Queen Margaret University

The history of Queen Margaret University begins in 1875, the year Christian Guthrie Wright and Louisa Stevenson opened the Edinburgh School of Cookery and Domestic Economy with the aim of extending educational opportunities to women. In 1972 the institution took its name from Saint Margaret of Scotland. It was able to award taught degrees from 1992 and research degrees from 1998, and gained university title in 2007. That year it also consolidated three former Edinburgh sites onto one purpose-built campus, noted for its environmental design, at Musselburgh in East Lothian, within easy reach of central Edinburgh.

QMU has around 6,500 students and focuses on a distinctive set of subjects: business and enterprise; food; health and rehabilitation, nursing included; and performing arts, film and media. No other institution in Scotland offers fully accredited master's programmes in dramatherapy, music therapy and art psychotherapy. The commitment to inclusion present at its founding continues to define the university, which became the first in Scotland to have a Business Gateway office on its campus. QMU degrees are also taught abroad through teaching partners, as well as by online study.

Information for International Students

QMU's International Team deals with overseas enquiries, but within the university only the International Office gives immigration advice, with drop-in sessions held regularly in term time. Undergraduates usually need IELTS 6.0 overall and 5.5 or more in each skill, while postgraduates generally need 6.5 with no skill under 6.0. Applicants who fall short of the required level can enrol on an online pre-sessional English course delivered with Oxford International Digital Institute, available in six, twelve or sixteen-week versions. For students holding suitable prior qualifications, articulation routes offer advanced entry into some degrees.

The university issues a CAS when an applicant has an unconditional offer and has either paid the required deposit or supplied evidence of sponsorship. Approximately 800 students live in en-suite rooms in the Student Village on campus. International students attend matriculation when they arrive, where staff check immigration documents and original qualifications and issue student cards. QMU International Scholarships, awarded competitively, cut first-year tuition for new international students who are self-funding and enrolled on undergraduate or taught postgraduate degrees, and the Graduate Route is open to eligible graduates.