History of Queen's
Queen's University Belfast is unique. A leader in innovation and education, it is an international centre of academic excellence rooted at the heart of Northern Ireland.
The Queen Mother visits Queen's 1962
Queen's has always been ahead of its time. Since its foundation, Queen's has adhered to the principle of strictly non-denominational teaching and this is included in its charter of 1908. The Charter also guaranteed equality for women - 12 years before they were admitted to Oxford and a full decade before they were given the vote. It also made trailblazing provision for student representation on the Senate, the governing body of the University - a radical move in the early days of the 20th century.
Today Queen's is a broadly-based research-led university offering a dynamic world-class portfolio of research and educational opportunities. A member of the Russell Group of leading United Kingdom universities, Queen's is a global player in research areas from cancer studies to sustainability, from wireless technology to poetry and from pharmaceuticals to sonic arts.
The Ragging of Winston Churchill on University Road, 1926
The university has won four Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Further and Higher Education - for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology and law.
A commitment to its students has always been at the heart of Queen's ethos. As it celebrates its Centenary as a university in its own right, this is truer than ever, as the benefits of a £259million investment in staff, students and infrastructure come to life. The University's £45million Sir Anthony O'Reilly Library, which will open in 2009, will be a landmark building for Northern Ireland. Major refurbishment of the Physical Education Centre and the Student's Union has created some of the best student facilities in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Queen's greatest strength are its staff and students. Queen's staff are the researchers and teachers who have contributed to the University's academic reputation and motivated successive generations of graduates who have made their mark in many spheres of life.
The British Universities Students' Congress, 1908
These graduates include two Nobel prizewinners, poet Seamus Heaney and Northern Ireland's former First Minister, David Trimble.
Other distinguished alumni are President of Ireland Mary McAleese, former church leaders Lord Eames and Cardinal Cahal Daly, TV presenter Zoe Salmon, entertainer Patrick Kielty and the late Professor Frank Pantridge, who developed the mobile coronary care unit.
Queen's is building on the excellence of its past to nurture a dynamic community of world-class academics and students with the ability and imagination to contribute to society around the world.
