The University has reaffirmed its position as one of the UK’s top research universities.
Southampton is ranked 11th in the UK based on the volume of its high quality research in the 2014 REF. Results show that 84 per cent of Southampton’s research activity is considered of internationally excellent or world-leading quality.
The REF assesses the quality of research output, the impact it has had outside of academia, and the research environment. The results will be used to allocate almost £2bn of research funding per year to UK universities from 2015-16.
In the first major assessment of UK research since 2008, Southampton remains one of the leading universities across a wide range of subjects:
- Music is first in the country on the basis of the quality of its research.
- Southampton’s world-leading engineering ranking is confirmed by its submissions to Electronic and Electrical Engineering and General Engineering – both ranked first in the UK for the volume and quality of their research.
- The University is also ranked in the top five nationally in Ocean and Earth Science, Nursing and Allied Health Professions, History, Modern Languages and Social Policy (including criminology, demography, gerontology, and sociology).
Professor Judith Petts, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), said: “I would like to thank everyone who contributed to such a splendid result in the REF. It’s been the result of a lot of work and dedication from a large number of people over a long period of time and well done to you all.”
Details of the University’s world-leading research can be found here and you can see our full results on the REF website.