News archive 2008

2008 RAE results

18 Dec 2008, PR 269/08

In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 60 per cent of research activity at King’s has been deemed 4* and 3*, meaning that this is regarded as world-leading or internationally excellent. In total 91 per cent of  research activity entered is internationally recognised.



Areas that have done exceptionally well with 30 per cent or over of their research activity being designated 4* include: Dentistry; Nutritional Sciences; Management Studies; the Centre for Computing in the Humanities (Library and Information Management); Education; Portuguese; Classics, Ancient History, Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies; Philosophy; Film Studies (Dance, Drama and Performing Arts) and Music.

In terms of how departments compare with their counterparts in other British universities, there have been some remarkable successes, particularly in: Dentistry; Nutritional Sciences; Cardiovascular Medicine; German; Portuguese; French; Education; Philosophy; Classics, Ancient History, Byzantine & Modern Greek Studies.

Vice-Principal Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, who led the College’s Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) submission, comments: ‘This is a very strong performance across the College, particularly in humanities, social sciences and medicine; inevitably there have been some disappointments, but, overall, there have been a number of significant improvements since the last RAE and the College’s position as a major player in international academic research is confirmed.’

The results of the 2008 RAE are officially released by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) today Thursday 18 December. The last exercise took place in 2001.

King’s entered 1,220 Category A staff (1,172 FTE) to 35 different units of assessment (UoA) at end of November 2007. Information consisted of: publications of staff; numbers of research students and studentships; information on research income; and a strategy document.

This information has been reviewed by panels of expert peers, including international experts. King’s had 26 members of staff on the panels, including three who were chairs of their UoA panels.

Graded profile

Results for each UoA take the form of a graded profile giving the proportions of the submission expressed as a percentage, that is judged to meet each of four * levels, in multiples of 5 per cent.

The levels are:

• Four* - Quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour. 
• Three* - Quality that is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which nonetheless falls short of the highest standards of excellence.
• Two* - Quality that is recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour.
• One* - Quality that is recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour. 
• Unclassified - 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 results are crucial to the College both in terms of reputation and of the QR (quality research) income it receives from HEFCE. This will have an impact on research income from 2009/10 onwards. An announcement will be made about the funding allocation in spring 2009.

Details can be found at: www.rae.ac.uk.



Notes to editors

King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher Higher 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 150 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of approximately £450 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.

King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres – a total unsurpassed by any other university.

Further information
Christopher Coe, Director of Communications
Public Relations Department, King’s College London
Tel: 020 7848 3202; email pr@kcl.ac.uk

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This information is provided by the Public Relations Department
Tel: 020-7848 3202  Fax: 020-7848 3739  Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk