History of the Graduate School

The old University library, now the Thomas J. Moran Graduate School, opened in 1868.

A government grant of £4,600 was awarded to fund the construction of the library as, prior to this, the college’s examination hall (today’s Great Hall) doubled up as a library.

As student numbers grew a decision was taken to construct a new, purpose-built library.

The building was extended between 1912 and 1914 as the need for additional space for students and staff grew. William Henry Lynn, who had worked on the Main University Building won an anonymous competition to extend both his original library, as well as other buildings across the campus. Further alterations were carried out in the 50's and 80's.

The addition of the library stack – which has now been transformed into the Main Site tower and School of Law – as well as internal alterations to Lynn’s library, significantly changing the layout and character of the building.

The building was designed by Irish born architect William Henry Lynn (1829-1915) in a neo-gothic style. It owes much to the influence of John Ruskin (1819-1900) and is arguably the best example of Ruskinian Victorian gothic architecture and is a building of importance and profile on the main site.

Philip Larkin described the building as a 'large church designed by an ecclesiastical architect'. The building’s distinctly ecclesiastical design is perhaps the architect giving the ‘Godless college’ – that is, non-denominational – a church.

The Graduate School retained many of its original features including vaulted ceiling with masonry gothic arches and aisles to each side, brick and polychrome stonework, banded tiles, ornamental tracery, gables and gargoyles.

The old Library closed in 2009 and the main library moved to the new McClay Library. The building underwent extensive renovation and restoration before reopening as the Graduate School in April 2015.

In April 2023, Queen’s University Belfast named its Graduate School to The Thomas J. Moran Graduate School in Moran’s honor. Today the Thomas J. Moran Graduate School is a state of the art hub for postgraduate students to work and socialise. It also offers a variety of training and development courses.

The Thomas J. Moran Graduate School is a modern space comprising 6 group study rooms, 7 teaching rooms and 2 training rooms. It also offers a dedicated silent study area and a social space.

The silent study is a hi-tech space that can accommodate up to 65 students. It comprises PC workstations and space for laptop use, a reprographics room complete with printers, scanning facilities and a self-binding station. This area is exclusively for Postgraduate Students and requires a student card to gain entry.