Queen Margaret University (UK)
- Sara Cavalieri
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
At Queen Margaret University (QMU), students are a name, not a number.
With 5,000 students and a campus made up largely of two buildings, there is a real sense of community here on this purpose-built campus, which opened in 2007.
QMU's origins dating back 150 years, but nowadays it particularly excels in the allied health fields, such as occupational therapy.
Best of all, it's only a 6-minute train to Edinburgh's city centre.
Here are more of the highlights from my visit!
Edinburgh City
With a population of about 500,000 people, Edinburgh is one of those places that's not too big and not too small.
Easily accessed by train or via its own airport, students are also well-connected to the rest of the UK and Europe here.
It's a very walkable city, albeit hilly -- but this means it's also a great place for those who like the outdoors and an active lifestyle (and have good thighs and lungs!).
Climbing to the top of Carlton Hill as well as Edinburgh's extinct volcano, Arthur's Seat, are two of my favorite pastimes.
At the bottom of Arthur's Seat is actually where the student residences of Pollock Halls are located, which are guaranteed for all first-year international students.
One thing to note about Scotland is that all museums are free, so I definitely love checking out the National Museum of Scotland every time I visit -- and its famous tenant, Dolly the Sheep!
The National Galleries of Scotland are also located here.
In a city with so many fascinating places to explore, the most striking feature is of course the castle, which rests at the top of the Royal Mile and overlooks the Princes Street Gardens, one of Edinburgh's 112 parks.
But I actually prefer to visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which rests at the bottom of the Royal Mile.
This is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland and is also where the lover of Mary Queen of Scots, David Rizzio, was murdered centuries ago (history nerd here).
Of course, book nerds will know that Edinburgh is where J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series, and there so many cute bookstores here to spend all day.
Rowling also called the city "one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the world."
Edinburgh is indeed also one of the most haunted cities in the world!
Waterstones Bookstore in particular has castle views from its upstairs cafe!
With the Writer's Museum, the largest literary festival in the world and the fact that it has the only train station in the world named after a novel (Waverley), this city is a great place to study literature.
In fact, it was the world's first UNESCO City of Literature.
Edinburgh is also very much a festival city, also home to the world's largest performance arts festival every August, The Fringe, which is always worth checking out (if you can find a place to stay).
There is so much to discovery about this city though; it would take weeks to list it all here!
QMU Campus
QMU was originally founded as a women-only institution with the aim of improving women's access to higher education.
Located in the neighborhood of Musselburgh in east Edinburgh, nowadays, QMU is open to all.
It's also just a 10-minute bike ride from the beach!
Facilities at QMU are modern and varied, from group desks out in the open to semi-enclosed, to fully private.
Students can also live on campus.
Everything you need is here, including a gym, various food outlets, counseling services, a bar and more.
Academics
One of the best-known programs at QMU is occupational therapy, and this program awards students with a master's degree, which is a requirement for validation back in the U.S.
Since U.S. students are a particularly draw, the faculty has taken steps to make sure everything covered in the course fulfills U.S. requirements.
Their students have a 100 percent employability rating, and this is because they get plenty of practical experience during the course -- four placements around Scotland in fact.
There is lots of group work, dynamic active learning and only two exams; assessments are mostly papers or defending a treatment plan verbally.
Drama is one of the other large programs at QMU, with about 200 students.
Summary: Queen Margaret University
QMU is a small but mighty institution, offering both undergraduate and graduate courses in business, psychology and sociology, film, communications, education and health sciences.
It's a great option for students seeking a more close-knit university experience on a dedicated campus, not far from one of the world's most dynamic cities.
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