We have a strong reputation for the wide-reaching impact of our research. Our postgraduates are an integral part of this strong research community, contributing significantly to our reputation for excellence.

Whether you join us as a postgraduate researcher or to undertake a taught course, we’ll encourage you to push the limits of your own academic curiosity. We were ranked 7th overall among UK research universities in the UK government’s 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), with 87% of our research rated either ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world-leading’. This means that you will be learning alongside some of the world’s top academics at a university that continues to commit to the best research infrastructure and facilities.

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Gain experience and skills

More than 350 research-led events were held in the Wolfson Research Exchange last year, in a space dedicated to postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers. Many more similar events are organised regularly in the Postgraduate Hub and across our academic departments, meaning you can engage with your academic peers through seminars, workshops, reading groups or visiting lectures.

There are also many opportunities for you to get your research published. You can get a flavour of our postgraduate and staff research interests by accessing downloadable publications through the Warwick Research Archive Portal (WRAP).

All Warwick doctoral research students spend three days developing transferable skills outside their academic discipline, promoting a broad and flexible skillset that complements your research and enhances your employability. We offer professional development opportunities facilitated by a range of expert trainers, including workshops, events and accredited programmes that fall under six key themes: Academic Skills; Personal Effectiveness; Research Ethics and Governance; Developing Your Academic Profile; Impact and Public Engagement; Career Development.

Our online portal enables you to choose the right professional development opportunities for you by theme, the skills you want to develop, or your stage of study.

Global impact

Our research strives to make a globally distinctive contribution to society, taking a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the toughest global challenges. Through our Global Research Priorities (GRPs), our researchers are working to find solutions to key challenges — such as energy, global governance, food and international development — and you could play a part in finding those solutions.

We are also the only European university to be included in an international consortium to set up the new Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in New York. This unique consortium of world-class academic institutions and private technology companies creates an applied science research institute to address the needs of cities worldwide.

In January 2015, Warwick was announced as one of only five universities chosen to establish the prestigious £42m Alan Turing Institute for Data Science. This means our exceptional researchers from Mathematical Sciences will be at the forefront of the UK’s approach to big data.

We’ll help the Institute to meet society’s toughest challenges, strengthening the links between academia and technology industries, and using our research strength to fully exploit the trends and patterns found within huge data sets. By working alongside the very best, our aim is to make the UK a world leader in big data.

Connecting research networks

As a researcher at Warwick, you’ll be encouraged to access and engage with research networks both within the UK and internationally. Your department may be able to support you with a small travel, conference or research fund, and many of our researchers successfully win additional grants, either as individual awards or as part of their scholarships. From the American Study and Student Exchanges Programme and the Humanities Research Fund to the Lord Rootes Memorial Fund, there are many routes to access funds that will support your personal and academic development in an international context. You’ll find more information about funding here.

We also regularly attract expert speakers from across the world here to Warwick. Our Institute of Advanced Study’s Visiting Fellowship scheme promotes collaborative research and enhances the international impact of your own research. Its events are a great opportunity for you to meet and work with more senior researchers. The online research network Piirus is another example of how we can help you make contacts and find collaborators from other institutions.

Closer to home

Through thought-provoking public engagement activities, we ensure our research has a local reach as well as a global one. From theatre performances and schools’ activities to BBC documentaries and robot workshops, our academic departments work with diverse partners to ensure that our research has the widest possible impact. For example, Warwick’s research has reached millions through Dr Michael Scott’s (Classics and Ancient History) BBC series Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth and Rome’s Invisible City.

Our 2016 Chancellor’s Commission project considered the future role of our University in Coventry, Warwickshire and the wider region. It focused on Warwick’s ambition and growth, and the benefits for the area over the coming decades, exploring the investment and infrastructure needed to deliver an optimum and sustainable contribution. Our Commission projects are independent reports that bring together research on important topics of local, national or global significance in order to raise awareness among policymakers, and key industry and community figures.

Informing industry

Many leading UK and international companies invest heavily in Warwick’s research expertise — an investment that contributes to continual improvement in our learning and research facilities. Several of our departments maintain active links with policymakers, industry and cultural partners. Our international industry partners include GlaxoSmithKline, Jaguar Land Rover, Brucker, Siemens, Intel, NASA and TATA Motors to name but a few.

One recent example of this investment is the National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC), a project designed to provide a critical mass of research capability by combining automotive expertise nationally and internationally. It aims to develop breakthrough designs, technologies and processes by fostering collaboration, cohesion and cross-fertilisation of knowledge. Building work on the Centre, which will be located on campus, is set to be completed in 2017.

£150 million is being invested in the NAIC capital building and its research activities through a long-term commitment between Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, WMG and the University of Warwick, along with an expanding network of supplier companies and Higher Education Funding Council England. Warwick has also been selected as the hub location of the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which will support a £1bn commitment by industry and the UK government to develop low-carbon propulsions systems.