International excellence for research

As a member of the elite Russell Group of universities and the biggest research institution in the North East of England, the University has an outstanding reputation for world-class research across a wide range of disciplines.

In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, the University was awarded 5 or 5*, denoting ‘international excellence’, in 29 of the units assessed, including Accountancy, Biological Sciences, Computer Science, Law, Psychology, and Chemical Engineering. All of the University’s 27 academic schools are research-active and many of the academic staff are leaders in their fields. While a wealth of subject-based research is carried out in the academic schools, the University has also launched 14 powerful research institutes that pursue interdisciplinary research across school and faculty boundaries.

Studying in a cutting-edge research environment gives students the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge of some of the leading experts in their area. Students learn more about the direction in which their subject is moving and the questions that are at the forefront of modern research.