The University of Oxford has been named as the University with the highest volume of world-leading research, according to the Research Excellence Framework (REF.) The publication of this research marks the achievements of staff in work done across the University, regardless of collegiate association. 

The UK Funding Bodies have published the outcomes of the national research exercise, the REF 2021, that shows Oxford’s submissions had the highest volume of world-leading research.

The results show that Oxford is once again a ‘research powerhouse,’ according to Vice-Chancellor Professor Louise Richardson. The University made the greatest contribution of any Higher Education Institute (HEI) in the UK, submitting over 3,000 researchers in 29 subject areas, to total over 8,500 research outputs ranging from published journal articles to other written work. 

The Vice Chancellor goes on further to state that the results ‘highlight our effectiveness in putting this research in service to society by making critical contributions to global health, economic prosperity and cultural life. The REF is one of the few opportunities to see the remarkable breadth of our research and to draw together all parts of the collegiate University in a single collaborative effort.’