Queen's University of Belfast
Encyclopedia
Queen's University Belfast is a public
research university in Belfast
, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation
QUB. The university was chartered in 1845, and opened in 1849 as "Queen's College, Belfast", but has roots going back to 1810 and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
.
Queen's is a member of the Russell Group
of leading research intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities
, the European University Association
, Universities Ireland
and Universities UK
. The university offers academic degree
s at various levels and across a broad subject range, with over 300 degree programmes available. The university's current President and Vice-Chancellor
is Professor Sir Peter Gregson
, and its Chancellor
is the current Secretary General
of the Commonwealth of Nations
, Kamalesh Sharma
.
The University also forms the focal point of the Queen's Quarter area of the city, one of Belfast's seven cultural districts
.
. The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" in 1845, when it was associated with the simultaneously founded Queen's College, Cork and Queen's College, Galway 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 Anglican institution. Queen's College, Belfast opened in 1849. Its main building, the Lanyon Building, was designed by the English architect, Sir Charles Lanyon
.
At its opening, it had 23 professors and 343 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.
Queen's has been led by a distinguished line of Vice-chancellors, including Sir David Keir, Lord Ashby of Brandon
, Dr Michael Grant
, Sir Arthur Vick, Sir Peter Froggatt, Sir Gordon Beveridge, and Sir George Bain
, the current Vice Chancellor is Sir Professor Peter Gregson
.
The university's Chancellors have included Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury
, Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
, Sir Tyrone Guthrie
, Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby
and George J. Mitchell
. The incumbent is Kamalesh Sharma
.
at Westminster until such representation was abolished in 1950. The university was also represented
in the Parliament of Northern Ireland
from 1920–1968, where its graduates elected four seats.
In addition to the main campus not far from the centre of Belfast, the university has two associated university college
s, these being St Mary's and Stranmillis
both also located in Belfast. Although offering a range of degree courses, these colleges primarily provide training for those wishing to enter the teaching profession. The university has formal agreements with other colleges in Northern Ireland and operates several outreach schemes to rural areas.
While the university refers to its main site as a campus, the university's buildings are in fact spread over a number of public streets in South Belfast, centring around University Road, University Square and Stranmillis Road, with other departments located further afield.
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, opened in July 2009.
In June 2010, the university announced that they would be launching a £7.5m Ansin international research hub with Seagate Technologies.
Queen's is 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.
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Several institutes are also associated with Queen's. Located close to the main campus is the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen's which offers training to law graduates to enable them to practise as solicitors or barristers in Northern Ireland, England & Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
The Institute of Theology consists of several colleges with a Christian emphasis, including St Mary's
(Catholic), Union Theological College
(Presbyterian), Belfast Bible College (non-deominational), as well as Baptist
and Methodist colleges in Belfast. In all five colleges teach any programmes with a theological emphasis on behalf of the university; the university may confer theology degrees but cannot teach the subject itself.
of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006.
and there are currently 5.3 applications per place. The Sunday Times has described the Queen's admissions policy as "among the most socially inclusive in Britain and Northern Ireland". 99.5 per cent of first degree entrants are from state schools, although this is mainly due to the lack of private schools in Northern Ireland.
In the 2009–10 academic year, the total student population was 22,705, of whom 17,210 were undergraduates and 5,495 postgraduates. Of the undergraduate population, 16,575 were from the UK, 340 from elsewhere in the European Union
and 295 were from outside the EU. The figures for postgraduates were 3,995 from the UK, 840 from elsewhere in the EU, and 665 from the rest of the world, mainly from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. There was also a total student population of 2,250 at the University's St Mary's and Stranmillis
University Colleges.
Queen's was established as a non-sectarian institution, 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 during The 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 amongst 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. 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. The growing share of Catholics in the student population is in part due to the tendency of middle-class Protestants to go to university in Great Britain rather than Northern Ireland.
In 2009, Queen's signed a joint venture partnership with INTO University Partnerships
, creating INTO 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.
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.
Hall, hosts numerous concerts each year as well as the majority the Students' Union's club nights.
(QUBBC) and Queen's University of Belfast Ladies Boat Club (QUBLBC), is located on the River Lagan
near Stranmillis
. 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. The Queen's University Mountaineering Club is notable for producing three Everest summiteers including Ireland's first, Dawson Stelfox
. Dr Roger McMorrow
and Dr 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.
