Posted: 18th December 2014

The nationwide REF-2014 university research quality evaluation process concluded today with the publication of the results, which clearly demonstrate that Oxford's Department of Computer Science has not only grown, but has maintained internationally excellent quality.  In terms of power, which assesses both the quality and quantity of research, Oxford is ranked 3rd for computer science. The Department returned 74 individuals in REF-2014, compared to only 56 in the last exercise, in 2008 -- a 32% increase. The grade point average ranking of the department, given on a scale from 1 to 4, increased from 3.15 to 3.34. In total, 53% of the department's overall research activity was given the highest possible ranking of 4* ("world leading").

Professor Michael Wooldridge, Head of Department of Computer Science, said "I am delighted to see Oxford confirmed as one of the three most powerful computer science research departments in the UK. I am particularly pleased that we have been able to maintain quality along with growth. These are tremendously exciting times to be a computer scientist, and right now I honestly believe there is nowhere more exciting to do computer science research than Oxford."