About our research

The University of Reading is highly regarded, nationally and internationally, for the quality of its research and is committed to enhancing its position as a leading research University. To do this we will continue to produce excellent research, ensure that we have a sustainable funding base to pay for it, and provide the appropriate environment and necessary support to enable us to achieve our aims. Our research strategy sets out our vision and key aims in more detail.

Our research excellence extends across a broad range of disciplines in the

• Environmental, Physical and Life Sciences
• Arts and Humanities
• Social Sciences
• Henley Business School

To strengthen our research further, we have identified a number of areas of interdisciplinary research where we have particular strength and can make a significant contribution towards understanding and alleviating some of society’s major challenges. Some of these are addressed by our newly established multidisciplinary research priorities.

We enjoy great success in bidding for research funding, with our winning over £35million of new research grants and contracts in the past financial year. This funding complements our strong QR income from HEFCE that reflects our excellent performance in past Research Assessment Exercises (RAE).The RAE 2008 results confirm our standing as a research-intensive university.

Published in December 2008, the outcomes recognise over 87% of the university's research to be of international standing. The work of over 600 University of Reading research active staff was submitted to the Higher Education Funding Council for England for the RAE (88% of our eligible staff), demonstrating the breadth and quality of research across the university.

Areas of particular research strength recognised by the 2008 RAE include meteorology and climate change, typography and graphic design, archaeology, italian, philosophy, food biosciences, construction management, real estate and planning as well as law.