University Of Oxford Ref 2021 University Of Oxford

Leo Migdal

-Dec 14, 2025, 5:07 AM

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The UK Funding Bodies have published the outcomes of the recent national research assessment exercise, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. The REF 2021 results show Oxford’s submission had the highest volume of world-leading research. [1] The University of Oxford made the largest submission of any Higher Education Institution (HEI) in the UK, submitting over 3,600 researchers (3,405 full time equivalent) into 29 subject areas, over 8,500 research outputs in... Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The REF 2021 results demonstrate once again that Oxford is a research powerhouse.

The impact case studies highlight our effectiveness in putting this research in service to society by making critical contributions to global health, economic prosperity and cultural life.’ Percentage of submission meeting of the standard of: Percentage of submission meeting of the standard of: Percentage of submission meeting of the standard of: Percentage of submission meeting of the standard of: Percentage of submission meeting of the standard of:

Welcome to our guide to University of Oxford Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results for PhD study. Select a subject area below to see how good this university is at producing high quality research in the topics you might want to study for your PhD. The REF works by asking universities to submit information about their research and asking other expert academics to judge how good it is (a system called ‘peer-review’). Universities are reviewed on three things: The definitions of individual ranking levels vary slightly between different assessment criteria, but the overall REF result is designed to place University of Oxford research in a global academic context. It establishes the proportion of its work that is deemed to be:

The University of Oxford’s results in REF 2021 are given below. Results are shown as the percentage of the submission achieving the following starred levels: 4* – quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour3* – quality that is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, but which falls short if the highest standards... Unclassified (U/C) – Quality that falls below the standard of nationally recognised work, or work which does not meet the published definition of research for the purposes of this assessment. The overall results for the University as a whole are given as an FTE-weighted average of the subject results. The table then shows the results for each subject area submission.

We also show the total number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff submitted for each subject. REF 2021 results by unit of assessment (UOA) The Research Excellence Framework (REF) team, on behalf of the four UK higher education funding bodies have published the results of REF 2021 today (12 May 2022). The REF is the system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. We are delighted to report that our submission to the Education Unit of Assessment (UOA) has achieved fantastic scores, which demonstrates the excellence of our research. In Unit of Assessment 23 (Education), 69% of our submission was judged to be 4*.

4* is the highest score available, indicating research quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance, and rigour. This result is the highest overall percentage of research judged to be 4* in the UK within the unit. Professor Victoria Murphy, Director of the Department of Education, comments: ‘Congratulations to all our staff on the REF 2021 results! The results of our REF21 submission reflect that we conduct the highest quality academic research in Education at the University of Oxford – research that has meaningful impact in our field’. Today, 12 May 2022, the UK funding bodies have published the outcomes of the recent national research assessment exercise, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

The REF 2021 results show Oxford’s Department of Physics’ submission had the largest volume of world-leading research [1]. Professor Louise Richardson, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The REF 2021 results demonstrate once again that Oxford is a research powerhouse and the impact case studies highlight our effectiveness in putting this... ‘The REF is one of the few opportunities to see the remarkable breadth of our research and to draw together all parts of the collegiate University in a single collaborative effort, and I would... Professor Ian Shipsey FRS, Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The REF 2021 results mean Oxford Physics has overall the largest amount of world-leading research of any UK... Relative to our performance in 2014, we have improved in our impacts, our outputs and our environment, and we are delighted that our progress to enhance these further has been recognised. I should like to thank all my colleagues for their impactful research and the way that so many work together to make Oxford Physics a very conducive environment in which to conduct world-leading research.’

Highlights of our research in action can be found here. In Unit of Assessment 12, 71% of Oxford’s submission was judged to be 4* (the highest score available, for research quality that is world-leading) Today (12th May 2022), the UK Funding Bodies have published the results of the recent national research assessment exercise, the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. The REF 2021 results show Oxford’s submission had the highest volume of world-leading research. [1] The University of Oxford made the largest submission of any Higher Education Institution in the UK, submitting over 3,600 researchers (3,405 full time equivalent) into 29 subject areas, over 8,500 research outputs in a...

Research from the Department of Engineering Science and Department of Materials was jointly submitted to Unit of Assessment 12 – Engineering. In this Unit of Assessment, 71% of Oxford’s submission was judged to be 4* (the highest score available, for research quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance, and rigour). Head of Department Professor Ronald A. Roy welcomed the news, saying "The Department is thankful to all the staff, researchers and students who made this outcome possible by fostering a diverse, dynamic, and vigorous research environment. We are also appreciative of the efforts of our colleagues in the Department of Materials who co-authored the REF submission, and to all who contributed to the attainment of an excellent result." The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a national assessment of research quality.

It informs how public funding for research is allocated in the UK. To be included in the REF assessment, journal articles and conference proceedings with an ISSN must meet the REF open access policy. The University of Oxford submits to the REF every 6–7 years. The next submission will be in 2028. On 1 January 2026, new open access requirements for journal articles and conference proceedings will come into effect (see table below for details). The simplest way to be REF compliant is to make sure your articles are open access.

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