Queen Mary, University of London and the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 
Welcome to this second edition of our postgraduate e-zine, where you can find out the latest postgraduate news from Queen Mary University of London
This edition focuses on the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), which is the government assessment of universities’ research work. The results which were published in December 2008, have confirmed Queen Mary’s place in the leading group of research-led universities after the college shot up a massive 35 places in the rankings. The Times Higher Education comments, “the biggest star among the research-intensive institutions was Queen Mary, University of London.”
We have also included information on some of our latest exciting research that has appeared in the national or international press. As a research-led institution you will be taught by some of the top academics in your chosen field so we thought you'd be interested in finding out more about their work.
We hope to meet some of you when we are out and about at postgraduate fairs over the coming months or at our next postgraduate open evening on 22nd April 2009.
The Grad Team
www.qmul.ac.uk/educationliaison
Queen Mary Ranked in Top Group of Universities 
The results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) have confirmed Queen Mary’s place in the leading group of research-led universities after the college shot up a massive 35 places since the last RAE in 2001. The College has been ranked in the top 10 per cent of UK universities to come 13th in the country out of 132 institutions in the Times Higher Education tables. The Guardian ranks the College even higher at 11th overall.
Acting Principal Professor Philip Ogden commented,
“This outstanding result confirms that Queen Mary is one of the very top research-led universities in the UK and amongst a handful of world-class institutions in London. The success is the result of the talent and hard work of our academic staff in all disciplines – and the colleagues who support them – and a robust and carefully targeted research investment strategy over the past few years. My congratulations to all colleagues who contributed to this excellent result.”
Queen Mary is ranked third amongst University of London multi-faculty colleges and ahead of several Russell Group institutions including Kings College London, Bristol, Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham, Southampton, Liverpool and Newcastle.
The RAE Explained
The RAE results have been expressed differently from the 2001 RAE as there is no longer a 1-5* rating scale. This has been replaced by a quality profile which identifies the proportion of activity reaching each of four defined ‘starred’ quality levels – 4* (world-leading); 3* (internationally excellent); 2* (internationally recognised); and 1* (nationally recognised).
Overall, the RAE showed that the majority of Queen Mary’s academic staff (nearly two-thirds) are producing research which is either world leading or internationally excellent. And 92% of staff ‘outputs’ were in the top 4*, 3* or 2* categories.
Subject rankings
Queen Mary has been rated in the top five universities in the UK for many subject areas including Linguistics, (1st), Drama (1st), Geography (joint 1st with Bristol, Cambridge, Durham and Oxford), Dentistry (2nd), English Language and Literature (2nd), Epidemology and public health (3rd), Pre-clinical and human biological sciences (4th), Health Services Research (4th) and Cancer studies (5th).
Queen Mary is also in the highest quartile in Law, Iberian Languages, History, Computer Science, Economics and Econometrics and other hospital-based clinical subjects.
In addition, Queen Mary has recorded substantial achievements in other extremely competitive subjects, including Russian, French, Materials, Politics, Pure Maths and Electronic Engineering.
The Guardian League Table places Queen Mary 11th in the UK:
Ranking |
University |
Average ranking |
%4* |
%3* plus 4* |
1 |
The University of Cambridge |
2.975 |
32.0 |
71.2 |
2 |
The University of Oxford |
2.959 |
31.8 |
70.3 |
3 |
London School of Economics |
2.957 |
34.9 |
68.4 |
4 |
Imperial College |
2.943 |
25.8 |
72.9 |
5 |
University College London |
2.844 |
26.6 |
65.8 |
6 |
The University of Manchester |
2.823 |
23.1 |
65.4 |
7 |
The University of Warwick |
2.799 |
21.3 |
64.9 |
8 |
The University of York |
2.780 |
22.6 |
62.0 |
9 |
The University of Essex |
2.772 |
22.1 |
62.9 |
10 |
The University of Edinburgh |
2.747 |
22.5 |
62.8 |
11 |
Queen Mary University of London |
2.726 |
18.7 |
62.6 |
12 |
The University of St Andrews |
2.724 |
19.2 |
59.5 |
13 |
The University of Bristol |
2.723 |
18.3 |
61.4 |
14 |
University of Durham |
2.721 |
20.0 |
60.9 |
15 |
The University of Southampton |
2.715 |
17.9 |
61.1 |
16 |
The University of Leeds |
2.715 |
17.5 |
60.9 |
17 |
The University of Sheffield |
2.715 |
18.7 |
60.4 |
18 |
The University of Bath |
2.711 |
18.7 |
59.6 |
19 |
The University of Lancaster |
2.711 |
18.8 |
60.7 |
20 |
King’s College London |
2.693 |
19.0 |
59.8 |
Full rankings can be found at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2008/dec/18/rae-2008-results-uk-universities
What does the RAE mean for me?
