The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise was officially released in December 2008 and provides valuable data on history departments (and many others) in the United Kingdom. However, it's not immediately obvious how to interpret the data, much less decide how one department compares to another. But I've done some calculations in the hope of getting a better sense of which history departments are in the top tier, second tier, third tier, etc. Although I've ranked the top 20 departments below, it shouldn't be taken too strictly—it's more helpful and accurate to consider the departments in tiers or bands. I don't think the data is accurate or fine-grained enough to warrant a strict, ordinal ranking. Furthermore, the RAE has its own drawbacks, not least of which is its almost exclusive focus on research reputation/assessment, for the large part neglecting other important metrics like the number and amount of grants awarded, the overall quality and resources of the institution, or academic job placement. Finally, a department's RAE ranking should not necessarily be the most important criterion one uses to decide where to obtain postgraduate training (though it shouldn't be neglected either).
It's comical to witness the different interpretations various departments place upon the data. The vagueness of the data lends itself to that, but there's clearly some spin as well. For instance, some departments tout the overall percentage of staff whose work has been deemed 4* or world-leading. Others stress the percentage of staff whose work was deemed 4* (world-leading) or 3* (internationally-excellent). Of course, these neglect the size and depth of the departments. So it's a tricky business. The best way to proceed, I think, is to get a sense of how different departments compare under a variety of interpretations.
You can view (and download in Excel format) the raw RAE data for history departments here. Note that 'quality of research submitted' is broken down as follows:
4* means research that is "world-leading in terms of originality, significance and rigour"
3* means research that is "internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour but which nonetheless falls short of the highest standards of excellence"
2* means research that is "recognised internationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour"
1* means research that is "recognised nationally in terms of originality, significance and rigour"
[In the following tables, all ties are given the same rank.]
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Table 1. Top 20 departments | Percentage of research deemed 4*
This is a fairly crude measure of research quality at these departments; it's not particularly helpful in terms of comparison, nor does it take into account the size and depth of a department. What it purports to measure is the percentage of world-leading research submitted for review in each department. Since some departments have been known to submit only their best research (excluding their worst), these rankings should be taken with a healthy dose of salt.
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge |
| 1 | University College London (UCL) |
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 4 | Oxford |
| 4 | London School of Economics (LSE) |
| 4 | Birkbeck College |
| 4 | University of Sheffield |
| 4 | University of Liverpool |
| 4 | University of Kent |
| 4 | University of Essex |
| 11 | University of Warwick |
| 11 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 11 | School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) |
| 11 | University of Aberdeen |
| 11 | University of Southampton |
| 16 | University of Edinburgh |
| 16 | University of Glasgow |
| 16 | University of York |
| 16 | Oxford Brookes University |
| 16 | University of Sussex |
Table 2. Top 20 departments | Percentage of research deemed 4* or 3*
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 2 | University of Warwick |
| 3 | Oxford |
| 3 | Birkbeck College |
| 3 | University of Liverpool |
| 3 | University of Kent |
| 3 | University of Essex |
| 3 | University of Southampton |
| 9 | University of Hertfordshire |
| 9 | Cambridge |
| 9 | UCL |
| 9 | LSE |
| 9 | University of Sheffield |
| 9 | Oxford Brookes University |
| 9 | University of Sussex |
| 9 | University of Leeds |
| 9 | University of Hull |
| 9 | University of Dundee |
| 19 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 20 | SOAS |
Table 3. Top 20 departments | Research Quality GPA (4p+3p+2p+p)
This measure—used by The Guardian in its own ranking system—takes into account each level of research quality and weights them accordingly. Size is still missing.
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 2 | University of Warwick |
| 2 | Oxford |
| 2 | University of Liverpool |
| 2 | University of Kent |
| 2 | University of Essex |
| 7 | Birkbeck College |
| 7 | University of Southampton |
| 7 | University of Hertfordshire |
| 7 | Cambridge |
| 7 | UCL |
| 12 | LSE |
| 12 | University of Sheffield |
| 14 | University of Aberdeen |
| 15 | Oxford Brookes University |
| 15 | University of Sussex |
| 15 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 15 | SOAS |
| 19 | University of Leeds |
| 19 | University of Glasgow |
Table 4. Top 20 departments | Weighted Research Quality GPA (16p+9p+4p+p)
Some people think that the GPA ranking does not adequately take into account the importance of having staff who produce 'world-leading' research as opposed to staff who simply produce nationally recognized work. So I've expanded the differences between weightings by top-weighting the data (instead of 4p+3p+2p+p, we have (4^2)p+(3^2)p+(2^2)p+p).
