University of the Highlands and Islands REF 2021 results
Welcome to our guide to University of the Highlands and Islands Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 results for PhD study.
Select a subject area below to see how good this university is at producing high quality research in the topics you might want to study for your PhD.
Understanding the University of the Highlands and Islands REF 2021 results
The REF works by asking universities to submit information about their research and asking other expert academics to judge how good it is (a system called ‘peer-review’).
Universities are reviewed on three things:
- Output - how good the work published by their academics is
- Impact - the real-world use and value of their academic work
- Environment - the space and support they provide for happy and effective researchers, including PhD students
The definitions of individual ranking levels vary slightly between different assessment criteria, but the overall REF result is designed to place University of the Highlands and Islands research in a global academic context. It establishes the proportion of its work that is deemed to be:
- Four star - world-leading
- Three star - internationally excellent
- Two star - internationally recognised
- One star - nationally recognised
Research that doesn’t meet one of these standards is unclassified.
There’s lots more information on how the REF works and how you can use it as a PhD student in our REF 2021 guide and FAQ. Or you can just get started comparing the results above!