Kingston University research hits new high as results come in for the Research Excellence Framework 2014

Posted Thursday 18 December 2014

Kingston University research across all disciplines has been rated as world-leading and internationally excellent in the Government's latest research evaluation.Kingston University has received a huge boost to its research with 60 per cent being rated as world-leading and internationally excellent in the latest Government research evaluation exercise. This represents a 100 per cent improvement for the University since the last assessment six years ago and propels it nearly 20 places up the overall ranking of institutions published in the Times Higher Education newspaper.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the regular UK-wide assessment of the quality of research in higher education institutions. This assessment last took place in 2008, under its previous name of the Research Assessment Exercise.

The REF 2014 involved research from 52,061 academic staff from 154 UK universities which was stringently peer reviewed by a series of panels including UK and international experts and external users of research. Research was graded according to its quality in terms of originality, significance and rigour. Each element was given a star rating according to the following scheme: 4* - world-leading quality, 3* - internationally excellent quality, 2* - internationally recognised quality, 1* - nationally recognised quality, unclassified - either falling below the standard of nationally recognised research, or failing to meet the criteria for inclusion in the REF.

Kingston's results show that the University has world-leading research in each of the nine units of assessment which it submitted and across all its five faculties.

Kingston University's Vice-Chancellor Professor Julius Weinberg said he was proud of the results and that they proved the University had made huge strides in both the quantity and quality of its research during the past six years. "I am delighted with Kingston's achievement in the 2014 REF," he added. "It is a testament to the top knotch researchers and impressive industry links we've developed at Kingston and shows how we can be a successful university bringing together the very best research and teaching in an environment that supports a thriving and diverse student body."

Kingston University's submission to the Research Excellence Framework 2014

Kingston University submitted nine units for inclusion in REF 2014. The submission included 561 research outputs carried out by 167 academic staff, £14 million of research income and 22 impact case studies.

60 per cent of Kingston University's overall submission was rated as world-leading and internationally excellent (4* and 3*) - a 100 per cent increase on the 2008 figure.
Six Units of Assessment exceeded the University's target of an overall majority of 4* and 3* research including at least one Unit of Assessment in each of the University's five Faculties - Art & Design: History, Practice and Theory; English Language and Literature, Philosophy; Allied Health Professions and Nursing; Business and Management Studies and Computer Science and Informatics.
The results show that world-leading research occurs in every Unit of Assessment submitted by Kingston University.
Kingston's top performing Unit was Art & Design: History, Practice and Theory.
English secured a 100 per cent 4* rating for the Impact element of its submission, indicating strength in engaging with real-world applications of research. English also had the highest percentage of 4* work overall at 30 per cent.

Find out more about the REF 2014.
See the Times Higher Education REF 2014 rankings.

The Research Excellence Framework is the new system for assessing the quality of research at UK higher education institutions.