QUB is one of only 20 Universities in the United Kingdom to have the privilege of an AIESEC Local Chapter, developing leadership, business and soft skills in highly motivated students, as well as providing international opportunities through their work abroad program
The university provides accommodation on a purpose-built 'student village' called Elms Village, which has its own bar and shop, located on the Malone 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.
and the Belfast Film Festival
, and in 2007 held the Irish Student Drama Association Festival. It runs Northern Ireland's only arthouse cinema, Queen's Film Theatre
, the Brian Friel Theatre
and an art gallery, the Naughton Gallery at Queen's
, which is a registered museum. In 2008 the Naughton Gallery was awarded the prestigious Times Higher Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts. Housed in the Lanyon building since 2001 is a marble statue by Pio Fedi of the great physicist Galileo, portrayed deep in thought.
Queen's Physical Education Centre (abbreviated to and known widely as the PEC) recently went through an extension program was awarded 'Best Building 2007' by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Northern Ireland. It is one of the largest sports centres in the British Isles
. This building houses many squash courts, several climbing walls and is home to QUB's senior men's and women's basketball teams.
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 for rugby
, association football, Gaelic football
, hockey
, hurling
, camogie
and cricket
. In addition, there are three netball
courts, nine tennis courts and an athletics arena where the Mary Peters
Track is situated. The area and it's surrounding forest of Barnetts Demesne are mapped for orienteering
.
Queen's Gaelic football team have won several Sigerson Cup
s, most recently in 2007. The university's association football team, Queen's University Belfast A.F.C., play in the Irish Second Division
. Queen's snooker team have won the British intervarsity title on a record nine occasions and are the current champions.
Queen's Boat Club
are one of the most successful clubs in the University. They are reigning Irish Champions in men's Intermediate and Senior 8's and are the current holders of the British Universities and Colleges Sport Men's Championship 8, Men's Intermediate 8, Men's Intermediate coxed four, Men's Championship Quad, Women's Beginner 8 and Women's beginner coxed four titles making them one of the most successful university rowing clubs in the UK at present. They are also reigning Irish University Champions in Men's Senior 8's, Women's Novice 8's and Women's Novice 4's. They are the only rowing club in Ireland to have a full-time rowing coach in Mark Fangen-Hall.
Queen's has a large number of now-famous alumni, including formerPresident 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 (the only Justice who is not graduated from Oxbridge); 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
. Former Provisional IRA member and hunger striker Laurence McKeown
attended the university and obtained a PhD following his release from prison.
Other alumni include poet Paul Muldoon
; actors Liam Neeson
, Simon Callow
and Stephen Rea
; crime novelist Brian McGilloway
; broadcaster Nick Ross
; 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) and Tim Collins (former Commanding Officer
of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment).
Notable academics
who have worked at Queen's include Professor Paul Bew, Baron Bew, Professor Sir Bernard Crossland
, Professor Tony Hoare, Professor Michael Mann
, Poet and Critic Professor Philip Hobsbaum
, Professors Adrian Long and Muhammed Basheer and Professor John H. Whyte.,Writer Philip Larkin
was a sub-librarian at the university.
's ERASMUS 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. Queen's is also part of the Utrecht Network
which works towards the internationalisation of higher education. The university also has exchange programmes with the University of Newcastle
, New South Wales, Australia, and two universities in Canada: Queen's University
in Kingston, Ontario
, and the University of Alberta
in Edmonton
, Alberta. Ching Yun University
in Jhongli City, Taiwan, lists Queen's as a 'sister institution'. The university is also a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (T.I.M.E.) Association
.
Queen's takes part in the British Council
's Business Education Initiative
study-abroad
scheme sending a number of undergraduate students to study business and related subjects at participating higher-education
institutions in the United States.
Public university
A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions...
research university in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
QUB. The university was chartered in 1845, and opened in 1849 as "Queen's College, Belfast", but has roots going back to 1810 and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
Royal Belfast Academical Institution
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, is a Grammar School in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Locally referred to as Inst, the school educates boys from ages 11–18...
.
Queen's is a member of the Russell Group
Russell Group
The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that together receive two-thirds of research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1994 to represent their interests to the government, parliament and other similar bodies...
of leading research intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities
Association of Commonwealth Universities
The Association of Commonwealth Universities represents over 480 universities from Commonwealth countries.- History :In 1912, the University of London took the initiative to assemble 53 representatives of universities in London to hold a Congress of Universities of the Empire...
, the European University Association
European University Association
The European University Association represents and supports more than 850 institutions of higher education in 46 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and exchange of information on higher education and research policies...
