School celebrates strong research performance in REF 2021
12 May 2022
The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences has 100% of its REF 2021 submission recognised as world-leading or internationally excellent.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) assesses the quality of research in the UK Higher Education sector, assuring us of the standards we strive for.
The REF 2021 results show that 70% of our outputs were regarded as world leading and the others as internationally excellent, making us 2nd in the UK.
Overall, we have also seen a real improvement in research undertaken within the school from a 3.07 Grade Point Average (GPA) in the REF 2014 to 3.57 in REF 2021, with an increase in world-leading (4*) and internationally excellent (3*) research. This demonstrates how our work is helping to shape the research landscape and addressing some of the most significant global challenges in Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Professor Ian Hall said: “I am grateful to all members of staff, across the school community and our associated research centres, for the hard work which has made our REF results possible.”
“Since REF 2014 our goal has been to strengthen our research excellence and the breadth of our impact, while allowing staff to expand their own horizons in an inclusive, diverse and collaborative research community. Reflective of this, we submitted 100% of our eligible staff to the Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences Unit of Assessment.”
“I'm particularly proud of the improvements we have made and our top percentage score for research outputs. To have 70% of our research outputs judged as world leading is a fantastic result that demonstrates the quality of the research produced by our school.”
Our researchers are at the forefront of finding real-world solutions to some of the most pressing issues in Earth and Environmental Sciences, and our multidisciplinary research is playing a vital role in reducing environmental impact and increasing sustainable practices in a wide range of areas.
For examples of the latest research undertaken at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, please read our impact case studies and visit our website.
Full information about the Cardiff University REF 2021 submission is available on the University's research pages.