Queen's University Belfast uses the following definitions: 

 Care Leaver: Queen’s University define a care leaver as a younger person who has been looked after by a Health and Social Care Trust or Local Authority for three months or more from the age of 14 years.

 Care Experienced: Queen’s University define care experienced as any student who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background for period of three months or more at any age. 

Ticking the box on UCAS is the best way to let us know that you are care experienced.  Here is some information from UCAS on how this works, and why it is so important. 

You can also send the named contact for care experienced students an email to:

Sinead O'Kane - s.okane@qub.ac.uk 

You can find the lastest Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prospectus here 

You can also contact Sinead O'Kane (s.okane@qub.ac.uk) if you wish to arrange a tour 

Queen's offer care experienced students 365 day a year accommodation.  Make sure you let the named contacts for care experienced students know that you have applied for Queen's accommodation so that they can ensure you get your room! 

You can find more information on Queen's accommodation here 

The Care Experienced Bursary offered by Queen's is £1000 per year of your studies, so long as you meet the criteria and can provide appropriate evidence of your time in care.

You will also have access to our SUQCESS Project which has been generously funded by a private donor to provide smaller amounts of financial support to help with resources directly linked to your studies and can be applied for at any time throughout your studies. 

There is lots of internal and external support available for care experienced students studying in Queen's.  

Along with support from your academic tutor, you will also have access to care experienced named contact:

Sinead O'Kane - s.okane@qub.ac.uk 

Please click here to see the full list of support available 

The transition to higher education can be a big adjustment, and it is important that you are prepared for the move. 

• The named contact for care experienced students will contact you to arrange a 1:1 support meeting to ensure you are receiving the appropriate support.  The named contacts is Sinead O'Kane (s.okane@qub.ac.uk).  
• Queen's has prepared a Transition Skills Module to provide you with helpful information as you are preparing to study at Queen's. 
• Here is a really useful guide for new students 
• There is some helpful information for parents/guardians here