, Universities Ireland
Universities Ireland
Universities Ireland is an organisation which promotes collaboration and co-operation between universities in Ireland, including those both in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland...
and Universities UK
Universities UK
Universities UK began life as the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century when there were informal meetings involving Vice-Chancellors of a number of universities and Principals of university colleges...
. The university offers academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s at various levels and across a broad subject range, with over 300 degree programmes available. The university's current President and Vice-Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
is Professor Sir Peter Gregson
Peter Gregson
Sir Peter John Gregson, DL, FREng, FIAE, FIMMM, MRIA is a British research engineer and the 11th Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, taking over from Sir George Bain in August 2004...
, and its Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
is the current Secretary General
Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ; assisting and advising on policy...
of the Commonwealth of Nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, Kamalesh Sharma
Kamalesh Sharma
H.E Kamalesh Sharma is the current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London....
.
The University also forms the focal point of the Queen's Quarter area of the city, one of Belfast's seven cultural districts
Belfast Quarters
The Belfast Quarters refer to a number of distinctive cultural zones within the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, whose identities have been developed as a spur to tourism and urban regeneration...
.
History
Queen's University Belfast has its roots in the Belfast Academical Institution, which was founded in 1810 and remains as the Royal Belfast Academical InstitutionRoyal Belfast Academical Institution
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution, is a Grammar School in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Locally referred to as Inst, the school educates boys from ages 11–18...
. The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" in 1845, when it was associated with the simultaneously founded Queen's College, Cork and Queen's College, Galway as part of the Queen's University of Ireland
Queen's University of Ireland
The Queen's University of Ireland was established formally by Royal Charter on 3 September 1850, as the degree-awarding university of the Queen's Colleges of Belfast, Cork, and Galway that were established in 1845 "to afford a university education to members of all religious denominations" in...
– founded to encourage higher education for Catholics and Presbyterians, as a counterpart to Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, then an Anglican institution. Queen's College, Belfast opened in 1849. Its main building, the Lanyon Building, was designed by the English architect, Sir Charles Lanyon
Charles Lanyon
Sir Charles Lanyon DL, JP was an English architect of the 19th century. His work is most closely associated with Belfast, Northern Ireland.-Biography:Lanyon was born in Eastbourne, Sussex in 1813...
.
At its opening, it had 23 professors and 343 students.. Some early students at Queen's University Belfast took University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
examinations.
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the University Education Act 1879 as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on April 27, 1880 and examinations were opened to candidates irrespective of...
, which had replaced the Queen's University of Ireland in 1879, and created two separate universities: the current National University of Ireland
National University of Ireland
The National University of Ireland , , is a federal university system of constituent universities, previously called constituent colleges, and recognised colleges set up under the Irish Universities Act, 1908, and significantly amended by the Universities Act, 1997.The constituent universities are...
and Queen's University of Belfast.
Queen's has been led by a distinguished line of Vice-chancellors, including Sir David Keir, Lord Ashby of Brandon
Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby
Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby FRS was a British botanist and educator.Born in Leytonstone in Essex, he was educated at the City of London School and the Royal College of Science, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. He was then demonstrator at the Imperial College from 1926 to 1929...
, Dr Michael Grant
Michael Grant (author)
Michael Grant was an English classicist, numismatist, and author of numerous popular books on ancient history. His 1956 translation of Tacitus’s Annals of Imperial Rome remains a standard of the work. Having studied and held a number of academic posts in the United Kingdom and the Middle East, he...
, Sir Arthur Vick, Sir Peter Froggatt, Sir Gordon Beveridge, and Sir George Bain
George Bain (academic)
Sir George Sayers Bain, a Canadian by birth born in Winnipeg and attended Miles MacDonell Collegiate, was President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2004.- Biography :...
, the current Vice Chancellor is Sir Professor Peter Gregson
Peter Gregson
Sir Peter John Gregson, DL, FREng, FIAE, FIMMM, MRIA is a British research engineer and the 11th Vice-Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, taking over from Sir George Bain in August 2004...
.
The university's Chancellors have included Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury, KP, PC, GCVO, CBE, was the son of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury and Lady Harriet Augusta Anna Seymourina Chichester , the daughter of George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall and Lady Harriet Anne Butler.-Family life:On 15 July...
, Field Marshal Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
, Sir Tyrone Guthrie
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, at his family's home, Annaghmakerrig, in County Monaghan, Ireland.-Life and career:Guthrie...
, Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby
Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby
Eric Ashby, Baron Ashby FRS was a British botanist and educator.Born in Leytonstone in Essex, he was educated at the City of London School and the Royal College of Science, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science. He was then demonstrator at the Imperial College from 1926 to 1929...
and George J. Mitchell
George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., is the former U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace under the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
. The incumbent is Kamalesh Sharma
Kamalesh Sharma
H.E Kamalesh Sharma is the current Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations from 2008, having previously served as the High Commissioner for India in London....
.
Parliamentary representation
The university was one of only eight United Kingdom universities to hold a parliamentary seat in the Parliament of the United KingdomParliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
at Westminster until such representation was abolished in 1950. The university was also represented
Queen's University of Belfast (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
Queen's University of Belfast was a university constituency of the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1921 until 1969. It returned four MPs, using the single transferable vote method of proportional representation...
in the Parliament of Northern Ireland
Parliament of Northern Ireland
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was the home rule legislature of Northern Ireland, created under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, which sat from 7 June 1921 to 30 March 1972, when it was suspended...
from 1920–1968, where its graduates elected four seats.
Academic life
University college
The term "university college" is used in a number of countries to denote college institutions that provide tertiary education but do not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university...
s, these being St Mary's and Stranmillis
Stranmillis University College
Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast, and has approximately 700 students today and offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses....
both also located in Belfast. Although offering a range of degree courses, these colleges primarily provide training for those wishing to enter the teaching profession. The university has formal agreements with other colleges in Northern Ireland and operates several outreach schemes to rural areas.
While the university refers to its main site as a campus, the university's buildings are in fact spread over a number of public streets in South Belfast, centring around University Road, University Square and Stranmillis Road, with other departments located further afield.
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, opened in July 2009.
In June 2010, the university announced that they would be launching a £7.5m Ansin international research hub with Seagate Technologies.
Queen's is 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.
Faculties and schools
Academics at Queen's are organised into twenty schools across three faculties. Each school operates 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 and Social Sciences
- School of Education
- School of English
- School of History and Anthropology
- School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy
- School of Modern Languages
- School of Law
- Queen's University Management School
- School of Creative Arts
- School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
- School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology
- School of Mathematics and Physics
- School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering
- School of Psychology
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
- School of Biological Sciences
- School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
- School of Nursing and Midwifery
- School of Pharmacy
Institutes
The Institute of Theology consists of several colleges with a Christian emphasis, including St Mary's
St. Mary's University College (Belfast)
St Mary's University College was established in 1985, but can directly trace its existence to 1900 and the foundation of St Mary's Training College, which focused mainly on the training of women as teachers...
(Catholic), Union Theological College
Union Theological College
Union Theological College is the theological college for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and is situated in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was established in 1853 as Assembly's College. The building served as the location for the early Northern Ireland Parliaments.The college offers a full range...
(Presbyterian), Belfast Bible College (non-deominational), as well as Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and Methodist colleges in Belfast. In all five colleges teach any programmes with a theological emphasis on behalf of the university; the university may confer theology degrees but cannot teach the subject itself.
Reputation
Queen's University Belfast was admitted to the Russell GroupRussell Group
The Russell Group is a collaboration of twenty UK universities that together receive two-thirds of research grant and contract funding in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1994 to represent their interests to the government, parliament and other similar bodies...
of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006.
- In the prestigious 2010 QS World University RankingsQS World University RankingsThe QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
, Queen's University Belfast was ranked 197th moving up 4 places from 2009. This places the University on a trajectory well short of reaching the target set by Vice-Chancellor Peter Gregson of being a "Global Top 100" by 2013. - The UK wide research assessment exercise (RAE), announced in December 2008, showed Queen's has 11 subject areas ranked within the top 10 in the UK and 24 in the top 20. With almost 800 staff submitted, every area had research assessed as world leading.
- In its independent 2011 league tables The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper placed the university at number 56 out of 117 institutes of higher education within the United Kingdom, a drop of 29 places compared to 2006, when Sir George Bain retired as Vice-Chancellor . - In its independent 2009 league tables The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
placed the university at equal 31st out of 113 ranked universities in its Good University Guide. - In its independent 2008 league tables The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times (UK)The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
placed Queen's at number 37 of 119 in its University Guide 2006 League Table, up two places from the previous year. - In 2007 the Times Higher-QS World UniversityTHES - QS World University RankingsThe term Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings refers to rankings published jointly between 2004 and 2009 by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds . After QS and Times Higher Education had ended their collaboration, the methodology for these rankings continues to be used by...
rankings (known from 2010 onwards as the QS World University RankingsQS World University RankingsThe QS World University Rankings is a ranking of the world’s top 500 universities by Quacquarelli Symonds using a method that has published annually since 2004....
