Queens University
The University's mission is to provide the widest possible access to learning through international excellence in teaching and research in an environment of equality, tolerance and mutual respect, thereby enhancing educational, economic, social and cultural development in Northern Ireland and throughout the world
Queen's University Belfast has a record of academic achievement which stretches back more than 150 years.
Founded by Queen Victoria, the Queen's University in Ireland, was designed to be a non-denominational alternative to Trinity College Dublin which was controlled by the Anglican Church.
The University was made up of three Queen's Colleges - in Cork, Galway and Belfast. Although it was the first University in the north of Ireland, Queen's drew on a tradition of learning which goes back to 1810 and the foundation of the Belfast Academical Institution.
Its collegiate department, which provided University-style education, closed with the establishment of Queen's and four of its professors and many of its students transferred to the new college.
Founded in 1845, it was 1849 when the first students entered the magnificent new college building designed and built by Charles Lanyon. Since then, the University estate has grown to more than 300 buildings - many of them listed for their architectural importance. The first batch of students numbered 90. Today there are some 23,000.
10 Key Facts About Queen's
- Queen's is one of the Top 20 UK universities out of a total of more than 170 which have been independently assessed to measure both the quality of teaching and the excellence of research.
- The main University campus is the size of a small town, situated within the three designated conservation areas. More than 250 buildings make up the University, half of which are listed as being of special architectural merit.
- Queen's has about 17,500 full-time and part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students, plus a further 10,000 enrolled part-time students in the Institute of Lifelong Learning. Around 7,000 full-time and part-time students come to Queen's each year and the total number of primary degrees awarded annually is more than 3,000, with around 1,200 higher degrees also being gained.
- Most professional people in Northern Ireland are graduates of Queen's.
- A high proportion of senior management and academic staff are from outside Northern Ireland, including the Chancellor, Senator George Mitchell, and the Canadian-born Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir George Bain.
- More than 30 new companies have been created in recent years to exploit the business potential of Queen's research.
- The Belfast Festival at Queen's is an internationally-acclaimed showcase of the performing and visual arts. Although centred on the Queen's campus, it is a 'town & gown' celebration, with many events staged in world-class venues such as the Grand Opera House and Waterfront Hall.
- More than 3,500 employees, including nearly 1,600 teaching and research staff, make Queen's one of Belfast's biggest employers.
- The award-winning Queen's Film Theatre is one of the few cinemas to be operated by a university anywhere. The two-screen QFT has been presenting the best contemporary and classic movies in very comfortable surroundings since the 1960s.
- The best known image of Queen's internationally is the dignified red-brick facade of the Lanyon Building which features in tourist brochures, postcards, Irish banknotes and credit cards. It has recently been refurbished, including the highly-acclaimed transformation of its Great Hall.
Queen's University Belfast,
University Road,
Belfast BT7 1NN,
Northern Ireland
T: 44 (0) 2890 245133
F: 44 (0) 2890 247895
W: http://www.qub.ac.uk/