Awards and accreditations
We are a member of the Russell Group of 24 leading UK research-intensive universities committed to maintaining the highest standards of research, education and knowledge transfer. Russell Group universities are major international institutions which also have a strong national and regional role and influence.
We have been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education on seven occasions.
This was for our work in strengthening global cyber security, for Northern Ireland's Comprehensive Cancer Services programme and for world-class achievement in green chemistry, environmental research, palaeoecology, shared education and law.
Queen's University currently holds a prestigious Athena Swan Gold Award. The University also holds 15 Departmental Awards (3 Gold, 6 Silver and 6 Bronze).
The Advance HE Athena Swan Charter is used internationally as a framework to support the advancement of gender equality within higher education and research. The Charter was established in 2005 to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research. Queen's University Belfast has been a member of the Athena Swan Charter since its formation in 2005.
QAA checks how UK universities and colleges maintain the standard of their higher education provision.
The University has retained the European Commission’s HR in Excellence in Research Award following a two year self-assessment.
The award endorses the support provided for our research staff to develop their skills and career development opportunities, and providing a clear plan of action for future developments. Including, a focus on mentoring and induction for research staff and developing faculty specific professional and career development activity.
Queen's has been awarded the Silver Diversity Mark by Diversity Mark in December 2021, in recognition of its commitment to advancing gender diversity, and the progress made at Queen’s in advancing gender, race and disability equality, and its ambitious plans to do more in these spaces.
The Diversity Charter Mark accreditation is awarded to organisations following an independent assessment process and the Silver Award reflects significant progress since the University was awarded Bronze almost three years ago.
Queen’s is one of only 10 organisations to achieve the Silver Diversity Mark sharing a platform with other leading employers such as Belfast City Council, Danske Bank, FinTru and Liberty IT.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – part of GCHQ – awarded us Silver recognition for first-rate cyber security education on campus and promoting cyber skills in its community. In addition, Queen’s Management School was awarded the prestigious EQUIS accreditation for management and business schools, becoming one of only 197 such schools worldwide to achieve this distinction.
Queen’s has been recognised for a second consecutive year in the Green Flag Awards after becoming the first university in Northern Ireland to be recognised by the scheme.
The Green Flag Award is the benchmark national standard for parks and green spaces in the UK. It was first launched in 1996 to recognise and reward the best green spaces in the country and is an internationally recognised certification for environmental quality management for parks and open spaces.
We've also achieved Platinum status for the third year running in the Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey.
Queen's is ranked in the top 200 in the world for impact and sustainability (THE Impact Rankings 2024/QS World University Rankings 2025: Sustainability); ranked 6 in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2025); and 99% of our research environment is world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021).
By paying the real Living Wage, employers are voluntarily taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a wage which is enough to live on.
Queen’s has already been paying its employees the Real Living Wage since 2022, and the recent accreditation officially recognises the University’s commitment to ensure employees and any regularly contracted workers are paid the living wage hourly rate.