Large increase in research judged to be ‘world-leading’ at Loughborough University
Two-thirds of Loughborough academics deliver internationally leading research – 17th highest proportion in the sector, out of 154 universities
Loughborough’s inclusive approach confirms research embedded in all we do
Data released today (Thursday 18 December 2014) as part of the national Research Excellence Framework (REF) reveals that Loughborough University has consolidated its position in the premier league of research universities.
The results show that 65.5% of the work of Loughborough’s academic staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF was judged as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’, and is therefore eligible to receive research funding. This compares to a national average figure of 43%.
Loughborough demonstrated its pre-eminence in sport and is again home to the country’s largest concentration of world-leading research in this area. In total seven subject areas, covering 60% of Loughborough staff, feature in their national subject top ten on this measure.
The following table indicates the proportion of staff that were judged ‘world-leading’ (4*-rated) or ‘internationally excellent’ (3*-rated) as a proportion of staff who were eligible to be submitted to the REF.
|
% of eligible staff whose work was judged 3* or 4* |
||
|
Rank |
University |
% |
|
1 |
Imperial College London |
83.28% |
|
2 |
University of Cambridge |
82.96% |
|
3 |
University of Bristol |
76.11% |
|
4 |
University of Oxford |
75.70% |
|
5 |
University of Southampton |
75.64% |
|
6 |
University College London |
74.99% |
|
7 |
London School of Economics and Political Science |
73.96% |
|
8 |
Queen's University Belfast |
72.50% |
|
9 |
University of Warwick |
72.24% |
|
10 |
University of Edinburgh |
68.71% |
|
11 |
University of Glasgow |
67.95% |
|
12 |
King's College London |
67.88% |
|
13 |
University of St Andrews |
67.81% |
|
14 |
University of Exeter |
66.69% |
|
15 |
University of Strathclyde |
66.41% |
|
16 |
University of Birmingham |
65.71% |
|
17 |
LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY |
65.47% |
|
18 |
University of Durham |
65.47% |
|
19 |
University of Reading |
64.93% |
|
20 |
University of Manchester |
64.40% |
|
21 |
University of Bath |
64.19% |
|
22 |
Lancaster University |
63.53% |
|
23 |
University of Sheffield |
63.49% |
|
24 |
University of Nottingham |
63.35% |
|
25 |
Queen Mary University of London |
63.31% |
|
26 |
University of Essex |
63.22% |
|
27 |
Newcastle University |
63.03% |
|
28 |
Royal Holloway, University of London |
62.57% |
|
29 |
University of Kent |
62.53% |
|
30 |
University of York |
62.16% |
The very high submission rate at Loughborough (88% of eligible staff were returned) was one of the highest in the sector and provides assurance to students that they will enjoy the benefits of being taught in a world-class research environment.
Overall the proportion of Loughborough’s research judged to be ‘world leading’ (4*) increased by 37% and that considered ‘internationally excellent’ increased by 23%.
Vice Chancellor, Robert Allison said: “The combination of a significant increase in the proportion of our research deemed world leading, and high, inclusive submission rate, evidences our claim to be one the UK’s premier research universities where students can be assured that their courses involve staff at the cutting edge of their intellectual disciplines.”