Eagerly awaited, results of the Research Excellence Framework 2014 were published today.

Reading’s Classics Department is proud to feature in the Top 3 Classics Departments in the UK for research outputs (otherwise known as publications): we achieved a GPA of 3.16, and only the Universities of Cambridge (3.19) and St. Andrews (3.17) scored higher.

Over 37% of our research outputs were rated 4* (for quality that is world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour), and an additional 45% were rated 3* (for quality that is internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour). This puts over 82% of our research outputs in the highest categories of excellence.

Considering further indicators such as research environment (with 80% of our indicators rated as of 4* and 3* quality) and impact (100% of our activities rated as of 4* and 3* quality), the department managed to achieve an outstanding sixth position overall in the rankings for our unit of assessment (otherwise known as Classics).

This is a substantial improvement from our position of 2008, where the department achieved a respectable 13th position (out of 24 departments).

The cutting-edge research of the Reading Classics department covers many different areas within Classics: linguistics, literature, multiculturalism, historiography, ancient religion, ancient economic history, Classical tradition, and digital humanities.

This terrific result in the REF 2014 exercise recognizes the hard work of all academic staff, their enthusiasm for the discipline, and their international standing.