) placed Queen's at number 88 out of the top 150 universities in Europe and commented that Queen's 'is a leader in innovation and education with an international academic reputation'. It has become number 50 in this year's (2011) Guardian University Guide.
| 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | 1994 | 1993 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Times Good University Guide | 38th. | 32nd. | 31st. | 33rd | 32nd | 31st | 33rd | 32nd | 23rd | 26th | 33rd | 33rd | 43rd | 41st | 39th= | 48th= | 52nd= | 48th= | 48th= | |
| Guardian University Guide | 50th | 56th | 46th | 29th | 28th | 27th | 33rd | 46th | 40th | |||||||||||
| Sunday Times University Guide | 37th | 36th | 37th | 39th | 34th | 33rd | 34th | 32nd | 35th | 35th | 38th | |||||||||
| Daily Telegraph | 28th= | 15th= | 15th | |||||||||||||||||
| FT | 36th | 37th | 33rd | 27th | ||||||||||||||||
| Independent – Complete University Guide | 34th | 28th |
Admissions and students
Entrants to Queen's have, on average, 359 A/AS-level pointsUCAS Tariff
The UCAS Points System is a means of differentiating students based upon grades from various post-GCSE qualifications. It is used as a means of giving students from the UK and Republic of Ireland places at UK universities.-Points system:...
and there are currently 5.3 applications per place. The Sunday Times has described the Queen's admissions policy as "among the most socially inclusive in Britain and Northern Ireland". 99.5 per cent of first degree entrants are from state schools, although this is mainly due to the lack of private schools in Northern Ireland.
In the 2009–10 academic year, the total student population was 22,705, of whom 17,210 were undergraduates and 5,495 postgraduates. Of the undergraduate population, 16,575 were from the UK, 340 from elsewhere in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and 295 were from outside the EU. The figures for postgraduates were 3,995 from the UK, 840 from elsewhere in the EU, and 665 from the rest of the world, mainly from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. There was also a total student population of 2,250 at the University's St Mary's and Stranmillis
Stranmillis University College
Stranmillis University College is a university college of Queen's University Belfast. The institution is located on the Stranmillis Road in Belfast, and has approximately 700 students today and offers the BEd, PGCE and TESOL, as well as other courses....
University Colleges.
Queen's was established as a non-sectarian institution, 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
Rupert Taylor
Rupert Taylor is Associate Professor of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He completed a BA degree in Politics and Government at the University of Kent in 1980, followed by an MSc at the London School of Economics in 1981 and a PhD in Sociology at Kent,...
, who conducted his PhD research on the university during The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
, 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 amongst 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. 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. The growing share of Catholics in the student population is in part due to the tendency of middle-class Protestants to go to university in Great Britain rather than Northern Ireland.
In 2009, Queen's signed a joint venture partnership with INTO University Partnerships
INTO University Partnerships
INTO University Partnerships is a British limited company that specialises in setting up joint ventures with universities. It focuses on the provision of foundation courses for international students, including English language, especially English for Academic Purposes.-History:INTO University...
, creating INTO 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.
Students' Union
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
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.
Union Services
A range of services are provided by the Students' Union following its reopening in March 2007 after a £9 million redevelopment, including an Advice Centre with full-time staff to help with issues such as money problems, accommodation and welfare. Commercial services are also provided for by the Union and include a shop, canteen and coffee franchise. There are also four bars within the building, the biggest of which, the MandelaNelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
Hall, hosts numerous concerts each year as well as the majority the Students' Union's club nights.
Clubs and Societies
More than fifty sporting clubs and over 100 non-sporting societies are recognised by the Student's Union Council and therefore eligible to apply for an annual grant from the University. The QUB boathouse, home of Queen's University Belfast Boat ClubQueen's University Belfast Boat Club
Queen's University Belfast Boat Club is the Boat Club of Queen's University Belfast which is in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is based on the River Lagan in the Stranmillis area of the city, about 10 minutes walk from the university.-1931–1951:...
(QUBBC) and Queen's University of Belfast Ladies Boat Club (QUBLBC), is located on the River Lagan
River Lagan
The River Lagan is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 40 miles from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The River Lagan forms much of the border between County Antrim and County Down. It rises as a tiny fast...
near Stranmillis
Stranmillis
Stranmillis is an area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is also an electoral ward for Belfast City Council, part of the Laganbank district electoral area. As part of the Queen's Quarter, it is the location for prominent attractions such as the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens and is popular...
