Research quality

How research at Imperial College London was rated in the REF 2021 — the UK's official assessment of university research quality.

4★ research is world-leading; 3★ is internationally excellent; 2★ is internationally recognised; 1★ is nationally recognised. Each bar shows the percentage of research at each quality tier, broken down by subject area (Unit of Assessment).

  • 4★ World-leading
  • 3★ Internationally excellent
  • 2★ Internationally recognised
  • 1★ Nationally recognised
  • Unclassified

1. Clinical Medicine

438.9 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

94% world-class

2. Public Health, Health Services and Primary Care

79.5 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

99% world-class

4. Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience

34.9 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

99% world-class

5. Biological Sciences

92.3 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

94% world-class

8. Chemistry

63.3 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

98% world-class

9. Physics

130.1 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

96% world-class

10. Mathematical Sciences

94.6 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

100% world-class

11. Computer Science and Informatics

58.5 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

100% world-class

12. Engineering

420.0 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

99% world-class

14. Geography and Environmental Studies

45.7 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

89% world-class

17. Business and Management Studies

92.2 full-time-equivalent academics submitted research

97% world-class

Source: REF 2021 results