University in United Kingdom
Musselburgh (Edinburgh), Scotland, United Kingdom
University profile
Queen Margaret University (QMU) is a public university on the eastern edge of Edinburgh, beside Musselburgh in East Lothian. It traces its origins to the Edinburgh School of Cookery, founded in 1875 to open education to women and to improve the diets of working-class families, and it still describes widening access and social justice as central to its purpose. Its motto is to act with head, heart and hand, and its teaching concentrates on healthcare, the social sciences, the creative arts, business and management, and primary and secondary teaching.
All on-campus teaching takes place on a single purpose-built campus that opened in 2007. It sits directly beside Musselburgh railway station, under six minutes by train from central Edinburgh, and bus services stop on campus. The campus includes the Learning Resource Centre, student residences, a Students' Union, a sports centre with all-weather surfaces, catering outlets, a shop and landscaped grounds, and it was designed around sustainable building principles.
Study is organised in two schools. The School of Arts, Social Sciences and Management covers Queen Margaret Business School; Media, Communications and Performing Arts; and Psychology, Sociology and Education. The School of Health Sciences covers Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Radiography; Nursing and Paramedic Science; Occupational Therapy and Arts Therapies; Speech and Hearing Sciences; and the Institute for Global Health and Development. A Graduate School oversees doctoral study, and the Advancing Practice Academy supports health professionals in practice.
QMU offers the broadest range of allied health professional degrees in Scotland, including nursing, dietetics, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, audiology, art psychotherapy, music therapy, and speech and language therapy. It holds a Queen's Anniversary Prize for its work in speech science. Its other strengths include drama, film and media, public relations, hospitality and events, and food innovation through the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation.
The Student Village houses 800 students in en-suite standard or premium rooms. Rents include utilities, internet, contents insurance and 24/7 security, and the Residence Life programme provides pastoral support. The Students' Union is a student-led registered charity that runs sports clubs, societies, independent advice and Maggie's Bar & Café.
Of the 13,260 students recorded in 2024/25, 6,839 were studying through partner institutions overseas. QMU degrees are delivered through transnational partnerships in Greece, Egypt, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tashkent. Online degrees are offered through QMU Online, and articulation agreements with colleges in Canada, Sri Lanka and India allow students to join Edinburgh courses with advanced standing. Graduates of many health programmes are eligible to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the relevant professional bodies.
Full fee tables are on the Tuition Fees and Charges page.
A number of competitive scholarships of £3,000, awarded as a tuition fee reduction for the first year only, are available to new self-funded international students on undergraduate or postgraduate taught degrees with an international tuition fee above £12,500 a year. Applicants must have applied to QMU but do not need an offer yet. Closing dates are 31 March at midnight (GMT) for September entry and 31 October at midnight (GMT) for January entry. Scholarships for New Students.
Undergraduates from England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive a non-repayable cash bursary each year, based on the household income assessed by the Student Loans Company: £2,000 for income up to £20,000, £1,500 for £20,001 to £25,000, £1,000 for £25,001 to £35,000, and £500 for £35,001 to £42,600.
Graduates with an undergraduate degree from QMU's Edinburgh campus receive a 20% discount on the self-funded part of postgraduate tuition fees, whether full-time or part-time. The discount is open to home and international students. Moving from undergraduate to postgraduate at QMU.
QMU funds a small number of PhD bursaries each year on specified research topics, usually advertised in February. Applicants who choose their own topic study as self-funded students or arrange external funding. Research Degree Funding.
Scottish first-degree students can have tuition fees paid by SAAS, and Scottish nursing students receive a non-means-tested bursary of £10,000 a year in years 1 to 3 and £7,500 in year 4. Care-experienced students under 26 can apply for a bursary of £8,100 a year. Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland can apply for tuition fee loans from their national funding bodies. For postgraduate taught study, Scottish students can borrow up to £13,900 in combined tuition fee and living cost loans, while students from England can borrow £12,858. The Carnegie Trust supports some Scottish undergraduates who pay their own fees. International students can look to Chevening, Marshall, Fulbright and Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund awards. QMU no longer participates in the US Federal Loan Program. The Student Funding Adviser can be contacted at [email protected]. Fees and Funding.
QMU International Scholarship →
Scottish Highlands & Islands Schools Scholarship →
Santander Universities Bursaries at QMU →
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View scholarships for Queen Margaret University →All full-time undergraduate applications are made through UCAS. For 2027 entry, applications open on 1 September 2026, and the deadline for QMU courses is 13 January 2027 at 18:00 UK time. UCAS Extra runs from 25 February to 1 July 2027, decisions on applications submitted by 13 January are due by 12 May 2027, the main scheme closes on 30 June 2027, and Clearing opens on 2 July 2027. On competitive courses such as Physiotherapy, applications received after the equal-consideration deadline are unlikely to be considered.
