Where it ranks in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, what it’s really like to study there, and what halls and living costs look like.
Queen Margaret University is a small, career-focused university on the eastern edge of Edinburgh. Its modern campus sits next to Musselburgh station, so the city centre is about six minutes away by train, while the beaches and countryside of East Lothian are on the other side. It's best known for health professions, but also teaches drama, business, media and more.
It's a quieter, more close-knit place than Edinburgh's big city-centre universities. All halls are on campus in one student village, and every room is en-suite. The trade-off is that nightlife means heading into town, and campus rooms are limited, so apply early.
Known for
Queen Margaret University is 81st out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 44.9, below the UK median of 48.5. Our rankings are built around the student experience, combining employability, freshers experience, happiness, nightlife, sustainability, inclusion, innovation and societies. That means big research names don’t automatically top the table. See how we score universities.
Marker shows the UK median across all ranked universities.
| Rank | University | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 79 | King's College London | 45.4 |
| 80 | Coventry University | 45.3 |
| 81 | Queen Margaret University | 44.9 |
| 82 | University of Hertfordshire | 44.7 |
| 83 | Heriot-Watt University | 44.6 |
Each award ranks all 124 universities on one part of student life. Click through for the full table.
31st of 122 · Careers Score 38.8
32nd of 124 · Wellbeing Score 57.6
33rd of 124 · Safety Score 53.3
37th of 124 · Freshers Score 60.8
38th of 124 · Employability Score 36.3
53rd of 123 · Happiness Score 48.7
63rd of 124 · Societies Score 49.7
72nd of 124 · Value Score 43.1
73rd of 124 · Social Score 48
75th of 124 · Nightlife Score 46.7
88th of 124 · Balance Score 37.9
93rd of 124 · Affordability Score 46.4
101st of 124 · Innovation Score 43.5
103rd of 124 · Inclusion Score 39.6
113th of 124 · Sustainability Score 28.6
Edinburgh as a student city
Ranked 37th of 72 UK university cities in our Best University Cities 2027 ranking, with a score of 52.5.
Queen Margaret University appears in 14 of our subject league tables. Here’s where it places in each, best first.
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performing Arts | 11th | of 37 | 96 |
| Nursing | 29th | of 85 | 144 |
| Drama, Theatre and Performance | 24th | of 60 | 110 |
| Graphic Design | 30th | of 68 | 121 |
| Occupational Therapy | 18th | of 40 | 93 |
| Business and Management | 52nd | of 114 | 147 |
| Human Resource Management | 27th | of 58 | 108 |
| Media and Communication | 38th | of 79 | 126 |
| Teaching | 40th | of 79 | 119 |
| Primary Education | 30th | of 59 | 110 |
| Subject | Rank | Table size | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Film Production | 46th | of 87 | 133 |
| Sociology | 49th | of 86 | 118 |
| Psychology | 68th | of 108 | 109 |
| Costume Design | 9th | of 10 | 29 |
Subject tables compare universities on graduate earnings, student satisfaction, teaching quality and academic support. Scores aren’t comparable between subjects.
QMU Students' Union is based in the middle of campus, above Maggie's Bar & Café, which is the social hub and hosts many SU events. Sports and societies range from football, rugby and badminton to musical theatre, dance and costume design, and you can start your own. Campus has a sports centre and all-weather pitches. For bigger nights out, Edinburgh city centre is six minutes away by train, while Musselburgh, Portobello beach and the Fort Kinnaird shopping and cinema complex are close by.
University halls cost £151–£184 per week (2026/27, 38-week contract, all rooms en-suite) (2026/27 prices).
First-year accommodation guarantee
No guarantee. QMU says campus accommodation is very limited and that submitting an application does not automatically guarantee an offer. Priority goes to new students under its Accommodation Allocation Policy, and rooms for continuing students are very limited. If you hold a firm conditional offer, your application is only processed once you meet your offer conditions.
| Hall | Area | Rooms | From | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student Village: standard en-suite room | On campus, Musselburgh | en-suite (single bed, flats of six) | £151/wk | 500 standard en-suite rooms across nine blocks, in six-person flats with a shared kitchen and living area. £5,738 for a 38-week contract (4 September 2026 to 28 May 2027), including bills, internet and contents insurance. |
| Student Village: premium en-suite room | On campus, Musselburgh | en-suite (double bed, flats of three to five) | £184/wk | 300 bigger rooms with a double bed (single occupancy), mostly in four- and five-bed flats. £6,992 for 38 weeks. QMU says these are always popular, so apply early. |
Prices are the university’s published weekly starting prices and can change. Always check the official accommodation site before applying.
The small historic town next to campus, with shops, a harbour and a racecourse. Walkable to QMU.
Edinburgh's beachside neighbourhood, between campus and the city, with a relaxed seaside feel.
Lively, with lots of bars and restaurants and plenty of tenement flats. A bus ride to campus.
Closer to the city's nightlife, with a quick train or bus out to QMU. Edinburgh's rental market is competitive, so start looking early.
Top tip
Applications open in April each year through QMU's e-Accommodation portal, and you can apply with a conditional or unconditional offer. It takes about 15 minutes and you'll need your QMU student number. Rooms are limited, so apply as early as you can. If campus is full, QMU's Private Sector Accommodation Guide covers flat-hunting in Edinburgh.
Campus rooms for 2026/27 cost £151 or £184 a week on a 38-week contract, with heating, electricity, internet and contents insurance included. That's £5,738 or £6,992 for the year. Edinburgh's private rental market is busy and pricey, so living on campus is often the simpler option. Buses are cheap if you're under 22 and living in Scotland, as travel is free.
Getting around
Musselburgh station is right outside the campus entrance, and trains reach Edinburgh Waverley in about six minutes. Lothian Buses services 4 and 30 terminate at QMU and the 106 also stops on campus. Lothian's TapTapCap caps contactless bus travel at £5.70 a day. If you live in Scotland and are under 22, you can travel on buses for free with the Under 22s Free Bus Travel scheme.
Weighing up your options? Here’s how nearby universities compare in the Unifresher Rankings 2027.
Queen Margaret University is 81st out of 124 UK universities in the Unifresher Rankings 2027, with an overall score of 44.9. Its strongest results are for career prospects (31st), student wellbeing (32nd), safety (33rd).
It's on the eastern edge of the city, in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Musselburgh station is right outside the campus, and the train to Edinburgh Waverley takes about six minutes. Lothian Buses also run straight to campus.
No. QMU says campus accommodation is very limited and an application doesn't guarantee a room, although new students get priority. Apply as soon as applications open in April. If you hold a conditional offer, your application is processed once you've met your conditions.
For 2026/27, a standard en-suite room is £5,738 (£151 a week) and a premium en-suite with a double bed is £6,992 (£184 a week), both on a 38-week contract from 4 September 2026. Heating, electricity, internet and contents insurance are included.
Yes. All 800 rooms in the on-campus Student Village are en-suite. Standard rooms are in six-person flats; premium rooms are bigger, have a double bed and are mostly in four- or five-person flats.
Career-focused degrees, especially in health: nursing, physiotherapy, podiatry, radiography, dietetics and speech and language therapy. It also teaches drama and performance, business, media and education. The institution dates back to 1875, when it started as a cookery and domestic science school for women.
It's a small campus, so the social scene centres on the Students' Union and Maggie's Bar & Café, plus the sports centre, sports clubs and societies. For bigger nights out, most students head into Edinburgh, which is a six-minute train ride away.
About this guide. Rankings data comes from the Unifresher Rankings 2027 (methodology). Facts, hall prices and costs come from the university and official sources listed below. Last updated 23 October 2026.
