At graduate level, you can choose to go down the route of taught postgraduate study, or a research route.

With taught postgraduate study, at Queen’s we offer master’s degrees, postgraduate diplomas, postgraduate certificates, and postgraduate certificates in education. Once you have decided on which level of study is right for you, browse our A-Z listing for the subjects we offer.

Every programme will have general entry requirements which you must meet to be accepted.

If you are an international student, you will also need to meet our English language requirements. If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter one of our degree programmes, INTO Queen’s University Belfast offers a range of English language courses.

Depending on your selected programme, professional qualifications or practical experience may also be taken into account, or in some cases, form an integral part of the entry requirements. 

Master's Degrees

Typically a Second-Class Honours degree from a UK or Republic of Ireland (ROI) Higher Education Provider or an equivalent qualification deemed acceptable by the University serves as a minimum requirement for admissions to a master's degree programme. You can find the full entry requirements for our master's degrees in our Course Finder.

Postgraduate Diplomas and Certificates

The University offers postgraduate study for diplomas and certificates in a wide range of subjects. Entrance requirements vary by course, and you are advised to consult the individual course entry requirements within Course Finder.

The University operates a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) scheme which recognises relevant prior learning for admission and/or credit purposes. For some courses, admission under the recognition of prior experiential learning (RPEL) may be permitted and, if applicable, this will be indicated under the individual course entry within Course Finder.

At this stage, you should gather your supporting documents – some students may need to request documents (such as transcripts) from their university which could potentially delay the application process.

For your application you will need:

• Personal details
• Transcripts and certificates of any essential qualifications
• Referee details
• A personal statement (if applicable to your chosen course)
• Your Queen’s student ID if you are a current / former student

For each qualification, the degree transcript and degree award certificate should be combined in one document for uploading.

Postgraduate Certificate in Education Applicants

Postgraduate Certificate in Education applicants must upload copies of their GCSE and A-level (or equivalent) certificates along with a copy of their university transcript (and degree award certificate, if available). These should be combined in one document for uploading.

Applications should be submitted online via the Queen's Portal for admission to the vast majority of postgraduate programmes.

New applicants will need to register via the Queen's portal to create an account. If you are already a Queen’s student, you can log in using your Queen's email address and password.

Guidance on how to complete an application is provided within the portal. You don’t need to complete the application all at once, you have the option to save your progress and complete it in stages. After you have entered the core details about yourself and your academic background, you can apply for one or multiple courses.

If you applied in a previous cycle through the Portal and are re-applying, you should use your previous log in details. Please review and update your personal contact details, academic and professional qualifications before submitting the new application.

Important – please ensure that the email address you provide is correct and active, as this will be used by us to communicate your application's progress to you.

For taught postgraduate courses, we aim to decide on your application within two weeks if we have received copies of all the necessary supporting documents. For some courses, an interview, admissions test or the submission of written work may form part of the selection process. 

You will receive an email which will advise you to log in to the Portal and view your application's decision. A letter will also be sent to the correspondence address provided in your application form.

If you have been made an offer, you should carefully read the guidance which will accompany your letter. Your application can have three outcomes which are:

• Conditional Offer: This means the university would like to offer you a place, however, you still need to meet certain requirements such as exam results or completion of an English Language qualification.
• Unconditional Offer: This means you have a place, although there might still be a few things to arrange.
• Unsuccessful: An unsuccessful application means the university has not been able to offer you a place on your chosen course.

This is a key step in the admissions process as it enables the Admissions and Access Service and the selector to track your application's progress. Prospective students should be aware of the obligation to conform to the Statutes of the University before deciding to accept an offer of a place.

To accept or decline an offer of a place, you should reply online through the Queen's Portal. This should be completed as soon as possible and ideally within 14 days of receipt of your offer letter.

If you have applied for and been offered a place on more than one programme of study, you must indicate whether you wish to accept or decline the offer against each programme.

Given that your final programme choice may be dependent on funding and/or other factors, you may initially decide to accept more than one offer of a place. If you initially accept a place and subsequently wish to decline the offer, please email intl.student@qub.ac.uk if you are resident outside the EU, if you are resident in the UK, ROI, or another EU country you should email postgrad.admissions@qub.ac.uk

For some high demand courses, waiting lists are in operation and an early response may enable us to offer your place to another applicant.

All students are required to complete online registration at the start of each academic year via the Qsis Registration Portal. As a new student, you will receive a welcome email with full instructions from late August onwards on how to register.

See more information on studying and life at Queen’s.

Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive about applying for postgraduate study. 

