York rises in the national research league
Posted on 14 December 2001
The University of York is celebrating news of outstanding official research ratings. Eighteen of York's 23 departments have been awarded ratings of 5 or 5* for the quality of their research.
The eighteen include the University's largest departments, so that 84 per cent of York academics work in the top-rated 5 and 5* departments.
Scores of 5 or 5* signify research quality of international standing across the department. Three departments scored 4 and two scored 3A. Departments in every university are awarded ratings in the range 1 to 5*. York has no departments rated 1, 2 or 3B.
With so many departments rated 5, the University of York looks set to benefit from research contracts from industry and other organisations around the world which often award contracts on the basis of official ratings. The University may also benefit from research funding allocations from the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Three departments - Computer Science, English Literature and Psychology - achieved the accolade of 5*, a rating afforded to the very best university departments in the country.
Nursing, one of York's newest research areas, was awarded a grade 5 in its first-ever research assessment. Eleven other departments improved their grades from the last assessment in 1996. All seven social science departments are now rated 5, making York one of the strongest universities for social sciences in the country.
In addition, all of York's health-related departments, including Biology, Chemistry, Nursing and Community-based Clinical Subjects, are rated 5, a factor which bodes well for the new Hull York Medical School.
In another indication of its research strength, York entered 93 per cent of academic staff into the Research Assessment Exercise, the fourth highest proportion in the sector. The majority of universities entered fewer than 75 per cent of their staff.
In a table compiled by the London School of Economics (see table below), York appears 6th out of 172 Higher Education institutions and universities for research quality.
"These results are superb and improve even further on York's recent achievements. They place the University firmly on the international map," said Professor Ron Cooke, Vice-Chancellor. "Our teaching quality results are matched only by Cambridge, and now we have a set of research ratings which are also simply outstanding."
Notes to editors:
| 2001 | 1996 | 1992 | * | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Cambridge | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4% |
| London School of Economics | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3% |
| University of Oxford | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5% |
| Imperial College | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13% |
| University of Warwick | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9% |
| University of York | 6 | 10 | 10 | 7% |
| University College London | 7 | 6 | 4 | 12% |
| University of Southampton | 8 | 27 | 19 | 10% |
| University of Lancaster | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10% |
| University of St Andrews | 10 | 17 | 26 | 11% |
* % of staff not entered for RAE 2001