The RAE assessment means a great deal to prospective graduate students. For a start it means that if you choose to study at a highly rated research institution like Queen Mary, you will benefit from being taught in properly funded academic departments equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. This is due to the larger grants the department or research centre will receive from the government.
But more importantly it means that you will be taught and work alongside academic staff who are highly rated by their peers for being at the top of their game. These staff are experts in their fields and recognised in both the UK and around the globe. You will therefore learn from academics who are perceived to be pushing the boundaries of understanding and research in their discipline.
Employers will want to know you can succeed in an environment where knowledge is being constantly tested, theories are being developed and the traditional ways of approaching work are being questioned and re-evaluated. These employers will target top-rated departments in the knowledge that students who have studied there will have developed excellent transferable skills combined with up-to-date knowledge.
For those of you interested in pursuing an academic career then it’s extemely important that your graduate study is conducted in a well-regarded research department. Fellow academics are acutely aware of university rankings and any association with highly-rated institutions will put your application in a good light.
Teaching is informed by the latest developments and discoveries so being taught by research active academics of the highest calibre will put you in a strong position when it comes to pursuing further teaching careers.
Find out more about the training and support we give to our doctoral students:
http://www.esd.qmul.ac.uk/acprac/research/phd.htm
Research that matters:
‘Scientists may be able to stop cancer spreading around the body’
A team of Queen Mary researchers have made a breakthrough that may lead to the prevention of cancer spreading around the body. The team have discovered an enzyme that enables breast cancer to spread around the body – if it is blocked then the disease cannot go any further. Professor Marco Falasca from the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science at Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry is leading the research on the enzyme called PLCg1. “Our work not only identifies a molecule that plays a crucial part in the spread of cancer; it also shows how this process might be halted. We have discovered this using a model system: the next big challenge is to show that this also happens in patients,” he said.
For further information on the "World Leading" research that is taking place within Queen Mary please visit:
http://www.qmul.ac.uk/news/index.php
Queen Mary News
Queen Mary Postgraduate Open Evening 22nd April 2009
Visitors are welcome to come and find out more about life as a graduate student at Queen Mary. The College will be opening its doors at the Mile End and Lincoln's Inn Fields campuses on the 22nd April from 4.30pm until 7.00pm, with academic and support staff on hand to meet visitors and answer questions.
The previous open evening in November saw over 250 visitors attend and enjoy the programme of talks, tours and informal discussion with course leaders. The evening finished with refreshments and the opportunity to participate in an Inaugural Lecture in the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film.
Booking your place at the next open evening is easy; just visit our website and let us know what you want to study. We will then send you a full programme for the evening. Your visit will be much more productive if you look at our course offerings and research areas on departmental websites before the day.
Studentships and Bursaries
The college has over £2 million to spend on graduate studentships and bursaries in 2009.
Scholarships and Bursaries are allocated by each academic School or Department. Enquiries can either be made to the email address below or to the department in which you hope to study:
Meet The Grad Team
Come and meet us at the following events over the coming months:
Target Postgraduate Study Fair, Midlands, University of Birmingham on
Wednesday 4th February. For more information please go to
www.targetpgfair.co.uk/midlands/about.asp
European Voice Fair, Crowne Plaza Hotel-Rogier, Brussels, Saturday 7th February. For more information, please go to www.eustudiesfair.com
Masterbeurs Event, Utrecht, Holland on Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th February 2009. For more information please go to http://www.masterbeurs.nl/
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