Queen Mary, University of London

Summary

University Environment

There are five campuses within Queen Mary (QM) across central and east London, with the main campus at Mile End. All campuses are well commected to a range of public transport, including the Underground. 

Mile End

- is the main campus containing the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, the Faculty of Science & Engineering, the main library, the student union, Draper’s bar and club, several restaurants, a number of halls and a gym. (Nearest underground station: Mile End and Stepney Green).

Whitechapel Campus

- contains Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the Whitechapel Medical Library, and the Royal London Hospital. (Nearest underground station: Whitechapel).

Charterhouse Campus

- is home to the medical research headquarters, some postgrad medical students and a hall of residence for medical students.

West Smithfield

- includes St Bartholomew's hospital and is home to some postgrad medical students.

Lincoln's Inn Fields

- is home to some postgrad law students and the new home of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies (CCLS) and a base for LLM teaching and postgraduate research students.

History

Queen Mary’s origins lie in the mergers of four older colleges, Queen Mary College, Westfield College, St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College and the London Hospital Medical College.

Queen Mary College was founded in the mid Victorian era as a technical college when growing awareness of conditions in London’s East End led to drives to provide facilities for local inhabitants “to improve the scientific and technical knowledge of apprentices and workmen engaged in industrial life.” By the turn of the century, the first degrees were awarded by the University of London (UoL).

The College boasts the first aeronautical engineering department in the UK, established in 1909, and the extensive research on matters such as wing sections and propellers, structural and material characteristics, and the forces on struts, lead to use in military aircraft in World War I.

The university later merged with Westfield College (1989) and in 1995, after a reorganisation of medical education within the University of London which resulted in most of the freestanding medical schools being merged with existing large colleges to form multi-faculty institutions, London Hospital Medical College and St Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College merged into the university to form Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. In 2000, the college changed its public name to Queen Mary, University of London.

QM joined the Russell Group this Autumn. Queen Mary and the University of Warwick announced the creation of a strategic partnership, including research collaboration, joint teaching of English, History and Computer Science undergraduates, and the creation of eight joint post-doctoral research fellowships.

Academics

Faculties & Schools

• Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
  • School of Business & Management
  • School of Economics & Finance
  • School of English & Drama, School of Languages, Linguistics & Film
  • School of Geography, School of History
  • School of Law
  • School of Politics & International Relations
• Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry
  • Barts and The London School of Medicine & Dentistry
• Faculty of Science & Engineering
  • School of Biological & Chemical Sciences
  • School of Electronic Engineering & Computer Science
  • School of Engineering & Materials Science
  • School of Mathematical Sciences
  • School of Physics & Astronomy
  • Research Centre in Psychology

Research

In the 2014 REF QM's Drama and Linguistics departments came top in the country, wile English was placed 5th, followed by Chemistry (6th); Clinical Medicine and Public Health (6th); Computer Science (10th); Electronic Engineering (=9th); General Engineering; (=8th) and Geography (=8th). 

International & Industrial Opportunities

QM has over 100 Erasmus agreements within 16 countries. The international exchange programme enables students from QM to spend a year or the autumn semester at one of their partner institutions. All QM students are eligible to apply with the exception of students in Law, Dentistry and Medicine. Partner institutions are available in the USA, Australia, Korea and Singapore.

Fees & Finance

Scholarships

Facilities

Learning Facilities

There are libraries on all the main campuses, providing access to a wide-ranging collection of print and electronic books, journals and other resources. The Mile End Library supports all subjects taught on that campus, while specialist libraries for medicine and dentistry are located on the Whitechapel and West Smithfield campuses. All libraries have both individual and group study spaces, clusters of networked PCs, wireless access for laptops, scanning and photocopying facilities, and provision for DVD viewing. The Hive building, adjacent to the Mile End Library, provides a relaxed and informal environment for group and social study.

As a constituent of The UoL, students also have access to Senate House, which holds over three million volumes, over 5,200 journals and over 170,000 graduate theses. It is also home to the UoL archives, which include the central archive of the university itself, and many other collections such as the paper of Charles Booth and Herbert Spencer.

Sporting Facilities

Qmotion is the brand new health and fitness centre, home to a whole range of gym equipment, including a cardiovascular zone, a resistance zone and free weighs. There is also a women-only gym area, as well as yoga and Pilates classes. QM also boasts a sports hall and squash court. Public sports facilities nearby include a swimming pool running track, tennis courts and climbing wall.

Students' Union

Students’ Union

At the Mile End campus are the main library, lecture theatres, the Students’ Union, a bar, cafes, a village shop and sports facilities.

There are over 40 sports clubs and you can participate at an intercollegiate or national level. There are also 100+ societies across campuses, offering a host of faith, cultural, special interest and leisure activities.