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 2 | Oxford |
| 2 | University of Liverpool |
| 2 | University of Kent |
| 2 | University of Essex |
| 6 | Cambridge |
| 6 | UCL |
| 8 | University of Warwick |
| 9 | Birkbeck College |
| 10 | University of Southampton |
| 11 | LSE |
| 11 | University of Sheffield |
| 13 | University of Hertfordshire |
| 14 | University of Aberdeen |
| 15 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 15 | SOAS |
| 17 | Oxford Brookes University |
| 17 | University of Sussex |
| 19 | University of Glasgow |
| 19 | King's College London |
Table 1b. Top 20 departments | Full-Time Staff Equivalent (FTE) * Percentage of research deemed 4*
Finally a metric that takes into account the size of a department. Of course a large department can still be a poor one, but all things being equal, I would argue that it's better to have a larger department that has staff with a greater array of interests. This is partly a measure of depth.
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Cambridge
|
| 2 | Oxford |
| 3 | UCL |
| 4 | LSE |
| 5 | Edinburgh |
| 6 | Birkbeck College |
| 7 | University of Warwick |
| 8 | University of Glasgow |
| 9 | University of Sheffield |
| 10 | University of Liverpool |
| 11 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 12 | St. Andrews |
| 13 | SOAS |
| 14 | University of York |
| 15 | University of Exeter |
| 16 | University of Kent |
| 17 | University of Aberdeen |
| 18 | University of Southampton |
| 19 | University of Manchester |
| 20 | University of Birmingham |
Table 2b. Top 20 departments | FTE * Percentage of research deemed 4* or 3*
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford
|
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Edinburgh |
| 4 | UCL |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 | University of Warwick |
| 7 | St. Andrews |
| 8 | University of Glasgow |
| 9 | University of Exeter |
| 10 | Birkbeck College |
| 11 | University of Manchester |
| 12 | University of Leeds |
| 13 |
University of Birmingham |
| 14 | University of Hull |
| 15 | University of Sheffield |
| 16 | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| 17 | Queen's University Belfast |
| 18 | University of York |
| 19 | University of Liverpool |
| 20 | University of Durham |
Table 3b. Top 20 departments | FTE * Research Quality GPA
This the first robust measure of both size (FTE) and research quality (GPA).
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Edinburgh |
| 4 | UCL |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 | St. Andrews |
| 7 | University of Glasgow |
| 8 | University of Warwick |
| 9 | University of Exeter |
| 10 | Birkbeck College |
| 11 | University of Manchester |
| 12 | University of Birmingham |
| 13 | University of York |
| 14 | University of Leeds |
| 14 | University of Leicester |
| 16 | University of Sheffield |
| 17 | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| 18 | Queen's University Belfast |
| 19 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 20 | University of Hull |
Table 4b. Top 20 departments | FTE * Weighted Research Quality GPA
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Edinburgh |
| 4 | UCL |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 | University of Warwick |
| 7 | University of Glasgow |
| 8 | St. Andrews |
| 9 | University of Exeter |
| 10 | Birkbeck College |
| 11 | University of Manchester |
| 12 | University of Sheffield |
| 13 | University of Birmingham |
| 14 | University of York |
| 15 | University of Leeds |
| 16 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 17 | University of Leicester |
| 18 | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| 19 | University of Liverpool |
| 20 | SOAS |
Table 5. Top 20 departments | Research Quality Meta-Ranking
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Imperial College London |
| 2 | Oxford |
| 2 | University of Liverpool |
| 2 | University of Kent |
| 2 | University of Essex |
| 6 | University of Warwick |
| 6 | Birkbeck College |
| 8 | Cambridge |
| 8 | UCL |
| 10 | University of Southampton |
| 11 | LSE |
| 11 |
University of Sheffield |
| 13 | University of Hertfordshire |
| 14 | University of Aberdeen |
| 15 | Oxford Brookes University |
| 15 | University of Sussex |
| 17 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 17 | SOAS |
| 19 | University of Glasgow |
| 19 | King's College London |
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Roughly, one can divide the above metrics into two types: the first measures the quality of research as a percentage of output for each department without regard to the size of a department. These metrics, represented in Tables 1-4, might be said to measure Research Quality. The second four metrics—represented in Tables 1b-4b—measure the quality of research but as a function of the size (the equivalent number of full-time staff who submitted research) of the department. I'm calling this a measure of a department's Research Influence. Thus, in Table 5 above, I've calculated the average ranking of every department in each of the Research Quality metrics (e.g. the average of each ranking in Tables 1-4) to get the Research Quality Meta-Ranking, and in Table 6 below, I've done the same calculation for those metrics (e.g. the average of each ranking in Tables 1b-4b) to obtain the Research Influence Meta-Ranking.
