Queen's University Belfast

Queen's University Belfast is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The university's official title, per its charter, is the Queen's University of Belfast. It is often referred to simply as Queen's, or by the abbreviation QUB. The university was chartered in 1845, and opened in 1849 as "Queen's College, Belfast", but has roots going back to 1810 and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.

Queen's is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universities Ireland and Universities UK. The university offers academic degrees at various levels and across a broad subject range, with over 300 degree programmes available.

The University also forms the focal point of the Queen's Quarter area of the city, one of Belfast's seven cultural districts.

History

Queen's University Belfast has its roots in the Belfast Academical Institution, which was founded in 1810 and remains as the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. The present university was first chartered as "Queen's College, Belfast" in 1845, when it was associated with the simultaneously founded Queen's College, Cork and Queen's College, Galway 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 Anglican institution. Queen's College, Belfast opened in 1849.Its main building, the Lanyon Building, was designed by the English architect, Sir Charles Lanyon. 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.

Queen's has been led by a distinguished line of Vice-chancellors, including Sir David Keir, Lord Ashby of Brandon, Dr Michael Grant, Sir Arthur Vick, Sir Peter Froggatt, Sir Gordon Beveridge, and Sir George Bain, the current Vice Chancellor is Professor Sir Peter Gregson.

The university's 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.The incumbent is Kamalesh Sharma.

In addition to the main campus not far from the centre of Belfast, the university has two associated university colleges, these being St Mary's and Stranmillis both also located in Belfast. Although offering a range of degree courses, these colleges primarily provide training for those wishing to enter the teaching profession. The university has formal agreements with other colleges in Northern Ireland and operates several outreach schemes to rural areas.

While the university refers to its main site as a campus, the university's buildings are in fact spread over a number of public streets in South Belfast, centring around University Road, University Square and Stranmillis Road, with other departments located further afield.

Faculties and schools

Academics at Queen's are organised into twenty schools across three faculties. Each school operates 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 and Social Sciences

School of Education

School of English

School of History and Anthropology

School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy

School of Modern Languages

School of Law

Queen's University Management School

School of Creative Arts

Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences

School of Biological Sciences

School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences

School of Nursing and Midwifery

School of Pharmacy

Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology

School of Mathematics and Physics

School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering

School of Psychology

School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work

Several institutes are also associated with Queen's. Located close to the main campus is the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen's which offers training to law graduates to enable them to practise as solicitors or barristers in Northern Ireland, England & Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

The Institute of Theology consists of several colleges with a Christian emphasis, including St Mary's (Catholic), Union Theological College (Presbyterian), Belfast Bible College (non-denominational), as well as Baptist and Methodist colleges in Belfast. In all five colleges teach any programmes with a theological emphasis on behalf of the university; the university may confer theology degrees but cannot teach the subject itself.

Queen's University Belfast ranked:

197th in the 2010 QS World University Ranking

193th in the 2011 QS World University Ranking