Research conducted within the School of the Arts has scored highly for quality and impact in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, with some areas ranked among the top in their sector.
Taking place every six or seven years, REF is a national assessment of the research undertaken and published by higher education institutions in the UK.
Universities are assessed by discipline on the quality of their research, its impact outside academia, and the research environment.
Each of the School’s academic departments recorded impressive results, reflecting the real-world value of our research, and the rich research environment on offer to students and academic colleagues.
The Liverpool School of Architecture is ranked joint 5th in the sector for research classified as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). 100% of its research impact is scored as outstanding (4*) or very considerable (3*), and 100% of the environment was rated conducive to generating research that is world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
Communication and Media is ranked 4th in the sector for outstanding (4*) research impact, and 10th for research environment classified as world leading (4*). 100% of the department’s impact is classified as outstanding (4*) or very considerable (3*), and 100% of the environment is conducive to generating research that is world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
The Department of English is placed 10th in the sector for research impact classified as outstanding (4*), and 13th for the percentage of research overall classified as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*). 100% of the research environment is rated as world leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
The Department of Music is placed in the top quartile (top 25%) of the sector for research impact classified as outstanding (4*). This represents an 88% increase since the previous REF exercise in 2014.
Finally, Philosophy has more than doubled its world leading (4*) research (outputs, impact and environment) compared to REF 2014, and is now ranked 4th in the sector for research impact classified as outstanding (4*).
Professor Peter Buse, Dean of the School of the Arts, and Professor Josie Billington, Associate Dean for Research and Impact, commended the academic departments on their achievements. "This has been a great set of REF results for the School of the Arts, and just as importantly, for the wider Faculty and University, with significant improvements in the University’s reputation for high-quality research.
"A big thank you to everyone who has produced or in some way supported research and impact in SotA, which means everyone in the School. Your work is testimony to the valuable contribution made by the Arts to academic excellence and to the enrichment of public life."