Our results

The REF is a process of expert review, carried out by expert panels made up of senior academics, international members, and research users, for each of the 34 subject-based Units of Assessment (UoAs). The University of Exeter submitted the work of 1,251 researchers (full-time equivalent) in 26 of the UoAs.

For each submission, three distinct elements are assessed: the quality of outputs (e.g. publications, performances, and exhibitions), their impact beyond academia, and the environment that supports research.

The process assesses whether the research submitted is:

4* - world-leading
3* - internationally excellent
2* - of international quality
1* - of national quality

From these results we are able to calculate a Grade Point Average (GPA), both institutionally and for each UoA. The GPA is the average of scores across 4*, 3*, 2* and 1*. We are also able to assess our performance relative to other higher education institutions.

The full results are available via the official REF 2021 website. Some key results for the University of Exeter are included here.

Measure	Score	National rank	Russell Group rank
Grade Point Average	3.35	21	19
World-leading research (4*)	46.9%	18	17
World-leading impact (4*)	59.8%	11	11
Research Power	-	18	18

Note: Specialist institutions which have submitted to 1 or 2 UoAs, such as, for example, The Institute of Cancer Research or the Royal Agricultural University have not been included in this data.

			Overall quality profile (percentage of research activity at each quality level)
Unit of Assessment		FTE category A staff submitted	4*	3*	2*	1*	u/c
1	Clinical Medicine	69.61	45	48	7	0	0
2	Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care	59.92	35	54	11	0	0
3	Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy	12.50	42	50	8	0	0
4	Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience	48.30	53	39	7	1	0
5	Biological Sciences	99.05	41	49	10	0	0
7	Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences	78.10	63	27	8	0	2
9	Physics	49.39	48	45	7	0	0
10	Mathematical Sciences	48.00	42	52	6	0	0
11	Computer Science and Informatics	27.90	33	50	9	0	8
12	Engineering	78.60	32	60	8	0	0
14	Geography and Environmental Studies	60.98	55	36	9	0	0
15	Archaeology	16.00	47	47	6	0	0
16	Economics and Econometrics	37.70	30	59	11	0	0
17	Business and Management Studies	79.10	54	38	8	0	0
18	Law	52.92	46	35	16	3	0
19	Politics and International Studies	58.25	48	38	13	1	0
21	Sociology	49.60	35	47	17	1	0
23	Education	38.38	32	50	12	6	0
24	Sports and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism	33.80	79	20	1	0	0
25	Area Studies¹	24.09	58	31	10	1	0
26	Modern Languages and Linguistics	44.80	39	44	16	1	0
27	English Language and Literature	73.70	50	38	12	0	0
28	History	60.05	58	32	10	0	0
29	Classics	21.60	54	30	15	1	0
31	Theology and Religious Studies	11.81	71	16	13	0	0
33	Music, Drama, Dance and Performing Arts	16.66	55	29	12	4	0
Total

¹ Our submission to Area Studies was in the area of Arabic and Islamic Studies.