REF Top 10 for York Chemistry
An outstanding performance in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 sees the Department of Chemistry in the Top 10 UK chemistry departments in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the results, with the majority of its research and impact being rated as world leading (4*).
The Research Excellence Framework provides an assessment of research carried out in UK universities and rates it as world leading (4*), internationally excellent (3*), internationally recognized (2*) or nationally recognized (1*). The exercise looks at output, impacts and environment, and uses this to come to an overview of research quality in each different unit of assessment.
The Department of Chemistry achieved an excellent overall grade point average (GPA) score of 3.60, significantly above the median of 3.35, and up very significantly from its GPA in 2014. This has moved the Department into the Top 10 for Chemistry in the UK in the Times Higher Education’s ranking of the results.
Reflecting the innovative research being carried out in the Department, 52% of all research outputs were rated as world leading (4*), with all of the remaining outputs achieving a 3* rating.
The research strategy in the Department aims to translate some of its academic research into real-world impacts for the public good – for example in areas such as air quality, software for drug discovery, biotechnology, and atmospheric science. The quality of this activity was recognized by the REF exercise, with 70% of the Department’s impacts being rated as world leading (4*).
The Department has grown its research activities significantly in recent years, with major increases in grant income. It also provides a unique environment, widely recognized for being highly supportive of its staff, as indicated by its Gold Athena SWAN Award and active work for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The REF results recognized that this unique approach has created a world-leading environment for chemistry research, with a score of 87.5% at 4* (world leading).
With ca. 62 staff members (56.8 full time equivalents) returned in the REF exercise, the Department is one of the largest in the UK. When the size of the Department is taken into account, and the GPA is converted into an overall ‘Research Power’, this sees the Department ranked 7th amongst all UK chemistry departments.
Head of Department Professor Caroline Dessent said: “Our REF results are excellent, and reflect the world-leading research that is going on in York's Chemistry Department. They reflect hard work from members of staff and researchers across the entire department, and it's very satisfying to see this recognized.”
As a whole, The University of York was also ranked amongst the Top 10 UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s analysis of the REF2021 results, reflecting its strengthening position as a leading UK research university.