LSE and UCL Shine in 2014 Research Excellence Framework

LSE has confirmed its position as a world-leading research university, with an outstanding performance in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

This is the first year in which the UK’s national research assessment has taken account of the impact of universities’ research on public life.  Using these measures, the REF ranked LSE as the top university in the UK for research quality both when using an average score or using the percentage of output receiving the top 4* grade. LSE was also awarded top spot in the rankings for its social science disciplines, whether judged on GPA or the proportion of research impact awarded 4*.

In addition to the School’s excellent overall performance, The LSE’s Department of Finance, which hosts the Systemic Risk Centre (SRC), leads the way in national research rankings, coming top in the UK, based on grade point average.

Commenting on the REF results, Jon Danielsson, Reader in Finance and Director of the Systemic Risk Centre said:

“LSE is the best university in the UK for world leading research, and our host department, Finance, as part of the management submission, is also number one. The Systemic Risk Centre has actively contributed to the LSE's REF submission. The success of the REF confirms the high quality and real world relevance of our research and policy agenda”

An example of the LSE's research excellence can be read about here in a recent article by Associate Professor of Finance and Director of the Systemic Risk Centre, JP Zigrand. The article highlights the influence of groundbreaking research by LSE economists upon the design of new regulations aimed at preventing a repeat of the recent global financial crisis.

The SRC co-host University College London was ranked in first place for Computer Science. 61% of its research work is rated as world-leading (the highest possible category) and 96% of its research work is rated as internationally excellent. UCL researchers in Computer Science and Informatics received a ‘grade point average’ of 3.57 (out of 4) and submitted over 70 staff to be assessed in REF2014.

More information:

More detail about the research and impact of each LSE department is available via the REF 2014 menu on the LSE Home page.

To see how research at LSE is making a difference, visit  LSE Research Impact.

UCL Computer Science ranked first in the REF 2014.

Full national REF results are available at: Research Excellence Framework 2014.