University Road
Belfast BT7 1NN

Tel 028 9097 5081

admissions@qub.ac.uk

www.qub.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 36 (37)

Teaching excellence 60.6%

Student satisfaction 75.1%

Head teacher ranking 42= (46=)

Peer ranking 28= (22)

Research quality 61%

A/AS-level points 358

A-levels for entry 83%

Unemployment 3%

Firsts and 2:1s 69.9%

Student/staff ratio 15.7:1

Dropout rate 13% (12%)

World ranking 206

Undergraduates 13,256 (5,907)

Postgraduates 2,120 (3,276)

Teaching staff 831

Applications/places 20,601/3,572; 5.8:1 (+7.3%)

Clearing entry 6.7%

Bursaries 53%: £100-£1,125

Scholarships 32: £600

EU/overseas 2.8%/1%

Mature 13.1%

State school 100%

Lowest social classes 34%

Low-participation areas 11%

Live in 16% (100%) £58-£83

It is hard to imagine a more confident university. At one time, Queen’s struggled to recruit staff and students from outside Northern Ireland, but after several years of political calm it is blooming, with applications up and leading academics being attracted from across the globe, boosting its research profile. Its admission to the Russell Group of research-led universities last November was an acknowledgement of the quiet revolution taking place under vice-chancellor Peter Gregson. All this helps Queen’s make the shortlist for our prestigious University of the Year award.

This rebirth has attracted home to Ireland world-class academics such as Professor Paddy Johnston, who heads the centre for cancer research and cell biology. This month he takes over as dean of medicine, heading up a medical school which in 2006 gained funding for a 40% increase in numbers, bringing to 250 the admissions each year.

When the Sir Anthony O’Reilly Library opens in 2009, Queen’s claims it will have the finest library facilities of any university in the UK. The £45m investment is part of a £259m corporate plan which will change the face of the university by 2011. The money will be spent on facilities, staff and the students themselves. There are plans to revise the scholarship scheme, which offers about 32 entrance scholarships of £600 to students with AAA at A-level or equivalent.

About half the students are expected to qualify for bursaries; this year those from families with a residual income under £22,910 will get £615, rising to £1,125 where income falls beneath £17,910.

Teaching is high quality and along traditional lines. Student satisfaction is much higher than in many other city-based institutions, a reflection of the pervading sense of optimism in the university and city at large.

The university is set in an attractive part of south Belfast, the buildings part of the fabric of the city. A £45m refurbishment of the Elms student village and a £9m spend on the students’ union building has upgraded both the rooms available and the social and sports facilities, which include a two-storey climbing wall.

Recruitment is still predominantly from within Northern Ireland, where most graduates tend to settle. This has contributed to its success in generating spin-out companies from research that have gone on to create 1,000 local jobs, more than any other university bar Cambridge, Queen’s claims.

Open days Contact the university.

Student view Ciarnan Helferty, students’ union officer:

USP An internationally renowned academic institution on your doorstep.

Worst feature It’s a very Northern Ireland university, so you won’t get the same mix as other universities and people go home at weekends.

Location The university has a symbiotic relationship with Belfast.

Social scene Every night is students’ night.

Rated excellent (25) Applied social work; archeology; business and management; Celtic studies; civil engineering; classics and ancient history (Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies); dentistry; economics; education; education (St Mary’s University College); education (Stranmillis University College); electrical and electronic engineering; English; history; law; maths, statistics and operational research; medicine; music; nursing; pharmacology and pharmacy; physics and astronomy; politics; psychology; theology and religious studies; town and country planning and landscape (environmental planning).

Degree of student satisfaction: 75.1%

Medical Science and Pharmacy 84.6; Physical Geography and Environmental Science 79.7; Biology and related Sciences 79.1; Finance and Accounting 79.0; English-based studies 78.5; European Languages and Area studies 78.5; Electronic and Electric Engineering 78.2; Philosophy, Theology and Religious studies 77.8; Physical Science 76.8; Management 76.2; History and Archeology 76.1; Medicine and Dentistry 76.0; Mathematical Sciences 75.3; Performing Arts 75.0; Mechanically-based Engineering 74.9; Civil, Chemical and other Engineering 74.2; Psychology 74.1; Sociology, Social Policy and Anthropology 72.8; Social Work 70.6; Politics 69.2; Law 69.1; Economics 66.3; Computer Science 65.8; Media studies 65.1; Architecture, Building and Planning 65.0

Times recommends

• Degree classifications not fit for purpose says watchdog
• Five essential tips for your year abroad
• Are students killing television?