Queen’s University Belfast, Ireland

Queen’s University Belfast: Rankings, Courses, Admissions, Fees, and Scholarships

Queen’s University Belfast is a public research university in the United Kingdom’s Northern Ireland. The university was founded as “Queen’s College, Belfast” in 1845 and opened four years later.

With over 300 degree programs, Queen’s University offers academic degrees at all levels. Ian Greer is the current president and vice-chancellor. 

 Until 1950, the institution was one of just eight universities in the United Kingdom to have a parliamentary seat in the House of Commons at Westminster. From 1920 until 1968, the university had four members elected to the Northern Ireland Parliament by its graduates.

Why study at Queens University Belfast? 

 Some of the main reasons to study at the Queens University Belfast are as follows:

•  With a building cost of over 50 million pounds, The McClay Library is one of the largest libraries equipped with the latest technology.
• The award-winning Naughton Gallery, located at Belfast is located in this University
• The University has continued efforts to turn Queen’s historic campus into a beacon of study and innovation by investing £700 million under a 20-year expansion program.
• The Chief Executives’ Club (CEC) at the university is a high-level business forum that promotes advantages like business networking, leadership, and helps to build and maintain linkages between the students.

Queens University Belfast Rankings

• Placed 43rd by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2021 globally.
• Ten of their subjects are among the top 200 in the globe (QS World University Rankings 2021). Three of these disciplines are among the top 100 in the world (QS World Rankings by subject 2021).
• Ranked 21st globally by The TIMES.
• QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022 has ranked it among the 170 top universities globally.
• Ranked 8th in the UK for Research Intensity by REF 2014-Times Higher Education
• It is ranked amongst the top 75 Universities for Teaching Excellence in the UK by Times Higher Education in the year 2019

Programs and Courses offered at Queens University Belfast

There are three Faculty groups, and 15 Schools at the Queens University Belfast.

• Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Faculty

          Over 700 academic and support staff work in and across the Faculty’s five Schools – Arts,  English, and Languages; History, Anthropology, Philosophy, and Politics; Law; Management; and Social Sciences, Education, and Social Work 

• Engineering and Physical Sciences Faculty

The Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Queen’s University Belfast, provide a variety of academic areas that encourage cutting-edge science and technology, have a significant impact on all parts of modern life, as well as the future of humanity.

• Medical, Health, and Life Sciences Faculty

Each of the university’s faculties serves as the university’s principal management entity, while the schools serve as the center for education and research in their particular subject areas.

Campus and Accommodation

The university has two campuses St Mary’s and Stranmillis, located in the west and south-west of Belfast, respectively, in addition to the main campus on the southern outskirts of Belfast city center. These colleges provide teacher training as well as a variety of degree programs, all of which are based on a liberal arts core.

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

Queen’s provides housing for both undergraduates and postgraduates, while many students prefer to live at home and commute due to Northern Ireland’s small size. The university provides housing on the Malone Road, south of the main campus, in a purpose-built “student community” named Elms Village, which has its own bar and shop, as well as in a number of residences in the South Belfast region, including at College Gardens and on Mount Charles.

Admission requirements for international students

For full-time undergraduate degree programs at Queen’s, the majority of students apply through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service). Students can apply via Gyanberry for an error-free and smooth admission process

• In order to fully benefit from their course of study or research, international students seeking to apply to Queen’s University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language) must be able to demonstrate their written and spoken English proficiency. 
• To study in the UK for more than six months, non-EEA citizens will need a Student visa. Only Trinity ISE and IELTS taken at UK government-approved test centers will be recognized SELTs for qualifications achieved.
• For direct admission to undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs, Queen’s University will accept the IELTS AcAEDmic (both SELT and non-SELT) and TOEFL internet-based tests.

For admission to the vast majority of postgraduate programs, applications should be submitted online through the Postgraduate Applications Portal.

Tuition, fees, and cost of attendance

Tuition fee for one year of study for undergrad students are

Fee Rate 1 (FR1): Courses which are essentially classroom-based

Fee Rate 2 (FR2): Courses with a substantial laboratory or workshop component

Fee Rate 3 (FR3): Pre-Clinical elements of medical courses

Fee Rate 4 (FR4): Clinical elements of medical courses

Tuition fee for one year of study for postgrad taught students are:

Scholarships for international students

The University provides over 300 courses and has been ranked 43rd by THE  in the year 2021. It has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1 ensuring personalized attention for each and every student irrespective of the program selected. It also has a number of scholarships available for International Students. The research provided by the University has been highly recognized in the past decade. With over 7300 International Students currently admitted it is International Student Friendly. Hence, it is worth considering for degree courses abroad.