Welsh School of Architecture 4th in the UK in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework
11 May 2022
The Welsh School of Architecture is 4th in the UK with a GPA of 3.53 in the Research Excellence Framework (REF), confirming our position as a world-leading centre of excellence for architecture and the built environment.
The REF is the UK’s system for assessing the excellence of research in UK Higher Education Providers (HEPs). The REF outcomes are used to inform the allocation of around £2 billion per year of public funding for universities’ research.
The Welsh School of Architecture submitted 100% of our eligible staff to this Unit of Assessment. It also achieved the highest possible score for our research environment, 100% of which is considered conducive to producing research of world-leading quality. 100% of our impact case studies and 93% of our outputs were also assessed as world-leading or internationally excellent.
The Welsh School of Architecture’s research base is highly diverse, with outputs generated from six quite different research and scholarship groups: Computational Methods in Architecture; Design, Practice, Materials and Making; Energy, Environments and People; Heritage and Conservation; History and Theory; and Urbanism. Cardiff University has invested £17.3m to support our plans for growth in recent years, the primary focus being a refurbishment of the Bute building, the School’s home for just over a century.
Head of School Professor Juliet Davis said: “We are delighted to see that REF2021 has recognised the quality of the research environment the Welsh School of Architecture has been developing, ranging from state-of-the-art research facilities at the Bute Building to research support schemes. The success in strengthening our research during a period of growth and instability, as evidenced by REF2021, would not have been possible without the quality of our research environment.”
As a school, we foster an inclusive, diverse and collaborative research community that informs teaching at all levels and in all areas of our curricula. We are also committed to generating impact through our research to bring about positive change in the built environment to the benefit of all.
For more information on research at the Welsh School of Architecture and to read our latest impact case studies please visit our research pages
Full information about the Cardiff University 2021 REF submission can be found on the Cardiff University website.