There are also a number of opportunities to be involved in student media, including Cub, the monthly student lifestyle magazine, the student newspaper The Print, QMTV, Quest Radio, and The Vulture magazine written by medical and dental students of Barts and The London.

The Union run a number of bars, the biggest of which is the recently refurbished Drapers Bar; a multi-purpose space as a cafe during the day and a bar in the evening, with facilities for showing live sport, films and hosting club nights and live music.

There are a number of cafes and restaurants across the campuses, including Beigal Bunnies selling bagels, cakes, and hot and cold drinks, and The Curve, a coffee bar, deli and eatery serving freshly cooked international dishes and vegetarian options.

Students also have access to the University of London Union (ULU), located near Senate House in central London, which has its own sports clubs and societies, newspaper, and campaigns for you to get involved in. It has its own gym, with a fitness suite, swimming pool, exercise classes, remedial treatments, a sports hall and multi-purpose studio. Its facilities also include a cafe, shop, and the Duck and Dive bar.

Student Support

Religion & Spirituality

QM has a very multicultural student population, reflecting the diverse ethnic mix of London and welcoming international students from over 120 countries. There are many different faith communities and places of worship near the campuses, including all kinds of churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and a Buddhist meditation centre.

All student have access the the MultiFaith Centre on the Mile End campus, while the Students’ Union includes many active student-led religious and cultural societies.

Health & Wellbeing

The College runs a Student Health Service (SHS) and an Occupational Health Service (OHS) to support the health and wellbeing of students.

The SHS provides a full range of primary care medical services including prescriptions for all medications, immunisations, blood tests, direct access to x-ray, MRI scans, ultrasound scans, travel vaccinations and advice, counselling, mental health, contraception, clinics for asthma, diabetes, minor surgery, smoking cessation, antenatal care and referral for hospital consultations or admission.

The (OHS) provides a service to healthcare students where the nature of their studies may pose a risk to the health of the individual.

The Disability and Dyslexia Service (DDS) offers advice, guidance and support for students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties like dyslexia and dyspraxia. Support provided by the service includes liaison with academic staff regarding appropriate adjustments and support for students with both disabilities and specific learning difficulties, support and guidance in applying for the Disabled Student’s Allowance, support for international students with disabilities, support in ensuring that course materials are fully accessible, support for students who think they might be dyslexic, one-to-one study skills support for students with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, human support such as someone to taking notes in lectures, Mental Health Mentoring support, access to examination concessions such as additional time.

Career Facilities

The College Careers Team runs over 100 careers events throughout the year, to help you meet employers, get work experience and prepare for job-hunting. QM Careers is part of The Careers Group, UoL. Events include career tasters, such as Finance Speed-Meet events, recruitment events with over 150 employers and training organisations visiting the campus last year such as Accenture, the BBC, Cancer Research, the Civil Service, and KPMG, and skills training including regular CV and application writing clinics, and interview skills workshops.

Students can keep up-to-date with vacancies and events via QM JobOnline and Jobs Blog.

QM also invites former students to share their experiences of the workplace. As informal sessions, you can ask anything you like and get the insider track on particular companies or industries.

The College also focuses on work experience, and have an unusually large and diverse range of opportunities including many on-campus jobs, such as assisting with conferences, building e-learning tools, conducting campus tours, helping with open days, and stewarding halls of residence, easy access to hundreds of off-campus jobs across London via the QM JobOnline, a thriving Students’ Union offering over 1,000 opportunities to volunteer on-and off-campus in leadership, sports, creative, community and tutoring roles, 60+ employer recruitment and networking events per year, and support and training for entrepreneurs.

Accommodation

QM currently has 1,869 bedroom places in mixed sex self-catering residences on or near the Mile End Campus. In addition, for medical and dental students there are 155 places at the Whitechapel Campus and 203 places at the Charterhouse Square Campus. Communal kitchens are available for between three and eleven students, fully equipped with fridge/freezers, cookers, microwave ovens, washing up facilities, storage cupboards, food preparation surfaces and dining areas, whilst ensuite bedrooms have personal refrigerators. 

All bedrooms are equipped with a single bed, wardrobe, desk, chair, storage space and bookshelves. Rent includes basic contents insurance and WiFi. Launderettes are situated in, or close to,  all residences whilst the Mile End Campus has a shop, 200-seat restaurant, central reception and Security Lodge which is manned on a 24-hour-a-day basis.

International

English Language Requirements

 International Facilities

International facilities within the College include a welcome programme introducing new students to living and studying in the UK. There are plenty of workshops and presentations with useful information including, registering with the Police, immigration advice and banking, where to buy food, keeping fit and finding part-time work. There are also social events such as a boat trip on the Thames, local area walks and London Panoramic bus tours.

The College also provides a free airport collection service which you must pre-register for.

Media