. 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
An Cumann Gaelach, QUB
An Cumann Gaelach is the Irish Language Society at Queen's University Belfast . Established in 1906, it is the third oldest society still in existence at the University, after the BMSA and Christian Union. The first meeting of the society was held on 30 January 1906, with William Mac Arthur being...
and the Ulster-Scots
Ulster-Scots
The Ulster Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from Lowland Scots and English from the border of those two countries, many from the "Border Reivers" culture...
Society are also present. The Queen's University Mountaineering Club is notable for producing three Everest summiteers including Ireland's first, Dawson Stelfox
Dawson Stelfox
James Dawson Stelfox MBE is a Northern Ireland architect and chairman of Consarc Design Group. In May 2008, he was elected President of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects.-Education and career:...
. Dr Roger McMorrow
Roger McMorrow
Roger McMorrow is a Consultant Anaesthetist at the National Maternity Hospital and St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. He is inventor of the McMorrow Laryngoscope and the CXE Breathing Circuit and is one of Ireland's Everest Summiteers...
and Dr 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.
QUB is one of only 20 Universities in the United Kingdom to have the privilege of an AIESEC Local Chapter, developing leadership, business and soft skills in highly motivated students, as well as providing international opportunities through their work abroad program
Housing
Queen's provides housing for both undergraduates and postgraduates, although because of the compact size of Northern Ireland many students chose to live at home and commute to the university. In 2005/06, 36 per cent of Queen's students lived in private accommodation within Belfast, 29 per cent lived with parents or guardians, 20 per cent in private accommodation outside of Belfast, and 10 per cent lived in university maintained accommodation.The university provides accommodation on a purpose-built 'student village' called Elms Village, which has its own bar and shop, located on the Malone Road
Malone Road
The Malone Road is a radial road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, leading from the university quarter southwards to the affluent suburbs of Malone and Upper Malone, each a separate electoral ward...
, 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.
Cultural life
The university hosts the annual Belfast Festival at Queen'sBelfast Festival at Queen's
The Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's is an annual arts festival held in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 49th Festival will take place from 14 to 31 October 2011.-History:...
and the Belfast Film Festival
Belfast Film Festival
Founded in 1995 by author Laurence McKeown, in its early stages of development the West Belfast Film Festival was part of Féile an Phobail. In its third and fourth year, it was autonomous and under the stewardship of Michele Devlin and Laurence McKeown, the Film Festival ran as a citywide event...
, and in 2007 held the Irish Student Drama Association Festival. It runs Northern Ireland's only arthouse cinema, Queen's Film Theatre
Queen's Film Theatre
The Queen's Film Theatre or QFT is a small independent cinema at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland that was founded in 1968. The QFT focuses mainly on art house, indie and world cinema and plays an important role in the cultural life of Belfast, in particular through contributions to...
, the Brian Friel Theatre
Brian Friel Theatre
The Brian Friel Theatre is a studio theatre located at Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was opened in February 2009 and is named after the Irish dramatist, theatre director and author, Brian Friel....
and an art gallery, the Naughton Gallery at Queen's
Naughton Gallery at Queen's
The Naughton Gallery at Queen's is an art gallery and museum at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Opened in 2001, the gallery is named after its benefactors Martin and Carmel Naughton, who donated £500,000 to the university in 2002. Along with the Queen's Film Theatre and the annual...
, which is a registered museum. In 2008 the Naughton Gallery was awarded the prestigious Times Higher Award for Excellence and Innovation in the Arts. Housed in the Lanyon building since 2001 is a marble statue by Pio Fedi of the great physicist Galileo, portrayed deep in thought.
Sport
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. This building houses many squash courts, several climbing walls and is home to QUB's senior men's and women's basketball teams.
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 for rugby
Queen's University RFC
Queen's University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union team of Queen's University Belfast. Founded in 1869, it is the second oldest rugby union club in Northern Ireland . They originally played as Queen's College, Belfast and have won the Ulster Senior Cup a record 21 times...
, association football, Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, camogie
Camogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
and cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. In addition, there are three netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
courts, nine tennis courts and an athletics arena where the Mary Peters
Mary Peters (athlete)
Dame Mary Elizabeth Peters, DBE, DL is a former British athlete, competing mainly in the pentathlon and shot put.-Biography:Mary Peters was born in Halewood, Lancashire, but moved to Ballymena at age eleven...