Closing dates do apply for some of our courses, and details of these are available on Course Finder. We advise you to apply as early as possible, particularly for those courses where there is a high demand for places. Early application is also important for international applicants to allow sufficient time to obtain a student entry visa.

If you have not yet obtained an acceptable English Language qualification at the required level before sending us your application, your formal offer for postgraduate admission will include an English language condition which you must satisfy before the start of your programme. 

INTO Queen’s University Belfast offers a wide range of English language courses designed specifically for international students.

UK/ROI/EU Applicants

If you studied/are studying at a Higher Education Provider in the UK/ROI/EU, you are required to upload degree transcripts for all current or completed periods of study. If you have completed your degree, you must also upload the degree award certificate. These should be combined in one document for uploading. A research proposal is also required from MPhil/PhD/MD applicants.

International Applicants

To make sure your application is processed in the fastest possible time, you must scan and upload the following supporting documents along with your application. We may not be able to make a decision on your application until we have received all your relevant documents.

Please upload good quality scanned copies of the following:

• Degree transcripts for all completed periods of study (undergraduate level and above).
• If your degree is still in progress, you must provide a transcript of results achieved to date. This can be requested from your university.
• Copies of your official Degree/Diploma Certificates, for the qualification(s) you have already completed. These are the documents that confirm the level and title of your qualification(s), for example, Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.
• Certified translations if your original documents are not in English. If you do not have translations at the time of application, please forward them by email to student@qub.ac.uk when available.
• Applicants whose first language is not English will need to show evidence of an acceptable level of competency in the English language.

For all applications (Postgraduate Taught and Research), you must include the names and contact details of two referees, normally academics, who are familiar with your undergraduate and/or postgraduate studies.

If you have taken a higher degree or postgraduate course recently one of your referees should be from that institution. If you have been away from higher education for some time, you may use an employer as one of your referees.

You do not need to include reference letters with your application. These will be requested directly by the University if required. Please therefore ensure that you carefully enter the correct email addresses for your referees.

For some Postgraduate Taught courses, all offer-holders (home/EU and international) are required to pay a deposit.

International (non-EU/EEA) applicants who have met all the course entry requirements and have accepted an unconditional offer of a place to study on a one-year Postgraduate Taught course are required to pay a deposit of £2,500 towards their tuition fee.  A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) for visa/immigration purposes can normally only be issued following payment of a deposit.

International applicants should visit our International Student website for full details of the procedure for the payment of tuition fees and deposits.

International applicants in receipt of a full tuition fee scholarship are not required to pay the mandatory tuition fee deposit (evidence of the scholarship must be provided to Admissions).

An offer of admission does not constitute an offer of financial support to fund your studies. If you are not in receipt of financial support, you should ensure that you are fully aware of the financial commitments and that you have the necessary resources to cover the cost of fees and maintenance for the duration of your studies.

Information on tuition fee rates and procedures for the payment of fees can be found on the Fees and Finance website.

International (non-EU) applicants who receive an offer of admission will be provided with details of the tuition fee payable in their offer letter.

Fee Status

The tuition fee you pay will depend on whether you are classified as a Home or International postgraduate student. Further information is available on postgraduate fee status and how it is determined.

Funding opportunities

For postgraduate funding opportunities, search the Scholarship and Funding tool or contact the Graduate School.

International Scholarships

Each year, the University announces scholarships for talented, fee-paying international students.

Applicants holding an offer which is conditional on meeting an academic and/or English language requirement, will need to provide their results as soon as they become available.

Academic Condition

If you are not a current Queen's student, you should upload an official transcript from your Higher Education Provider to confirm you have met the academic condition of your offer. This transcript should confirm the title of the qualification awarded and the overall result. Upload to the 'My Applications' section of the Queen's Portal.  International (non-EU) applicants should also upload the final degree award certificate, if available. Where applicable, confirmation of your qualifications must be officially translated into English.

If you are a Queen's student, you should upload evidence which confirms the classification awarded. This can be in the form of an unofficial transcript which should be available for you to download from your Queen's Online account.

English Language Condition

If English language is a condition of your offer, you should upload the relevant test certificate. Please refer to the list of acceptable English Language tests.

If you do not provide the above information, your application cannot proceed to the next stage of the admissions cycle, and you will not be notified of the procedures for registration and enrolment.

Applicants who subsequently fulfil the conditions of their offer of admission and who have replied online confirming they wish to accept the offer of a place, will be sent a formal letter of acceptance.

The Points Based System (PBS) is the visa route for students under the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration rules. Under PBS, international students who wish to enter the UK must apply under Tier 4 (General) Student Visa. Further information on Visas and Immigration procedures may be found on our Immigration Support Services website.