavid Bates (physicist), SirBernard Crossland,Tony Hoare,Michael Mann, poet and criticPhilip Hobsbaum,John H. Whyte and poetPhilip Larkin was a sub-librarian at the university in the early 1950s.
Four alumni had very long and distinguished careers in East Asia.Sir Robert Hart was the Inspector-General of China'sImperial Maritime Customs for almost 50 years. SirHiram Shaw Wilkinson served in British Consular Service in China and Japan for 40 years retiring asChief Justice of theBritish Supreme Court for China and Corea. SirJames Russell wasChief Justice of Hong Kong.John Carey Hall served in theBritish Japan Consular Service for more than 40 years, retiring as consul-general inYokohama.
In 2014, Queen's announced the opening of China Medical University – Queen's University Belfast Joint College (CQC), a partnership between Queen's School of Pharmacy andChina Medical University (CMU) inShenyang,Liaoning Province. CMU, had a long-standing relationship with the Queen's University's School of Pharmacy at Queen's prior to the joint college. Queen's also has links withShenzhen University, which began in 1998 and continues to prepare approximately 40 students per year for a degree at Queen's.
Queen's participates in theEuropean Union'sERASMUS programme, allowing undergraduate students to study for a period at universities in Austria, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Belgium, France, Italy, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, the Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland.[70] Queen's is also part of theUtrecht Network which works towards the internationalisation of higher education. The university also has exchange programmes withFordham University School of Law in New York, US, theUniversity of Newcastle and theUniversity of Tasmania in Australia, and two universities in Canada:Queen's University inKingston, Ontario, and theUniversity of Alberta inEdmonton, Alberta.[71]Ching Yun University inZhongli District,Taoyuan City, Taiwan, lists Queen's as a 'sister institution'.[72] The university is also a member of theTop Industrial Managers for Europe (T.I.M.E.) Association.
Queen's takes part in theBritish Council'sBusiness Education Initiativestudy-abroad scheme sending a number of undergraduate students to study business and related subjects at participatinghigher-education institutions in the United States.[73][74]
Queen's is a member ofUniversities Ireland, an organisation that promotes collaboration and co-operation between universities in both theRepublic of Ireland andNorthern Ireland.
Member of University Defence Research Collaboration in Signal Processing[75]