Track is situated. The area and it's surrounding forest of Barnetts Demesne are mapped for orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
.
Queen's Gaelic football team have won several Sigerson Cup
Sigerson Cup
The Sigerson Cup is the top division of Higher Education Gaelic football in Ireland, It is administrated by the Higher Education committee which is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association...
s, most recently in 2007. The university's association football team, Queen's University Belfast A.F.C., play in the Irish Second Division
Irish Second Division
The IFA Interim Intermediate League, or IFA Interim League, was a temporary league in Northern Ireland for one season only , consisting of those former members of the IFA Intermediate League who did not meet the criteria for the new IFA Championship...
. Queen's snooker team have won the British intervarsity title on a record nine occasions and are the current champions.
Queen's Boat Club
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
are one of the most successful clubs in the University. They are reigning Irish Champions in men's Intermediate and Senior 8's and are the current holders of the British Universities and Colleges Sport Men's Championship 8, Men's Intermediate 8, Men's Intermediate coxed four, Men's Championship Quad, Women's Beginner 8 and Women's beginner coxed four titles making them one of the most successful university rowing clubs in the UK at present. They are also reigning Irish University Champions in Men's Senior 8's, Women's Novice 8's and Women's Novice 4's. They are the only rowing club in Ireland to have a full-time rowing coach in Mark Fangen-Hall.
Notable alumni and academics
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
Mary McAleese; Nobel Prize winners poet Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney
Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer. He lives in Dublin. Heaney has received the Nobel Prize in Literature , the Golden Wreath of Poetry , T. S. Eliot Prize and two Whitbread prizes...
and politician Lord Trimble; former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was the de facto head of the Government of Northern Ireland. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920. However the Lord Lieutenant, as with Governors-General in other Westminster Systems such as in Canada, chose to appoint someone...
Lord Faulkner of Downpatrick
Brian Faulkner
Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, PC was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972...
; Lords Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Lord Hutton and Lord Kerr of Tonaghmore, Justice of The Supreme Court of United Kingdom (the only Justice who is not graduated from Oxbridge); former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly Lord Alderdice and former and current Northern Ireland ministers Sir Reg Empey
Reg Empey
Reginald Norman Morgan Empey, Baron Empey of Shandon, OBE, – known as Sir Reg Empey prior to 2011 – is a former Leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for East Belfast...
, Mark Durkan
Mark Durkan
Mark Durkan is an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2001 to 2010.-Early life:...
, Nigel Dodds
Nigel Dodds
Nigel Alexander Dodds, OBE, MP, BL is a barrister and Northern Irish unionist politician. He is Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and from 1993 has been General Secretary of the DUP...
and Conor Murphy
Conor Murphy
Conor Terence Murphy is an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician.According to An Phoblacht, Murphy first became involved with the Irish Republican Army during the 1981 hunger strikes...
, and former Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
minister and prominent Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
member Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill
Eoin MacNeill was an Irish scholar, nationalist, revolutionary and politician. MacNeill is regarded as the father of the modern study of early Irish medieval history. He was a co-founder of the Gaelic League, to preserve Irish language and culture, going on to establish the Irish Volunteers...
. Former Provisional IRA member and hunger striker Laurence McKeown
Laurence McKeown
Laurence McKeown is an author, playwright, screenwriter, and former volunteer in the Provisional Irish Republican Army who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.-Background and IRA activity:...
attended the university and obtained a PhD following his release from prison.
Other alumni include poet Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet. He has published over thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. He held the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1999 - 2004. At Princeton University he is both the Howard G. B. Clark ’21 Professor in the Humanities and...
; actors Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
, Simon Callow
Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:...
and Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea
Stephen Rea is an Irish film and stage actor. Rea has appeared in high profile films such as V for Vendetta, Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire and Breakfast on Pluto...
; crime novelist Brian McGilloway
Brian McGilloway
Brian McGilloway is an author hailing from Derry, Northern Ireland. Born in 1974, he studied English at Queens University Belfast, where he was very active in student theatre, winning a prestigious national Irish Student Drama Association award for theatrical lighting design in 1996. He is...
; broadcaster Nick Ross
Nick Ross
Nick Ross is a British radio and television presenter across a wide range of factual programmes and during the 1980s and 90s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters, but he is best known for his long-running co-hosting of the BBC TV show Crimewatch which he left on 2 July 2007...
