We aim to shape a better world through education, research and innovation. In doing so, we enable individuals and communities to flourish. Our person-centred approach to learning makes us stand out from other universities, along with our focus on making society better. Our academic offering also distinguishes us. We dedicate ourselves to subjects where we can offer a distinctive offering - in healthcare; social sciences; creative arts; business, management and enterprise; and primary and secondary teaching.Outward looking, we have strong ethos of partnership and collaboration. At our modern campus, we benefit from easy access to the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland’s vibrant and historic capital city. We are pioneers in inclusiveness and we embrace people from all backgrounds. In this section of our website, you can find out about the history of the university, along with information about governance, the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, the senior management team and our collaborative partners.You will also find practical information including travel and transport information and policy and strategy documents. You can read about our innovative campus and our commitment to sustainability. If you are considering studying at Queen Margaret University, you should look at the Study Here section of this site. See also the section of our site showing how our research and knowledge exchange is focused on making a real practical impact on everyday life.The institution now named Queen Margaret University was established as the Edinburgh School of Cookery in 1875. This institution emerged in a period that was notable for real economic progress, but also characterised by many social and economic divisions and inequalities, and widespread poverty. The School was established as a voluntary effort to address two key problems facing society at the time:To provide educational opportunities for women. The institution’s founders were part of the U.K.-wide mid Victorian "Women's Movement", which was a campaign for better education and improved career opportunities for females. A main element of this campaign was directed at securing equality of opportunity for school girls, but another purpose was to open up post-school education at both university and technical levels. To this point young women had been excluded from higher and technical education, with an inevitable consequence being widespread female poverty. (One of the key leaders of the women's movement was Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, and she became the School's leading patron.)The need to bring about an improvement in diets, particularly the diets of working class families. The original lectures took place (before huge audiences) in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh’s Chambers Street, but it was at first peripatetic in nature, in that teaching staff went out with mobile gas and paraffin cooking equipment to give programmes of public lectures and demonstrations all over Britain, from the Shetlands to the Channel Islands. The first generation of lecturers were almost all young women aged in their early twenties and almost everywhere they went they drew large gatherings of women eager for instruction.The first permanent site was in Shandwick Place, where the institution was based from 1877 to 1891. At this time the institution also operated a branch in Manchester to provide lectures to industrial communities throughout the north of England. As was intended by the founders, this branch eventually became independent and it is now a constituent part of Manchester Metropolitan University.Today, QMU’s vision is to be a university of ideas and influence. Our focus on relevance - through our teaching, learning, and research and knowledge exchange work - ensures that we are responsive to the changing needs of society. We have flagship areas of expertise in health & rehabilitation; sustainable business and creativity & culture. We aim to provide a transformative learning experience for our students, enabling them to achieve their individual goals and contribute to society. We seek to provide the optimal balance of theoretical and practical education. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life and building the evidence based for policy and practice through our research and knowledge exchange (KE). We are recognised internationally for our high quality and relevant research, which informs practice and policy, and we measure its value by its impact and social usefulness.Through our teaching and research, we enable people to heal, nurture, care and communicate. We inspire people to build businesses, find solutions to real life issues and to improve communities. We foster creativity and artistic expression, building social capital. Our graduates and staff can found in influential roles across the world, influencing policy and enhancing society, culture and the economy. In short, we make a real difference in the world.Embedding equality and diversity in our governance structures and in our strategic planning process is critical to mainstreaming equality and diversity, as is defining responsibilities, setting performance measures and monitoring progress against those measures. While responsibility for mainstreaming equality and diversity within the University rests with all staff and students, the University Court is, as a matter of law, responsible for ensuring compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and for ensuring that the University meets its public sector equality duty (PSED) and the specific duties relevant to Scotland.The University Court exercises oversight through the Equality and Diversity Committee (EDC). The EDC is responsible to the University Court for the development of the strategic framework for equality in service provision and in employment across the University. The Committee’s remit goes beyond legislative compliance however. It aims to support delivery of key elements of the University’s Strategic Plan through policy development and the promotion of examples of good practice from both internal and external sources. It also seeks to develop and maintain effective networking and liaison in equality and diversity issues. This applies internally within the University and externally, with a particular focus on working relationships with professional equality experts and equality bodies such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Equality Challenge Unit.
Watch the videos to learn about the student life-cycle and the teaching environment at the University.
