Generally regarded as Northern Ireland’s premier university, Queen’s became a member of the Russell Group of leading UK research institutions in 2006. The university is investing £259 million in new staff and improved facilities to improve its research performance, raise entry standards and regain the international standing it enjoyed before the Troubles. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed some progress, with more than half of the university’s submission rated as world-leading or internationally excellent and Queen’s ranked in the UK’s top ten in 11 subject areas. Music, English and anthropology produced the highest grades.

Development

Almost £190 million is being spent on capital projects, the centrepiece of which will be a £45-million new library, said to be one of the most ambitious building projects in Northern Ireland, which is due for completion in 2009. The university’s vision for the future also includes improvements in student facilities: a student village, also costing £45 million, has replaced the existing tower block residences with three-storey self-catering “villas”. A new student guidance centre is bringing services together at the heart of the campus. The students’ union has had a £9-million refurbishment and now includes Enterprise SU, an area for students to improve their enterprise and employability skills. Queen’s has also introduced Degree Plus; a new award providing official recognition of extra-curricular activities and achievements and to help graduates in the job market.

Student Satisfaction

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Consistently high satisfaction levels in the National Student Survey place Queen’s among the top 30 universities. Anatomy, physiology and pathology, archaeology, dentistry, pharmacology, toxicology and pharmacy, and subjects allied to medicine produced particularly good results. Strictly non-denominational teaching is enshrined in a charter which has guaranteed student representation and equal rights for women since 1908. The charter even precluded the teaching of theology – this is done through a network of four associated colleges.

Queen’s was one of four university colleges for the whole of Ireland in the 19th century, and still draws students from all over the island. Applications were up by more than 6 per cent at the start of 2009. The university has begun to attract more students from Great Britain, as well as boosting the numbers of international students. A variety of international agreements have been forged in the United States, Malaysia, China and India.

The university district, which is among the most attractive in Belfast, is one of the city’s main cultural and recreational areas. Queen’s runs a highly successful arts festival each November, opened a new art gallery in 2001 and has the only full-time university cinema in the UK – one of the best in Ireland. Another £2 million has been invested in arts facilities recently, the lion’s share of the cash going into a new studio theatre. More teaching accommodation has been added, with better access for the disabled, and the university’s great hall has had a £2.5-million refurbishment, courtesy of the university’s own foundation.

Students are encouraged to take language programmes from a unique “virtual” language laboratory, which provides online tuition from any computer in the university. IT facilities are good: Queen’s was the first institution to meet the national target of providing at least one computer workstation for every five undergraduate students. An unusually large proportion of graduates go on to further study, which does Queen’s no harm in the employment league.

Student Scene

The city centre is not short of nightlife, but the social scene is still concentrated on the students’ union and the surrounding area. Sports facilities, which include a university hut in the Mourne mountains, are of a high standard. A £7-million extension to the University’s physical education centre has helped in Queen’s selection as an official training camp for the 2012 Olympics. The university runs academies for rugby and Gaelic sports, which have strong external links. Numerous Queen’s players are selected at club, provincial and national levels. First-years are guaranteed university accommodation and there is plenty of reasonably priced private housing for other years.

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