; scientists John Stewart Bell
John Stewart Bell
John Stewart Bell FRS was a British physicist from Northern Ireland , and the originator of Bell's theorem, a significant theorem in quantum physics regarding hidden variable theories.- Early life and work :...
, Frank Pantridge
Frank Pantridge
Professor James Francis "Frank" Pantridge, MD, CBE was a physician and cardiologist from Northern Ireland who transformed emergency medicine and paramedic services with the invention of the portable defibrillator....
and Thomas Henry Flewett
Thomas Henry Flewett
Dr Thomas Henry Flewett, MD, FRCPath, FRCP was a founder member of the Royal College of Pathologists and was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1978...
. Other alumni include John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
, Trevor Ringland
Trevor Ringland
Trevor Maxwell Ringland, MBE is a solicitor, former rugby union winger and Unionist politician. After attending Larne Grammar School Ringland studied law at Queen's University Belfast.-Rugby career:...
and David Cullen
David Cullen
David Cullen is a former basketball player who currently assists the organisation Crossover Basketball with its work in Northern Ireland...
(2007 winners of the Arthur Ashe for Courage Award), David Case
David Case
Air Commodore David Case is the highest ranking black officer in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom, and as of 2000, at the age of 47, he became the highest ranking black officer ever to serve in Britain's armed forces. He was born in Guyana, and immigrated to Britain at the age of 5...
(Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, the highest ranking Black officer in the British Armed forces) and Tim Collins (former Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment).
Notable academics
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
who have worked at Queen's include Professor Paul Bew, Baron Bew, Professor Sir Bernard Crossland
Bernard Crossland
Prof Sir Bernard Crossland CBE, FRS was an engineering educator with a career spanning some seven decades. He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 1987 and was knighted in 1990 for services to Northern Ireland.-Life:...
, Professor Tony Hoare, Professor Michael Mann
Michael Mann (sociologist)
Michael Mann is a British-born professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles and Visiting Research Professor at Queen's University Belfast. Mann holds dual British and US citizenships. He received his B.A. in Modern History from the University of Oxford in 1963 and his...
, Poet and Critic Professor Philip Hobsbaum
Philip Hobsbaum
Philip Dennis Hobsbaum was a British teacher, poet and critic.-Life:Hobsbaum was born into a Polish Jewish family in London, and brought up in Bradford, in Yorkshire. He read English at Downing College, Cambridge, where he was taught and heavily influenced by F. R. Leavis...
, Professors Adrian Long and Muhammed Basheer and Professor John H. Whyte.,Writer Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
was a sub-librarian at the university.
Links with other universities
Queen's participates in the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's ERASMUS programme
Erasmus programme
The Erasmus Programme , a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union student exchange programme established in 1987...
, 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. Queen's is also part of the Utrecht Network
Utrecht Network
The Utrecht Network is a network of European universities. The network promotes the internationalisation of tertiary education through summer schools, student and staff exchanges and joint degrees.- Utrecht Network member universities :...
which works towards the internationalisation of higher education. The university also has exchange programmes with the University of Newcastle
University of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
, New South Wales, Australia, and two universities in Canada: Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, and the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta. Ching Yun University
Ching Yun University
Ching Yun University（; Hakka: Ciàng-iŭn Tai-hok; abbreviation CYU）is a university in Zhongli City, Taoyuan County, Taiwan. CYU is also known as Ching Yun Tech .- Present Situation :...
in Jhongli City, Taiwan, lists Queen's as a 'sister institution'. The university is also a member of the Top Industrial Managers for Europe (T.I.M.E.) Association
Top Industrial Managers for Europe
Top Industrial Managers for Europe is a network of more than fifty engineering schools and faculties and technical universities....
.
Queen's takes part in the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
's Business Education Initiative
Business Education Initiative
The Business Education Initiative is a study-abroad programme run initially by the Department for Employment and Learning, but since 2006, is delivered by the British Council in association with the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.- Activities :Each year approximately...
study-abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
scheme sending a number of undergraduate students to study business and related subjects at participating higher-education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
institutions in the United States.
See also
- Education in Northern IrelandEducation in Northern IrelandEducation in Northern Ireland differs slightly from systems used elsewhere in the United Kingdom, though it is more similar to that used in England and Wales than it is to Scotland. A child's age on 1 July determines the point of entry into the relevant stage of education unlike England and Wales...
- List of universities in Northern Ireland
- List of Queen's University Belfast people
- List of Chancellors of Queen's University Belfast
- List of Vice-Chancellors of Queen's University Belfast
- List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
- INTO Queen's University Belfast