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REF2021 results

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a government assessment of our research, overseen by Research England. It assesses the quality of UK research in universities, providing accountability for public funding for research and informing future funding allocation of £1 billion per year nationally.

The REF2021 results are now published by the four UK higher education funding bodies. The table below summarizes our overall performance and the following links showcase some of the great work that has been produced, celebrating the range of impacts the University’s researchers have on society, the economy, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment and quality of life, beyond academia.

Full submissions will be made available on the REF website in June, but you can find out more about our impact case studies on our research pages.

UCLan’s REF2021 overall performance

Scroll or swipe on small screens to see all table columns

 

4*

3*

2*

1*

Overall

18

48

30

4

Output

16

49

30

4

Impact

30

42

26

2

Environment

8

53

35

5

Key:

4*​: Quality that is world-leading
3*: Quality that is internationally excellent
2*: Quality that is recognised internationally
1*: Quality that is recognised nationally

UCLan’s REF2021 success stories

All 19 academic areas submitted to REF by UCLan have been officially recognised as demonstrating elements of world-leading and internationally excellent research. In comparison to the University’s last REF submission in 2014 the results highlight a doubling of world-leading research produced by UCLan academics and a doubling of how it has made a difference in the real world.

66% of the University’s submissions have been classified as world-leading or internationally excellent. 72% of the University’s submissions have been classified as having outstanding or very considerable impact in terms of its reach and significance (in the top 4-star and 3-star categories). Disciplines with the best impact ratings include: Modern Languages and Linguistics; Social Work and Social Policy; Physics; Business and Management Studies; Art and Design; Philosophy; History; Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies.

UCLan’s Impact Case Studies

UCLan submitted 50 Impact Case Studies to REF2021 across 19 UOAs. Follow the links below which showcase the diversity of UCLan’s research impact.