Table 6. Top 20 departments | Research Influence Meta-Ranking
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Edinburgh |
| 4 | UCL |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 |
University of Warwick |
| 7 | University of Glasgow |
| 8 | St. Andrews |
| 9 | Birkbeck College |
| 10 | University of Exeter |
| 11 | University of Sheffield |
| 11 | University of Manchester |
| 13 | University of Birmingham |
| 14 | University of York |
| 15 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 16 | University of Leeds |
| 17 | University of Liverpool |
| 18 | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| 19 | University of Leicester |
| 20 | SOAS |
Table 7. Top 20 departments | General Meta-Ranking
This is simply the average of the two meta-rankings from Tables 5 and 6.
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | UCL |
| 3 | University of Warwick |
| 5 | Birkbeck College |
| 6 | LSE |
| 7 | University of Liverpool |
| 8 | University of Sheffield |
| 9 | University of Glasgow |
| 10 | Edinburgh |
| 11 | University of Kent |
| 12 | St. Andrews |
| 13 | University of Exeter |
| 14 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 15 | University of Southampton |
| 16 | University of Manchester |
| 16 | SOAS |
| 18 | University of York |
| 18 | University of Aberdeen |
| 20 | University of Birmingham |
Table 8. Top 20 departments | Weighted General Meta-Ranking
This is a more speculative ranking. I felt that Research Influence was more important than Research Quality, so I weighted those rankings (one is weighted twice the other) to produce Table 8.
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | UCL |
| 4 | University of Warwick |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 | Birkbeck College |
| 7 | Edinburgh |
| 8 | University of Sheffield |
| 8 | University of Glasgow |
| 10 | University of Liverpool |
| 11 | St. Andrews |
| 12 | University of Exeter |
| 13 | Queen Mary, University of London |
| 14 | University of Manchester |
| 15 | University of York |
| 15 | University of Birmingham |
| 17 | University of Kent |
| 18 | University of Leeds |
| 19 | SOAS |
| 20 | University of Southampton |
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Despite the measurements so far, there's a sense in which some of the meta-rankings above are besides the point. It seems to me that, in general (excluding personal preferences, needs, etc.), one wants to be part of a department that has the greatest number of staff producing the highest-quality work. And that's precisely what Table 6 above (reproduced again as Table 9 below) assesses.
Table 9. Top 20 departments | Greatest number of staff producing highest-quality work (average rankings of Tables 1b, 2b, 3b & 4b | same as Table 6).
| RANK | DEPARTMENT |
|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford |
| 2 | Cambridge |
| 3 | Edinburgh |
| 4 | UCL |
| 5 | LSE |
| 6 | University of Warwick |
| 7 | University of Glasgow |
| 8 | St. Andrews |
| 9 | Birkbeck College (University of London) |
| 10 | University of Exeter |
| 11 | University of Manchester |
| 11 | University of Sheffield |
| 13 | University of Birmingham |
| 14 | University of York |
| 15 | Queen Mary (University of London) |
| 16 | University of Leeds |
| 17 | University of Liverpool |
| 18 | Royal Holloway (University of London) |
| 19 | University of Leicester |
| 20 | SOAS |
One could quibble with including Tables 1b, 2b or even the weightings in 4b in the average rankings found above. But in reality it barely changes the overall order.
Another nice thing about Table 9 is its reasonability. Oxford and Cambridge are the elite by quite a margin. In stature, they compete with any history department elsewhere in the world.
Edinburgh, University College London (UCL) and the London School of Economics (LSE) come next. They are all outstanding departments, if not part of the very elite.
Warwick, Glasgow, St. Andrews and Birkbeck follow. They are all very good departments with depth and a good deal of expertise, if not quite in as many areas as the ones above.
A bird's eye view looks like this:
ELITE HISTORY DEPARTMENTS ('World-Leading')
Oxford, Cambridge
OUTSTANDING HISTORY DEPARTMENTS ('Internationally Excellent')
Edinburgh, University College London (UCL), London School of Economics (LSE), Imperial College London*
VERY GOOD HISTORY DEPARTMENTS ('Recognized Internationally')
Warwick, Glasgow, St. Andrews, Birkbeck College (University of London)
GOOD HISTORY DEPARTMENTS ('Recognized Nationally')
Exeter, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, York, Kent*, Essex*, Liverpool*
FIFTH TIER
Queen Mary (University of London), Leeds, Royal Holloway (University of London), Leicester, SOAS, Southampton*
What about the handful of departments that were smaller but were recognized for their high-quality of research? The outstanding examples of those are:
Imperial College London (especially), Kent, Essex, Liverpool and perhaps Southampton
To be fair to them, I've added them to the appropriate tiers with an asterisk (and bumped up Liverpool one tier in recognition of its quality, if not depth).
In my next post, I'll say a bit more about these rankings.