Entry requirements are set for each course and give a standard and a minimum Scottish Higher offer. Applicants meet the standard offer unless they are widening access applicants, who are made the minimum offer. Examples for 2027 entry:
For entry purposes a pass is a C or above at SQA Higher/National 5, D or above at A Level, C/4 or above at GCSE and H3 or above at Irish Leaving Certificate Higher. Some courses require an interview, an audition, a digital portfolio or evidence of relevant work or voluntary experience. Students with strong Advanced Highers or A Levels may enter the second year of some courses.
QMU is committed to the Universities Scotland Guarantee of fairness and does not make decisions on grades alone. Applicants are treated as widening access if they live in one of Scotland's 20% most deprived postcode areas (SIMD), have taken part in LEAPS or Focus West, are care experienced, have caring responsibilities, are estranged from their family and aged 25 or under, are armed forces veterans, are refugees or asylum seekers, or hold Ukrainian immigration permission. Mature applicants and college leavers with HNC/HND qualifications are welcomed.
International applicants apply through UCAS for full-time undergraduate courses and can find qualification equivalences on the country information pages. Articulation agreements with partner colleges in Canada, Sri Lanka, India and elsewhere allow entry with advanced standing. Enquiries go to [email protected].
Applicants who are not nationals of a majority English-speaking country recognised by UKVI need at least IELTS 6.0 with 5.5 in each skill for undergraduate study and IELTS 6.5 with 6.0 in each skill for postgraduate study. Some courses set higher scores; Physiotherapy, for example, requires 6.0 with no element below 6.0. Accepted tests include IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT (outside the UK), PTE Academic, LanguageCert, Skills for English (overseas), Trinity ISE (UK only), Cambridge CAE, CPE and First (CEFR B2), Kaplan Test of English, Oxford Test of English, Oxford ELLT and WASSCE/WAEC English at C6 or above taken within the last two years. Duolingo is not accepted. Tests must usually be valid at the start of the course, which normally means within two years of the test date. A degree taught and assessed in English, or school qualifications such as the IB Diploma, A Levels with GCSE English, or SQA Higher English, may also be accepted. QMU recognises the Oxford International Digital Institute online pre-sessional course for programmes requiring IELTS 7.0 or below.
Applications are made online through the QMU application portal from each course page. Applicants submit a course-specific personal statement, degree certificate and transcripts, one or two references (an academic reference if they graduated within the last three years) and certified English translations where needed. Some courses interview applicants, and popular courses set closing dates. A decision is normally made within four weeks of a complete application.
QMU awards the PhD, through standard, publication and creative practice routes, and the Master of Research. The online Master of Research cannot be studied on a Student visa. PhD applicants submit a research proposal of around 1,000 words, degree certificates and transcripts, two academic references and evidence of English language ability (IELTS 6.5 with no element below 6.0, or a degree taught and assessed in English). PhD intakes are in September and January. Self-funded applications are accepted all year, and applying at least three months before the intended intake is recommended.
To receive a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), international students must firmly accept an unconditional offer and pay a tuition fee deposit of at least £6,000, or provide a letter from an official sponsor. Some nationals may need to pay the full first-year fee. Applicants may be invited to a mandatory pre-CAS interview. The deposit is refundable only if the visa is refused or the pre-CAS interview is not passed. From 26 March 2026, applications for on-campus courses cannot be considered from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, although fully online courses remain open to them.
The university's only campus, opened in 2007 at Queen Margaret University Drive, Musselburgh EH21 6UU. It is directly beside Musselburgh railway station, under six minutes by train from central Edinburgh, with bus services stopping on campus, access from National Cycle Route 1 and vehicle access only from the A1. Both academic schools and all on-campus programmes in health sciences, arts, social sciences, business and education are taught here.
QMU degrees are also taught by partner institutions, including Metropolitan College in Greece (Athens, Heraklion, Larissa, Patras, Piraeus, Rhodes and Thessaloniki), the British University in Egypt and Capital International Foundation for Education in Cairo, Imperial College of Business Studies in Colombo and Kandy, ISDC in Kochi and Bangalore, ITM in India, Silver Mountain School of Hotel Management in Kathmandu, APEC Business School in Hong Kong, College of Allied Educators in Singapore and British Management University in Tashkent. Online degrees are offered through QMU Online.
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