Research Excellence Framework 2021

We are delighted to announce that REF 2021 has assessed 100% of all our research activity (outputs, impact, and environment) as “world-leading” or “internationally excellent”.

We are the only History of Art department in the UK to have our research rated exclusively within these categories (REF 4* and 3*).

These results are the outcome of seven years of hard work and exceptional research and impact from our academic staff. You can read more about their work in the sections below.

A huge thanks to everyone who made this possible. Many people work alongside us on our research over the years: university support staff, museum curators, heritage industry experts, teaching staff, our wonderful students, and the public. We look forward to building on this success in the years to come.

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Research in History of Art

Our research ranges widely from issues of building construction in twelfth-century England to questions about ritual and moving images in the global twenty-first century. Much of it falls within the three themes set out below.

We hold an inclusive series of events, which showcases research from leading international scholars and our own students alike. We collaborate with museums and galleries locally, nationally, and internationally to ensure our research has the greatest possible benefit and creative impact. We are currently engaged in a number of projects which feature our interests.

Research themes

Our overlapping themes encompass both individual and collaborative research. They reflect our longstanding emphasis on Venetian and British art, our interest in Empire as a global issue, and our concern with the spaces art depicts and occupies.