University of Winchester consolidates research position in REF 2021

13 May 2022

The University of Winchester has continued to develop and enhance the range and quality of its research, according to the results of the Research Excellence Framework 2021.

Winchester research rated 4* or world leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour has increased threefold since the last REF in 2014. The volume of staff submitted also increased by 126 per cent.

There was a significant increase in institutional research power and the University is now placed at 98 for research power, compared with 107 in 2014. This represents the 17th biggest increase nationally.

Education produced the second largest increase in research power rank nationally, moving up 26 places to 36th. This world leading educational research informs Winchester's undergraduate and postgraduate educational provision, where the quality of its Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes is consistently rated by OFSTED as 'outstanding'.

Theology and Religious Studies also performed particularly strongly in the REF, with almost a quarter of research ranked 4* or world leading, ranking joint 3rd for impact.

Professor Emile Bojesen, Director of Research and Innovation at the University of Winchester said: "The University of Winchester is pleased to have its contribution to research recognised in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 and we are very proud of the performance of all staff who submitted their research for REF 2021.

"The University has improved the overall quality of its research, while more than doubling the number of staff submitted. The threefold increase in world leading (4*) research, demonstrated in the results of REF2021, evidences the thriving research culture that underpins the educational experience at Winchester."

The REF assesses the quality and impact of research submitted by UK universities across all disciplines. The results provide information and benchmarks about the research performance of all universities and are used to allocate around £2bn a year in research funding to universities.

More detailed information about the University's REF 2021 results is available on the website at this link: https://www.winchester.ac.uk/research/ref-2021/

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