The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of the Queen's University of Ireland and opened four years later, together with University of Galway (as Queen's College, Galway) and University College Cork (as Queen's College, Cork).
Queen's offers approximately 300 academic degree programmes at various levels. The current president and vice-chancellor is Ian Greer. The annual income of the institution for 2024–25 was £493.8 million, of which £112.4 million was from research grants and contracts, with an expenditure of £511.5 million.
Queen's is a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universities UK and Universities Ireland. The university is associated with two Nobel laureates and one Turing Award laureate.
History
Queen's University Belfast has roots in the Belfast Academical Institution, which was founded in 1810 and which remains as the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" when it was associated with the simultaneously founded Queen's College, Cork, and Queen's College, Galway on 30 December 1845 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 almost exclusively Anglican institution. The institution's name directly honored the reigning British Monarch, Queen Victoria, in August 1849 by making an official royal visit to the Belfast campus with Prince Albert, where she signed the college's official roll book to commemorate its opening. Queen's College, Belfast, officially opened in October that year. Its main building, the Lanyon Building, was designed by the English-born architect, Sir Charles Lanyon. At its opening, it had 23 professors and 195 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.
In November 2025, it was announced that Dundalk Institute of Technology will become a constituent college of Queen's University Belfast from September 2026, thereby giving Queen's a Republic of Ireland campus for the first time. In May 2026, it was announced that Dundalk Institute of Technology would be renamed Dundalk University College in light of the partnership, and that Queen's University Belfast would begin conferring awards upon Dundalk students from 2027.
Parliamentary representation
The university was one of only eight United Kingdom universities to hold a parliamentary seat in the House of Commons at Westminster until such representation was abolished in 1950. The university was also represented in the Parliament of Northern Ireland from 1920 to 1968, when graduates elected four members.
Contemporary university life
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; the McClay library was designed by Boston-based architects Shepley Bulfinch, working in association with Belfast architects, Robinson Patterson Partnership, and opened in July 2009. The building has been named in honour of Sir Allen McClay, a major benefactor of Queen's University and of the Library.
In June 2010, the university announced the launch of a £7.5 million Ansin international research hub with Seagate Technology.
Also in that year, Queen's was 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.
Campus
In addition to the main campus on the southern fringes of Belfast city centre, the university has two associated university colleges, St Mary's and Stranmillis, located in the west and south-west of the city respectively. These colleges offer teacher training for those who wish to pursue teaching careers and a range of degree courses, all of which are centred around a liberal arts core. From September 2026, Dundalk Institute of Technology will also become a university college of Queen's.
Although the university refers to its main site as a campus,See , for example. the university's buildings are spread over 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 such as in Titanic Quarter and Portaferry.
Organisation and governance
Faculties and schools Academic life at Queen's is organised into fifteen schools across three faculties: the Faculty of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (AHSS); the Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (EPS); and the Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences (MHLS). Each of the faculties operate 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 & Social Sciences School of Arts, English and Languages School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics School of Law Queen's Business School School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science School of Mathematics and Physics School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering School of Natural and Built Environment School of Psychology Faculty of Medicine, Health & Life Sciences School of Biological Sciences School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences School of Nursing and Midwifery School of Pharmacy
Institutes and research centres Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) – A subsidiary of the School of Biological Sciences, IGFS was established in 2013 primarily to research and address key questions about the future of the world's food systems. The Senator George J. Mitchell Institute For Global Peace, Security And Justice – Established in 2012, the Institute aims to contribute to conflict transformation and social justice. Institute of Cognition and Culture – Established in 2004, ICC is one of the world's first centres for research in the cognitive science of culture. Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) – Established in 2003, ECIT aims to commercialize research and expertise in a variety of enabling digital communications technologies at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EEECS). Institute of Irish Studies – Established in 1955, the Institute was the first of its kind to be established in the world and is one of the leading centres for research-led teaching in Irish Studies and is an internationally renowned centre of interdisciplinary Irish scholarship. Institute of Professional Legal Studies (IPLS) – Established in 1977, IPLS provides an internationally recognised and unique one-year postgraduate course for trainee barristers and trainee solicitors. Institute of Spatial and Environmental Planning (ISEP) – A department of the School of Natural and Built Environment. Established in 2000, ISEP specialises in research projects regarding planning and development courses. Institute of Theology – This previously consisted of several colleges with a Christian emphasis, including St Mary's (Catholic), Union Theological College (Presbyterian), Belfast Bible College (non-denominational), as well as the Irish Baptist College and Edgehill Theological College (Methodist) colleges in Belfast. Any programmes with a theological emphasis were taught by these five colleges on behalf of the university; the university could confer theology degrees but could not teach the subject itself. The provision of theology came to an end after a previous Professor of Church History was dismissed by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. William J. Clinton Leadership Institute – A department of Queen's Business School. Established in 2011, the Leadership Institute provides leadership development and training courses to private, public and third sectors outside QUB. Queen's University Centre for Economic History (QUCEH) – a research centre of Queen's Business School. Established in 2012, QUCEH brings together faculty and graduate students working on the economic study of the past from across the university and elsewhere. Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC) – A department of the School of Arts, English and Languages. Established in 2006, SARC has been instrumental in the use of networked music performance as both collaborative and performance tools.
Governance
The effective head of the university is its vice-chancellor. The current vice-chancellor, Ian Greer, was appointed in January 2018, following the sudden death of the previous vice-chancellor, Patrick Johnston. Previous vice-chancellors have included Sir David Keir, Lord Ashby of Brandon, Michael Grant, Sir Arthur Vick, Sir Peter Froggatt, Sir Gordon Beveridge, Sir George Bain and Sir Peter Gregson.
The role of chancellor is a largely a ceremonial one, involving attending graduations, acting as an ambassador for the university abroad and serving as an advisor to the vice-chancellor. The current chancellor is Hillary Clinton, who was appointed the university's first female chancellor in January 2020 (and was inaugurated in September 2021), taking over from previous incumbent Thomas Moran, who died in August 2018. Clinton had been given an honorary doctorate from the university in October 2018. Previous 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.
Finances In the financial year ending 31 July 2024, Queen's had a total income of £474.2 million (2022/23 – £462.8 million) and total expenditure of £345.9 million (2022/23 – £466.5 million). Key sources of income included £160 million from tuition fees and education contracts (2022/23 – £160.9 million), £107.4 million from funding body grants (2022/23 – £108.2 million), £105.2 million from research grants and contracts (2022/23 – £103.1 million), £12.4 million from investment income (2022/23 – £8.1 million) and £3.6 million from endowment donations (2022/23 – £3.1 million).
At year end, Queen's had endowments of £70.9 million (2023 – £65.6 million) and total net assets of £658 million (2023 – £505.4 million). It holds the twentieth-largest endowment of any university in the UK.
Academic profile
Research
Queen's University Belfast was admitted as a member of the self-appointed Russell Group of UK research-intensive universities in November 2006. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF), which assesses the quality of research in UK higher education institutions, the university is ranked 37th by GPA and 24th for research power (the grade point average score of a university, multiplied by the full-time equivalent number of researchers submitted).
Rankings and reputation The Times Higher Education rankings 2018 placed Queen's 32nd out of 93 in the UK. In the 2024 QS World University Rankings, Queen's was ranked 204. It ranked 258th among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings.
In the National Student Survey 2013, Queen's was ranked 12th in the UK for student satisfaction.