13th in the UK for the quality and impact of research (REF 2014)
The School of Sociology and Social Policy has been ranked 13th in the UK for the quality and impact of its research, according to the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014).
REF is a periodic national exercise by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to assess the quality and impact of research at UK universities.
The School’s results are that 79 per cent of its research was classified as either ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. The submission had one of the highest proportion of staff entered (94.5%) amongst the top quartile of submissions, confirming the School’s position as an inclusive centre of research excellence.
For the first time, the ‘impact’ of the School’s research on some of the global challenges facing society was measured and 60 per cent of its impact case study submission were rated as ‘world class’ with the remainder rated as 'internationally excellent''.
Professor Anne Kerr, Head of the School of SSP said:
“The school has worked very hard to deliver excellent research outputs and impact over the last six years and we are justifiably proud of our inclusive approach to the REF exercise which is testament to the supportive and enabling environment we provide for researchers across a range of career stages and disciplines. We are particularly pleased that the positive social and policy changes to which our research has contributed have been recognised in this exercise and are looking forward to continuing to make a difference to society through our research."
