Cambridge recognised for its world-leading research

The latest Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), a national exercise for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions confirmed Cambridge University’s research as truly world-leading.

According to the rankings published by Times Higher Education, Cambridge is the leading university that covers a wide range of disciplines from STEM subjects to arts, humanities and social sciences.

• 93% of Cambridge’s overall submissions have been rated as ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
• Submissions within STEM subjects were all rated at 90% 4* or 3* quality.
• This was our most inclusive REF to date: we returned some 2,982 academic and research staff to the REF, including a significant number of early career researchers and, for the first time, researchers within a range of institutes including our museums and libraries.

These results highlight the strength of the University's research environment and outputs, and are testament to the hard work of Cambridge researchers making a real difference to people’s lives.

Find out more about this year’s results and see how Cambridge research is changing the world.