diff --git a/qa/README.md b/qa/README.md
index f8a5c00efd4..746bd5cf94b 100644
--- a/qa/README.md
+++ b/qa/README.md
@@ -78,13 +78,7 @@ If your user doesn't have permission to default sandbox group
 GITLAB_USERNAME=jsmith GITLAB_PASSWORD=password GITLAB_SANDBOX_NAME=jsmith-qa-sandbox bin/qa Test::Instance::All https://gitlab.example.com
 ```
 
-In addition, the `GITLAB_USER_TYPE` can be set to "ldap" to sign in as an LDAP user:
-
-```
-GITLAB_USER_TYPE=ldap GITLAB_USERNAME=jsmith GITLAB_PASSWORD=password GITLAB_SANDBOX_NAME=jsmith-qa-sandbox bin/qa Test::Instance::All https://gitlab.example.com
-```
-
-All [supported environment variables are here](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-qa#supported-environment-variables).
+All [supported environment variables are here](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-qa/blob/master/docs/what_tests_can_be_run.md#supported-environment-variables).
 
 ### Building a Docker image to test
 
diff --git a/qa/qa/page/main/login.rb b/qa/qa/page/main/login.rb
index 3fb5e6cbdc4..08cf8da34fd 100644
--- a/qa/qa/page/main/login.rb
+++ b/qa/qa/page/main/login.rb
@@ -59,6 +59,19 @@ module QA
           Page::Menu::Main.act { has_personal_area? }
         end
 
+        def sign_in_using_admin_credentials
+          admin = QA::Factory::Resource::User.new.tap do |user|
+            user.username = QA::Runtime::User.admin_username
+            user.password = QA::Runtime::User.admin_password
+          end
+
+          using_wait_time 0 do
+            sign_in_using_gitlab_credentials(admin)
+          end
+
+          Page::Menu::Main.act { has_personal_area? }
+        end
+
         def self.path
           '/users/sign_in'
         end
diff --git a/qa/qa/runtime/env.rb b/qa/qa/runtime/env.rb
index 841c959045f..27ba915961d 100644
--- a/qa/qa/runtime/env.rb
+++ b/qa/qa/runtime/env.rb
@@ -3,8 +3,6 @@ module QA
     module Env
       extend self
 
-      attr_writer :user_type
-
       # set to 'false' to have Chrome run visibly instead of headless
       def chrome_headless?
         (ENV['CHROME_HEADLESS'] =~ /^(false|no|0)$/i) != 0
@@ -19,18 +17,6 @@ module QA
         ENV['PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN']
       end
 
-      # By default, "standard" denotes a standard GitLab user login.
-      # Set this to "ldap" if the user should be logged in via LDAP.
-      def user_type
-        return @user_type if defined?(@user_type) # rubocop:disable Gitlab/ModuleWithInstanceVariables
-
-        ENV.fetch('GITLAB_USER_TYPE', 'standard').tap do |type|
-          unless %w(ldap standard).include?(type)
-            raise ArgumentError.new("Invalid user type '#{type}': must be 'ldap' or 'standard'")
-          end
-        end
-      end
-
       def user_username
         ENV['GITLAB_USERNAME']
       end
@@ -39,6 +25,14 @@ module QA
         ENV['GITLAB_PASSWORD']
       end
 
+      def admin_username
+        ENV['GITLAB_ADMIN_USERNAME']
+      end
+
+      def admin_password
+        ENV['GITLAB_ADMIN_PASSWORD']
+      end
+
       def forker?
         forker_username && forker_password
       end
diff --git a/qa/qa/runtime/user.rb b/qa/qa/runtime/user.rb
index b016777c987..5eb7a210fce 100644
--- a/qa/qa/runtime/user.rb
+++ b/qa/qa/runtime/user.rb
@@ -7,25 +7,37 @@ module QA
         'root'
       end
 
+      def default_password
+        '5iveL!fe'
+      end
+
       def username
         Runtime::Env.user_username || default_username
       end
 
       def password
-        Runtime::Env.user_password || '5iveL!fe'
+        Runtime::Env.user_password || default_password
       end
 
       def ldap_user?
-        Runtime::Env.user_type == 'ldap'
+        Runtime::Env.ldap_username && Runtime::Env.ldap_password
       end
 
       def ldap_username
-        Runtime::Env.ldap_username || name
+        Runtime::Env.ldap_username || username
       end
 
       def ldap_password
         Runtime::Env.ldap_password || password
       end
+
+      def admin_username
+        Runtime::Env.admin_username || default_username
+      end
+
+      def admin_password
+        Runtime::Env.admin_password || default_password
+      end
     end
   end
 end
diff --git a/qa/qa/specs/features/browser_ui/1_manage/login/log_into_gitlab_via_ldap_spec.rb b/qa/qa/specs/features/browser_ui/1_manage/login/log_into_gitlab_via_ldap_spec.rb
index c9958917be9..c296296def6 100644
--- a/qa/qa/specs/features/browser_ui/1_manage/login/log_into_gitlab_via_ldap_spec.rb
+++ b/qa/qa/specs/features/browser_ui/1_manage/login/log_into_gitlab_via_ldap_spec.rb
@@ -3,10 +3,6 @@
 module QA
   context :manage, :orchestrated, :ldap do
     describe 'LDAP login' do
-      before do
-        Runtime::Env.user_type = 'ldap'
-      end
-
       it 'user logs into GitLab using LDAP credentials' do
         Runtime::Browser.visit(:gitlab, Page::Main::Login)
         Page::Main::Login.act { sign_in_using_credentials }
diff --git a/qa/spec/runtime/env_spec.rb b/qa/spec/runtime/env_spec.rb
index 5493a33cd2a..d889d185a45 100644
--- a/qa/spec/runtime/env_spec.rb
+++ b/qa/spec/runtime/env_spec.rb
@@ -56,27 +56,6 @@ describe QA::Runtime::Env do
     end
   end
 
-  describe '.user_type' do
-    it 'returns standard if not defined' do
-      expect(described_class.user_type).to eq('standard')
-    end
-
-    it 'returns standard as defined' do
-      stub_env('GITLAB_USER_TYPE', 'standard')
-      expect(described_class.user_type).to eq('standard')
-    end
-
-    it 'returns ldap as defined' do
-      stub_env('GITLAB_USER_TYPE', 'ldap')
-      expect(described_class.user_type).to eq('ldap')
-    end
-
-    it 'returns an error if invalid user type' do
-      stub_env('GITLAB_USER_TYPE', 'foobar')
-      expect { described_class.user_type }.to raise_error(ArgumentError)
-    end
-  end
-
   describe '.forker?' do
     it 'returns false if no forker credentials are defined' do
       expect(described_class).not_to be_forker