Accessibility
This is a modern, forward looking and a very friendly place to study. Over 23,000 local, national and international students study at undergraduate to postgraduate degree levels at our four campuses - Coleraine, Jordanstown, Belfast, and Magee.
Each campus is like its own little village and you'll find everything you need where you study. It's worth remembering though that all the different parts of Ulster add up to one huge university - Ireland's biggest. If Ulster was a town, it would be as big as Omagh.
Getting here
By road: M1/M2/M3 motorway links to each campus
By rail: NI railway links to Belfast, Coleraine, Derry and Jordanstown. NI Railways also work in co-operation with Iarnród Éireann. The Enterprise from Dublin City offers a fast comfortable rail service to Belfast Central Station in approximately two hours fifteen minutes.
By bus: Ulsterbus service throughout Northern Ireland. Ulsterbus also works in co-operation with Bus Eireann.
By air: Belfast international Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport, City if Derry Airport.
In 1984 the New University of Ulster at Coleraine and the Ulster Polytechnic at Jordanstown came together (bringing Magee College in Londonderry and the Art College in Belfast with them) to form the University of Ulster.
Belfast campus
Our campus on York Street is part of Belfast’s vibrant Cathedral Quarter. Recognised as the historic heart of Belfast, the Quarter is the city’s up and coming cultural hotspot. The area is richly endowed with historical, political and artistic character. Part of a dynamic arts scene, the area and the campus play host to a number of annual festivals including the Ulster Festival of Art and Design. The campus comprises two separate buildings which are connected via a suspended walkway above York Street. Following a major £30 million refurbishment and redevelopment programme, students and visitors have access to excellent purpose-built design space, studios for recording and editing live and off-air television, sound recording, mixing and animation, teaching and exhibition areas as well as a new Learning Resource Centre.
The campus is currently home to the School of Art and Design and the School of Architecture and Design although other disciplines are increasingly being taught here including programmes offered by the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. There are plentiful and diverse options for those wishing to eat on campus and all restaurants and cafes are open to staff, students and the public. Choices include the Tao Noodle Bar, The Streat, the Studio Bar as well as the Academy Training Restaurant staffed by students from the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Jordanstown campus
Our Jordanstown campus has a village feel, and is laid out around a central and busy Mall which forms the main spine for 17 blocks of academic, study and recreational facilities. The Mall area is home to banks, restaurants, coffee shops, sandwich bars, a supermarket, the chaplains’ office and the Students’ Union. Study facilities include science and computing laboratories; Physiotherapy, Optometry and Podiatry clinics; and a modern Learning Resource Centre.
The University has a strong commitment to health, sport and recreation and the campus is home to the Sports Institute Northern Ireland and the Ulster Sports Academy as well as major new indoor sport and recreation facilities.
For students, the Students' Union is a popular meeting place complete with cafeteria, satellite television, video games, pool, and snooker, a travel office and shop. Both the Lounge Bar and Arthur's Club Bar provide regular student entertainment.
On-campus accommodation is available in nearby Halls of Residence and private rented accommodation is available locally too. Both accommodation options are close to all local amenities and services.
Magee campus
The Magee campus is named after the College founded by Martha Magee in 1845. It is located only a short walk along the River Foyle away from the city walls and comprises a mixture of historical and new buildings and modern and traditional facilities. The central feature of the campus is the original building opened in 1865 which overlooks Lough Foyle. This main building is surrounded by Victorian red brick houses, and several modern buildings in red brick and glass. The campus has a friendly feel and students often mention this as being one of the main benefits of being a student here. Magee is one of the fastest growing university campuses expanding from 274 students in 1983 to over 3,800 today. To facilitate this unprecedented growth the University has invested over £50 million to provide state-of-the-art teaching, research and support facilities for students and staff. This funding has delivered a student residential village offering en-suite accommodation; a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) equipped to serve the requirements of students and staff in the 21st Century; and the Foyle Arts Building, housing the School of the Creative Arts. Current facilities include those offered at the £3 million Centre for the Creative and Performing Arts. Unique on the island of Ireland, our facility unifies the creative and performing arts on a single site so students and staff can inspire and influence each other. The centre provides dance, design, drama and music students with a state-of-the-art facility comprising rehearsal and performance spaces, sound and lighting technology, a dance studio, electronic and recording studios as well as photographic, video editing and animation resources. Students perform in the Foyle Arts Centre and the Millennium Forum Theatre and Conference Centre.
The Coleraine campus is situated on the northern bank of the river, less than a mile from the centre of the town. With views of the Causeway Coast and the Donegal hills in the distance, the campus consists of custom-built facilities for teaching, learning and research. The campus has a warm and friendly atmosphere which radiates a strong community feel. It is set within 312 acres of landscaped and mature parkland containing tranquil garden areas, the Guy L. Wilson Daffodil garden and the Millennium Arboretum. In addition to our teaching and learning facilities, the campus has on-site residential, catering, sports and crèche facilities. Creative, cultural arts facilities on campus are provided for at the Riverside Theatre, the third-largest professional theatre in Northern Ireland. The theatre offers a year-round programme of drama, concerts and shows as well as a summer series of talks and tours. As a green campus, Coleraine’s landmark feature is our wind turbine standing 56 metres tall. With a power output equivalent to that consumed by 425 homes, its installation and operation now provides a 1074 tonne reduction in annual carbon dioxide emissions emitted at local power stations.
