Research Assessment Exercise 2008 results

The University of York performed superbly in the RAE 2008:

  • Results placed the University among the ten leading institutions in the UK for research
  • Almost all departments in the top 20
  • 90% + staff submission rate.

Departmental results

Department RAE comment

ARCHAEOLOGY

Ranked 6th for 4* research, and with 90% of research judged to be of 'international' standard.

BIOLOGY

Ranked equal 1st among broad spectrum bioscience departments in the UK for quality that was judged to be world-leading.

CHEMISTRY

Ranked 3rd among UK chemistry departments, with 75% of research assessed as internationally excellent.

COMPUTER SCIENCE

Confirmed as a leading research department in the last three RAEs, and in the top 10 in 2008 for 'research power'.

ECONOMICS

Ranked 8th for 'research power', and a strong performer in all previous RAEs.

EDUCATIONAL STUDIES

Ranked in the top 10 of education departments in the UK.

ELECTRONICS

The majority of research assessed as 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent', with excellent 'output' scores.

ENGLISH

Ranked 1st. Officially recognised as the UK's best Department of English for research.

ENVIRONMENT

60% of research assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.

HEALTH ECONOMICS

York ranked 1st for health services research.

HEALTH SCIENCES

Ranked joint 1st for health services research, and 4th for nursing and midwifery.

HISTORY

A majority of research rated 'internationally excellent' or 'world-leading'.

HISTORY OF ART

The RAE places York 2nd for 4*, or 'world-leading', research in History of Art.

LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS

Ranked 2nd in the UK for linguistic research with a high proportion of staff entered.

YORK MANAGEMENT SCHOOL

One of the highest scores among small research intensive business schools in the 2008 RAE.

MATHEMATICS

Assessed for both pure and applied research, and scoring highly in both categories.

MUSIC

Ranked joint 2nd for 4*, or world-class, research in the 2008 RAE.

PHILOSOPHY

Another top 20 department, with over half of research measured as world-leading or internationally excellent.

PHYSICS

Another top 20 department with over half of research of internationally excellent or world-leading quality.

POLITICS

A top 20 department for research quality in the UK, and consistently strong in successive RAEs.

PSYCHOLOGY

Ranked 6th in the UK, and a strong performer in all previous RAEs.

REVIEWS AND DISSEMINATION

York ranked 1st for health services research.

SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL WORK

Social Policy and Social Work at York ranked 5th in the UK by the 2008 RAE.

SOCIOLOGY

Ranked joint 1st nationally among UK universities in the 2008 RAE.

Units of assessment

A full breakdown of the results according to the RAE units of assessment is shown in the table below.

 Unit of Assessment Name 4*  3*  2*  1*  Unclassified  Average 
Music 50% 25% 20%  5% 0% 3.2 
English Language and Literature 45% 30% 20% 5% 0% 3.15
History of Art, Architecture and Design 45% 25% 25% 5% 0% 3.1
Health Services Research  35% 40% 20% 5% 0% 3.05
Nursing and Midwifery 35% 35% 25% 5% 0% 3
Computer Science and Informatics 25% 50% 20% 5% 0% 2.95
Chemistry  15% 60% 25% 0% 0% 2.9
Sociology 40% 30% 35% 5% 0% 2.85
Social Work and Social Policy & Administration  25% 40% 30% 5% 0% 2.85
Linguistics 20% 45% 30% 5% 0% 2.8
Psychology  20% 45% 30% 5% 0% 2.8
Biological Sciences  25% 35% 30% 10% 0% 2.75
Archaeology  25% 35% 30% 10% 0% 2.75
History  25% 30% 40% 5% 0% 2.75
Economics and Econometrics  15% 45% 40% 0% 0% 2.75
Education 15% 45% 30% 10% 0% 2.65
Philosophy  15% 40% 40% 5% 0% 2.65
Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences  10% 50% 35% 5% 0% 2.65
Physics  15% 40% 35% 10% 0% 2.6
Electrical and Electronic Engineering  10% 45% 35% 10% 0% 2.55
Applied Mathematics  10% 40% 45% 0% 0% 2.55
Pure Mathematics  10% 35% 50% 0% 0% 2.5
Business and Management Studies  10% 40% 35% 0% 0% 2.45
Politics and International Studies  15% 30% 30% 5% 5% 2.3
Epidemiology and Public Health  0% 30% 60% 5% 0% 2.2

* amount of research activity at each level