Research Excellence Framework

Research Excellence Framework

The REF is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. It first took place in 2014 and 2021. The next exercise is planned for 2029.

REF 2021 confirmed Kent’s reputation for world-leading research across the arts and humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

The outcomes of the REF are reflected in the Times Higher Education (THE) tables where we rose by 11 places to 38th in the UK for overall quality. At a subject level, the quality of our research was ranked as:

Top 8 in the UK in 8 subjects, including 1st for History and 3rd for Law:

Architecture; Classics; History (1st in UK); Law; Philosophy; Social Work & Social Policy (3rd in UK); Theology; Music, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts Film and Screen Studies.

Top 25 in the UK in 7 subjects:

Anthropology; Biological Sciences; Computer Science; Economics & Econometrics; English Language & Literature; Modern Languages & Linguistics; Geography & Environmental Studies.

What submission was this based on?

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78 impact case studies
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1688 research outputs
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100% of all 830 staff
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26 Units of Assessment

Our REF 2021 research