UOA 27: English Language and Literature

Student in library

REF Highlights 2021

Our impact

This was one of only three English departments in the UK to have 100% outstanding impact in terms of their reach and significance.

Our research

Almost 90% of research outputs were judged world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour.

Our performance

The very significant improvement in overall quality to 3.50 from 2.99 at REF 2014 improved our subject ranking by 23 places to equal 17th in the country, from 40 at REF 2021.

Our REF submission

Between REF 2014 and REF 2021, we saw substantial growth in the scale of our research activity, increasing the volume of staff submitted for assessment by 25%.

Our submission to this unit of assessment featured contributions from 17 people, 37 outputs and two impact case studies:

This area of our work also saw eight doctoral awards and £170k research income during the REF 2021 period.

Our research

Research in English Language and Literature is hosted by the School of English, situated in our Institute of Media and English within our Faculty of Arts, Design and Media.

The primary driver of research excellence in this area the intellectual curiosity of our academic staff and doctoral students. We have an eclectic understanding of our discipline, with staff engaged in activities ranging from software development and quantitative analyses to public exhibitions and creative forms of expression.

Research in English is coordinated through our two research clusters:

Our outputs and impact case studies demonstrate the power of English to reinvent its historic boundaries and form new alliances, and we work increasingly with researchers in Law and Social Sciences.

Our results in detail

Figures relate to the percentage of the submission meeting each standard:

Profile4*3*2*GPA
Overall 56 38 6 3.50
Outputs 44.7 44.8 10.5 3.34
Impact 100 0 0 4.00
Environment 27.5 72.5 0

See our full results on the REF 2021 website.