Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results

An overview of the College's results across four units of assessment.

The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results arrived in May and reaffirmed Edinburgh’s position as one of the UK’s leading research universities.

Our College achieved outstanding results across four units of assessment (UoAs).

Work was submitted from every eligible academic in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine: a total of 782 full time equivalent posts. This includes joint submissions from within the University of Edinburgh.

Overall, results were excellent. The University of Edinburgh is fourth in the UK based on the quality and breadth of its research - known as research power - and is Scotland’s top ranked institution, according to Times Higher Education's REF power ratings.

Results

Headlines from the four largest College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine units of assessment are:

UoA1: Clinical Medicine

The University of Edinburgh is ranked fourth in the UK by the Times Higher Education metrics for quality and breadth of research: this means we’ve held our position.
100% of the case studies submitted were awarded a 4 star or 3 star score for impact which means ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ research status.
For output, Clinical Medicine was awarded 4 star and 3 star status for 91% of the research papers submitted.
100 % of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent.

UoA4: Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

The University of Edinburgh is ranked third in the UK by the Times Higher Education metrics for quality and breadth of research.
100% of the case studies submitted were awarded 4 star for impact, which means world-leading research status.
For output, UoA4 was awarded 4 star and 3 star status for 90% of the research papers submitted.
UoA4 achieved a 100% 4 star score on environment, this means the context research takes place in.

UoA6: Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Sciences

In partnership with Scotland’s Rural College ( SRUC), our Agriculture, Food and Veterinary Sciences research has been ranked number one in the UK based on the quality and breadth of our work, maintaining our position as the strongest provider in these subject areas.
100 % of our joint submission was assessed as being 4 star or 3 star world-leading and internationally-excellent in terms of the impact our work has on wider society.
77 % of our combined research outputs have been assessed to be of the highest quality, 4 star or 3 star: this means world-leading and internationally excellent.
100 % of our research environment was classified as world leading and internationally excellent.

UoA20: Social Work and Social Policy

The University of Edinburgh is ranked second in the UK by Times Higher Education metrics for quality and breadth of research.
92.9% of the case studies submitted were awarded 4 star or 3 star status for impact.
For output, UoA20 was awarded 4 star or 3 star status for 84% of the research papers submitted.
UoA20 achieved a 100% 4 star score on environment: this means the context research takes place in.

Case studies

The College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine submitted a total of 31 REF impact case studies.

All are available to download here as PDFs. If you would like this information in another format, please email: Jennifer.cusiter@ed.ac.uk

Impact

You can read about the research achievements of our colleagues in more depth on the Edinburgh Impact website.

Edinburgh Impact

This article was published on 2024-09-09