The Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF2014) has produced strong results for work undertaken within the School of European Culture and Languages (SECL).
The Modern Languages and Linguistics submission was ranked 3rd, with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.24 out of 4. With the two higher-ranked submissions in that subject area specialising only in linguistics, this has confirmed Kent as being the highest-ranked University in REF2014 for the modern languages subject areas in the UK. The Religious Studies submission also received a high grade, ranked 7th in the UK (with a GPA of 3.11). Both subject areas also received outstanding assessments of the quality of their research environments. School submissions to Classics and Philosophy also showed considerable strengths. Classics & Archaeological Studies was ranked 14th and Philosophy was ranked 16th the UK by the Times Higher Education in its assessment of research intensity based on results, adjusting a department’s REF score by the proportion of its staff included. The Religious Studies and Classics submissions were also top in their subject areas for the proportion of their public impact work graded as world-leading or internationally excellent.
The results build on a period of sustained growth in the number of research staff and postgraduate researchers in the School, its active involvement in the new AHRC-funded CHASE doctoral training consortium, as well as its highly-ranked public impact activities through partnerships with leading archives, galleries, museums, and other professional and media organisations.
Commenting on the results, the Head of School, Professor Shane Weller, said, ‘I’m absolutely delighted to see this recognition of the high quality of research and public impact work in the School, and also for our staff, who have worked so hard to achieve these results. They confirm that our School is an exciting and innovative research environment in which to work, and we look forward to continuing to develop this in the coming years.’