The majority of research in UoA 32, Geography and Environmental Studies is officially classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, having been placed in the highest categories of 4*and 3* in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.
| Quality Level | 4* | 3* | 2* | 1* | Unclassified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of research activity | 10 | 45 | 35 | 10 | 0 |
A major University re-organisation (2003) created a new School of Geography, Politics and Sociology (GPS) and positions Geography as a strategic location for interdisciplinary research and collaboration.
Our Physical Geography infrastructure has been transformed with over £22m of new investment from the University/SRIF in offices and laboratory facilities in Geography and the new Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability (IRES), opened in 2004.
Our research is delivered through the School of GPS and the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS). Our research community is organised through four clusters:
Our culture of excellence is reflected in our success with ESRC quota awards, while our reputation for research that is politically engaged and relevant to diverse end users is reflected in our status as a top UK institution for ESRC CASE studentships since 2000. In this RAE period we have also secured NERC and Faculty scholarships to support Physical Geography PhDs.
Since 2001 we have generated over £6.3m (spend is over £4.3m) in research income, awarded 36 PhDs (up from 24 in RAE 2001) and secured 35 externally funded PhD studentships (including 26.6 Research Council awards). Our excellence in postgraduate provision was recognised by ESRC who awarded us six quota awards (2006-2007), placing us joint third amongst UK Geography outlets. Our research culture encourages excellence, collegiality and inclusivity; we have submitted 100% of our staff as research active.
Our postgraduates have secured postdoctoral fellowships, lectureships and senior policy positions in the region (eg O’Brien is Assistant Chief Executive, North East Assembly and Schmuecker is Senior Researcher at the Institute for Public Policy Research North), cementing our policy engagements.
Our international esteem is broad-based. Eleven staff have secured invited/funded visiting positions in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America during the RAE period; we have prominent roles in a wide range of major discipline-specific and other institutions; we edit Regional Studies and Area and have invited positions on editorial boards of 16 international journals.