Outstanding Result for Law at the University of Ulster

Law at the University of Ulster has excelled in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. It was ranked in the top 14 Law Units (out of 67) in the UK, obtaining a grade-point average of 2.65.

When much of the commentary surrounding RAE 2008 suggests that University departments have had to ‘run to stand still’, law at Ulster has not only held its ground (considering its already impressive 5 rating in the 2001 RAE), but has taken significant strides forward. This strong showing reflects the establishment of a new School of Law in 2001, and in particular, the establishment in 2003 of a new Research Institute – the Transitional Justice Institute – as a centre of research excellence.

90% of law research at Ulster was recognized to be of international standing (2* and above). 20% of research scored in the 4* category (world leading), 35% in the 3* category (internationally excellent), and 35% in the 2* category (internationally recognized). Moreover, the number of staff entered in the 2008 RAE (24.40 FTE Category A staff) was double that of the 2001 exercise, and grant income has increased tenfold in the same period.

The Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) has rapidly become internationally recognized as a leading centre in developing the field of transitional justice – broadly, the study of law in societies emerging from conflict. It has placed research emanating from Northern Ireland at the forefront of both local and global academic, legal and policy debates. Ground-breaking research on the ‘war on terror’ and the role of peace agreements, for example, received recognition in 2006 from the American Society of International Law: TJI scholars were awarded the top book and article prize for creative and outstanding contributions to international legal scholarship – an unprecedented achievement for a non-US research unit.

The University of Ulster’s decision to support this focused research group has demonstrated how a regional University can be relevant to an international audience and win recognition as such in the RAE process. It also reflects the University’s decision to strategically develop law, with the establishment of a new Graduate School for Professional Legal Education only last year.

A further measure of Ulster’s performance in law is that it outperformed over half of the entered law units from the elite Russell Group Institutions (based on 4* performance), as well as the law units of 9 of the Universities ranked in the Guardian’s ‘Research top 20’ (based on grade-point average scores).

This striking result is all the more remarkable because it was achieved by a young staff cohort (many of whom are early career researchers), producing original research at a very high level. This is a significant achievement in its own right, and demonstrates spectacular performance for a small research unit. It also validates the inter-disciplinary dimension to law research at the University, and the hard work over the past 7 years to develop a strong and vibrant research culture.

Since the 2001 RAE, Law at Ulster has gone from strength to strength. The 2008 RAE result complements the Unit’s strong teaching record (in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes) and affirms the international reputation and world class standing of legal research at the University of Ulster.

The research result was greatly enabled by the Support Programme for University Research (SPUR) which was funded by the Department for Employment and Learning, and Atlantic Philanthropies.

The TJI Directorate (Professor Fionnuala ní Aoláin, Professor Colm Campbell, Professor Christine Bell and Dr. Michael Hamilton) stated:

Dr. Thomas Murphy, Head of the School of Law, said: