City St George’s researchers produce world leading and internationally excellent research, as measured by the Research Excellence Framework (REF).
City, University of London and St George’s, University of London have merged to form City St George’s, University of London. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 was conducted prior to this merger, with each institution submitting and being assessed separately. For this reason, the data and results on this page are shown separately for Legacy City and Legacy St George’s to reflect the submissions made by each institution at the time.
What is REF?
The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions. It first took place in 2014 replacing the previous Research Assessment Exercise
REF 2021 was undertaken by the UK higher education funding bodies: Research England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, and the Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland. The funding bodies shared policy aim is to secure the continuation of a world-class, dynamic and responsive research base across the full academic spectrum within UK higher education. REF 2021 measured research conducted between 1 Aug 2013 and 31 Jul 2020, based on work from 2000–2020.
Legacy City submitted 1,186 academic outputs (such as journal articles) and 47 impact case studies from 536 staff (496 FTE) across 13 Units of Assessment (UoA) to REF 2021. Legacy St George’s submitted 270 academic outputs and 9 impact case studies from 119 staff (108 FTE) across 2 Units of Assessment (UoA) to REF 2021.
Legacy City Research Excellence Score for REF 2021
The results of REF 2021, published by UKRI in May 2022, found:
- 86% of City St George’s research rated as world leading 4* (40%) and internationally excellent 3* (46%) quality (based on Legacy City's submission to the REF).
- A marked increase in research quality compared to the 2014 REF when 75.7% of research at Legacy City was rated as 4* (23.3%) and 3* (52.4%).
- The proportion of Legacy City research rated world–leading (4*) has almost doubled to 40% (from 23% in 2014).
- Excellence across Legacy City Schools, with all individual Units of Assessment (UoA) improving their overall Grade Point Average (GPA) compared to 2014.
- Legacy City St was 39th in the UK out of 129 universities according to the Times Higher Education rankings, an increase of 12 places since REF 2014.
Legacy St George’s Research Excellence Score for REF 2021
- Joint 8th in the country for research impact out of 129 institutions, according to scores calculated by Times Higher Education.
- 36% of Legacy St George’s research assessed as “world-leading” (4*) – an increase compared to the REF 2014 score of 30%.
- 100% of Legacy St George’s impact cases were judged as world-leading (4*) or internationally excellent (3*).
Impact Case Studies
Impact is at the heart of our mission. Our world-leading research underpins a range of innovations which improve quality of life, mitigates harm and reduces mortality.
Highlighted examples include:
- International heart screening guidelines developed by Professor Sanjay Sharma and colleagues, shaping global standards in athletic cardiac health.
- Genomicsbased vaccine tools created by Dr Jason Hinds and team to detect pneumococcal serotypes.
- Developing better international legal protection for journalists by Professor Carmen Draghici to raise awareness of lack of legal support for journalists.
- Reducing emissions with better fuel technology by Professor Manolis Gavaises and his team to o reduce pollution and increase engine thermodynamic efficiency.
You can explore more in our Research case studies.
Research Environment & Submissions
- Submissions were assessed for Legacy City and Legacy St George’s across Units of Assessment (UoAs) such as Allied Health, International Politics, Music and Communication, Clinical Medicine and Public Health.
- Each academic staff member’s best paper was submitted and up to 2.5 papers per FTE were considered, with a cap of five per individual
- Detailed guidance was issued regarding eligibility, selection criteria, and the Code of Practice governing staff submissions.
Further Reading & Downloads
- Programme submission guidance and Code of Practice for REF 2029.
- Detailed REF results
- Impact case studies and their full narratives.
- External links to official 2021 and 2029 REF materials and UKRI resources.
Plan for Future for REF 2029
- REF takes place every seven years; next expected exercise will conclude in 2029, with submissions in 2028.
- The results of REF 2021, showed Legacy City, University of London and Legacy St George’s, University of London making significant progress compared to the previous exercise in 2014. Now we are building towards even better results as a merged institution for REF 2029.
- City St George’s continues to build research strength and prepare for future assessments.