As part of the University’s Strategy 2030, under the Social and Civic Responsibility, and Economic Prosperity pillar, securing the University of Sanctuary award has been identified as a strategic priority for Queen's University Belfast.

The Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Directorate has been tasked with coordinating these efforts and leading the development of a future strategy.

To ensure the success of the award and its long-term impact, the Path to Sanctuary Operational Group has been established as a permanent structure. Bringing together representatives from a wide range of university directorates, schools, and services, the group works collaboratively to oversee the implementation of the three-year strategy and to embed the University’s Sanctuary commitments beyond the award itself.

These networks are established within Queen's University Belfast and are dedicated to fostering inclusion, addressing inequalities, and supporting specific communities or initiatives within the university environment. They aim to provide spaces for networking, support, and collaboration among their respective communities or individuals, as well as creating a sense of belonging and addressing systemic issues.

Queen's University is a member institution of the SAR Ireland Committee. Scholars at Risk (SAR) is an international network of higher education institutions dedicated to protecting threatened scholars, preventing attacks on higher education communities and promoting academic freedom worldwide. Scholars at Risk-Ireland is the Irish section of SAR. The SAR-Ireland committee has representatives from universities on the island of Ireland.

Queen's University is also forging new relationships and expanding its networks with local, national, and international organisations. Among these collaborations are currently Belfast City of Sanctuary and Anaka Women’s Collective: they exemplify our university's commitment to partnering with organisations dedicated to fostering inclusion and supporting marginalised communities. By working together with these groups, we continue our journey towards creating a more equitable and welcoming environment for all.

Sanctuary Scholarships Update

Our previous Asylum Seekers’ Sanctuary Scholarships are currently under review as we work to enhance and improve them. Updated information and links will be shared here once the review process is complete, with the new scholarships available from January 2026.

In the meantime, the University continues to offer four full-time Copty Scholarships, open to applicants of Palestinian nationality residing in Gaza or the West Bank.

To support academics from conflict-affected regions, Queen’s has partnered with the Council for At Risk Academics (Cara) to create and fund three Queen’s University Fellowships per year. These fellowships will run for two years and offer academics at risk around the world an opportunity to come to Queen’s to continue their academic pursuits safely.

Queen's University Belfast is actively engaged in sanctuary research, focusing on issues affecting migrants and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland. Through collaborations with various organisations such as Belfast City of Sanctuary, Queen's is facilitating scholarship and research activities to address these issues and create further connections within the community.

Various initiatives and projects at Queen's University aim at fostering understanding, supporting marginalised communities, addressing key societal issues, also by exploring migrant experiences through creative methods and promoting mental health support.

Find out more about Queen's University Belfast Sanctuary-related research and engagement.

Find out more about our academics working on Sanctuary-related research.

Queen’s University Open Learning Programme, recognising the importance of supporting and welcoming migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, offers a number of courses to build capacity and intercultural understanding.

These include: courses offering skills to teachers and classroom assistants in the primary and post-primary sectors on how to develop intercultural schools, delivered in partnership with the Education Authority, teaching English to volunteers who wish to engage with teaching migrants and asylum seekers English, in partnership with Belfast Unemployed Resource Centre and 10-week and one day workshops on understanding refugee and asylum seeker issues. For more details on these courses you can visit the Open Learning courses page.

We also offer a range of counselling courses on trauma, delivered in partnership with the WAVE Trauma Centre.  For more information on counselling courses email trauma.education@wavetrauma.org.

Learn to welcome your neighbours in 16 languages!

Asylum seekers and refugees in Northern Ireland come from a variety of countries, the majority of which are Arabic-speaking.
If you'd like to be able to converse with your new neighbours, why not study Arabic at QUB Language Centre - the Arabic language is taught at many levels, from beginners (with an online option) through to intermediate.

The Nigerian Languages and Cultures Taster Series (NLCTS) is a collaborative initiative of the Nigerian Society (NS) and the Language Centre (LC). It is an opportunity for the Nigerian Society to share Nigeria with the Queen’s community and for Queen’s to have institutional investment in Nigeria and the Nigerian student community. This will help to encourage prospective students from Nigeria, as well as helping the current Nigerian student cohort to feel more at home in Belfast.

St Mary’s University College supports the work of Queen’s University as a University of Sanctuary. The College has contributed significantly in recent years to supporting new communities settling in Belfast. Initiatives have included: the establishment of its Baháʼí school, a dedicated Islamic prayer musalla, an annual Sudanese students’ awards ceremony, Palestine Day, organising English language classes for those newly arrived, assisting the Eritrean Coptic community with its weekly Divine Liturgy, holding African community independence celebrations, hosting Arabic medical training for Sudanese doctors, and coordinating Ukrainian education fora. For further information contact Professor Gerard McCann g.mccann@smucb.ac.uk.

Stranmillis University College actively supports Queen’s University as a University of Sanctuary and prepares students to engage positively with an increasingly diverse society. A central element of this work is the Professional Learning in a Changing Society (PLiCS) programme, jointly developed with St Mary’s University College, which equips future teachers to succeed in diverse classrooms and promote equity and peace. The College’s partnerships with organisations such as Saphara enable students to take part in initiatives including Newcomer Welcome Week and outreach programmes supporting marginalised children and young people. 

Queen's University's efforts to promote access to resources and support services for our migrant communities are reflected in the Widening Participation Pathway Opportunity Programme now including Newcomers, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers aged 16 to 19, and the McClay Library providing free one-year Associate Personal Memberships to academics or students displaced by conflict seeking sanctuary in Northern Ireland.