Top subjects in Northern Ireland 2025

Studying in Northern Ireland  

There are two main universities in Northern Ireland and what the region might lack in quantity, it certainly makes up for in quality. Both universities are consistently in our top 50 UK university rankings with Queen’s University, Belfast in 25th place and Ulster University in 42nd in 2025.   

Northern Ireland is in the north-west of the UK and shares a border with the Republic of Ireland. Its dramatic landscape is often used in films, and Game of Throne fans might recognise some of it from those memorable battle scenes. The Giant’s Causeway is its most famous landmark. Belfast, an energetic, affordable, and interesting city, is where you’re likely to spend a lot of your time as a student.

To find out more about studying in Northern Ireland check out our regional guide 

Queen’s University Belfast  

Queen’s University is a compact campus about a 15-minute walk from Belfast city centre. The uni guarantees accommodation to first year students from outside Northern Ireland and there’s lots going on with a new student centre and more than 200 clubs and societies to choose from.  

To find out more about QUB visit their profile 

Queen’s University is ranked first in the subject table for Agriculture and second for Pharmacology, and Social Work, so it’s easy to see why these are also popular subjects to study here.

Queen's are also rankied top five in the UK for Celtic Studies, Food Science, Information Technology and Accounting. 

Information Technology at Queen’s makes the most of its network with over 500 IT companies both here and abroad. There are more software companies located in Northern Ireland than in any other part of the UK, outside of London.

Ulster University 

Ulster University has four distinctive campuses in Belfast and Derry, all offering friendly and affordable places to live. The university guarantees any first-year student accommodation on-site providing the deadline for room applications is met. Its reputation in research and strong emphasis on skills-based practice is perhaps why so many of its graduates get jobs or are inspired to do further study.  

To find out more about Ulster visit their profile

Ulster University has a solid reputation in several subject areas, coming top in Optometry, Ophthalmics & Orthoptics and ranking second in Land and Property Management and Speech and Language Therapy subject tables. Building, Celtic Studies, Information Technology and Pharmacology also perform well, making up the seven best ranked subjects to study at Ulster.  

The Belfast based Land and Property Management course focuses on planning, regeneration and development. Various architectural subjects are covered in Ulster’s Building offer and you can choose to focus on sports and exercise nutrition, food business or culinary arts among other options within Food Science. 

Check out the top unis in other UK regions