In the Research Assessment Exercise of 2001, Birmingham submitted 49 areas of assessment – second only to the University of Cambridge with 51.
In the 2001 RAE research was rated using a standard scale from 1 to 5* according to how much of the work was judged to reach national or international levels of excellence.
32 of our subject areas were awarded the top 5 or 5* ratings, denoting research of international excellence. More than 700 members of our staff were judged to be of international standing, with a further 190 acknowledged as national leaders in their field.
The 32 subject areas that achieved the top 5 or 5* ratings are shown in the table below:
| Subject area | RAE 2001 | Subject area | RAE 2001 |
| Anatomy | 5* | Civil Engineering | 5 |
| Chemical Engineering | 5* | Computer Science | 5 |
| Clinical Laboratory Sciences | 5* | Education | 5 |
| French | 5* | Electronic and Electrical Engineering | 5 |
| German | 5* | English | 5 |
| Italian | 5* | Hispanic Studies | 5 |
| Metallurgy and Materials | 5* | History | 5 |
| Music | 5* | History of Art | 5 |
| Psychology | 5* | Hospital-based Clinical Subjects | 5 |
| Russian and East European Studies | 5* | Institute for German Studies | 5 |
| Sport and Exercise Sciences | 5* | Law | 5 |
| West African Studies | 5* | Physics | 5 |
| Applied Mathematics | 5 | Political Science and International Studies | 5 |
| Biosciences | 5 | Pre-Clinical Studies | 5 |
| Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies | 5 | Pure Mathematics | 5 |
| Chemistry | 5 | Theology | 5 |
| Research is rated using a standard scale from 1 to 5* according to how much of the work is judged to reach national or international levels of excellence. A 5* rating denotes 'quality that equates to attainable levels of international excellence in more than half of the research activity submitted and to attainable levels of national excellence in the remainder'. A 5 is awarded for 'quality that equates to attainable levels of international excellence in up to half of the research activity submitted and to attainable levels of national excellence in virtually all of the remainder'. | |||
In 2003, a small number of subject areas across the country achieved the further distinction of 6* status in recognition of their consistent 5* ratings in the RAE over the previous ten years. Seven of our subjects, from six separate departments, received this accolade:
Highlights of the 2001 RAE results by subject area. (these will link to the current departmental results pages)
