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The aim of the Research Graduate School is to facilitate and enhance the training of research students within the Faculty, to support formal monitoring and management of progress, and to improve the quality of research training provision. The school also aims to enhance research excellence and volume by increasing student numbers, and to champion issues related to postgraduate education.

The Faculty of Life and Health Sciences is based on three of the University’s four major campuses, namely Coleraine, Jordanstown and Magee. The Faculty has approximately 200 academic staff, 100 research staff, 350 research students and an overall total of over 3000 full-time student equivalents. Further significant expansion is planned over the next 5 years. The major research and teaching strengths of the Faculty are in the environmental, life and health sciences, psychology and there are close collaborative links with industry, agriculture, the health service, government agencies, charitable bodies and the professions. Research is well supported by grants from the Research Councils, European Commission, industry and charitable bodies.

The School has responsibility for all aspects of graduate student education and training from first application through to final examination. The stated aim of the School is to: facilitate and professionalise the training of research students within the faculty, formalise monitoring and management of progress, improve the quality of research training provision, promote research excellence and increase research volume by increasing research student numbers, and generally champion graduate education.

The Faculty’s annual research grant income is running at £4.0 million per year and increasing. The research programmes are all housed in excellent well-furbished accommodation with the most up-to-date equipment and other facilities.

In the most recent (2001) Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) review of research within UK universities, Biomedical Sciences at Ulster received the highest possible rating of 5* which, by HEFC definition is: research quality that equates to attainable levels of international excellence in a majority of sub-areas of activity and attainable levels of national excellence in all others. Nursing Studies and Rehabilitation Science received a 4 grade, Psychology received a 3a and Environmental Sciences received a 3b in the same assessment exercise; the latter grade equates to: attainable levels of national excellence in the majority of sub-areas of activity