Postgraduate Spaces

This page covers study spaces for postgraduate students – where to find them, how to book them – on both the university’s campus and elsewhere in London. It also gives details of how to book spaces if you’re trying to organise an event yourself (for example, if you wanted to host an event with others on your course or in your department).

Study Spaces on campus

The Library has a full list of study spaces which can be found here. This includes more open (and potentially slightly busier and noisier) study spaces such as the Hive (Ground floor) as well as quieter spaces such as the bookable group study rooms on the first floor of both the Hive and the Mile End Library. However, there are also a number of study spaces specifically for PGT and PGR students on Queen Mary’s Mile End campus (all of these spaces have power sockets located by each seat):

• Graduate Centre Reading Room: Graduate Centre, Floor 7 Reading Room, Mile End campus (24 seats)
• Library Research Reading Room: Mile End Library, Second floor (62 seats)
• Library Postgraduate Taught Reading Room: Mile End Library, Second floor (69 seats)

There are also other study spaces on Queen Mary’s other campuses. Although these are not specifically allocated to postgraduate researchers, listed below are some of the quieter study areas:

• Whitechapel Library, Ground Floor (196 seats; not all desks have power sockets)
• West Smithfield Library, Ground Floor (54 seats, no power sockets at desks)

You can book these spaces by going to the library’s booking system here. There are also other spaces which can be used for study or group work but which may be busier (and noisier):

• Ground Café, Students' Union Hub, Mile End campus
• The Nest, Students' Union Hub, Mile End campus
• CafeGrad and Lobby, Graduate Centre Ground Floor, Mile End campus (some power sockets available)
• The Griff Inn and IT Room, BLSA Building, First floor (40 seats, some power sockets at seats)

Other Study Spaces for Postgraduate Students in London

If you feel like a change of scenery or want to find a study space nearer to where you’re living (if that’s not in East London), there are also a number of other study spaces which postgraduate students can take advantage of in London:

• Senate House Library in Bloomsbury is another option open to all University of London students. There are study spaces and an extensive book collection, with a particular focus on arts, humanities and social sciences. You can find more details here.
• The British Library in King’s Cross has reading rooms which are open to the public and free of charge. As the British Library is a copyright library (meaning it holds a copy of any material published in the U.K.), it has a vast selection of material and online resources. If you are unable to access an academic journal or e-book through Queen Mary’s library, for example, you will in all likelihood be able to access either a physical copy or an online version in one of the British Library’s reading rooms. You need to reserve a seat and order any books in advance, which you can do here. It is worth bearing in mind that the slots generally last only a few hours and you will need to register for a reader’s pass before booking.
• The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Russell Square has a library with research carrels which can be used by PhD researchers. See here for more information.
• The Library and Archives Reading Room at Kew, available from Tuesday to Thursday, may also be useful for postgraduate students located in South-West London. Find more details here.
• The Reuben Library at the BFI Southbank is also available for drop-ins, once you have registered. It has slightly later opening hours (11am-7pm, Tuesday-Saturday) and is located (just) south of the river, so may be useful for those based in South London or who prefer to study later in the day. Find out more here.
• The Welcome Collection Library, housed in the same building as the museum in Euston, is open 10am-6pm, Monday to Friday. More information here.
• Via the SCONUL access scheme, you can apply for access to another university library. This can be particularly useful if you live in another part of London and would find it more convenient to use another institution’s library. For more details, see this page.

Organising Events

If you are looking to organise an event as a postgraduate student, the main option is to book the Postgraduate Common Room and Terrace on the 7th floor of the Graduate Centre, at the other end of the hall from the Reading Room. It can be booked for events focused on postgraduate students either during the day (i.e. before 6pm) via the Library or for events in the evening (after 6pm) via the Events team, with capacity for over 30 people. See the Library’s Graduate Centre page here.

When booking an event space through the Queen Mary Events team, there is usually no fee charged for the space on the condition that the event is catered by Queen Mary Catering, details here.

There are also QMSU spaces available to book for QMSU-affiliated groups, such as clubs and societies (but not for individual use by students). Events that are co-organised with reps can receive QMSU staff support and be hosted in SU spaces for free. More information is available here.