The University of Sussex is an internationally recognised research institution with award-winning faculty. Postgraduate research students at all levels work in a supportive environment and receive extensive research training.
Sussex has a dynamic and thriving research culture. Our strengths range across the arts, social sciences, science and medicine, with excellence demonstrated both within individual subjects and across thematic areas.
Within the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2010, the University of Sussex is in the top 10 in the UK, the top 20 in Europe, and in the top 80 of universities worldwide. One of the particular strengths highlighted was the impact of Sussex’s research, which was ranked 4th in the UK as measured by research citation counts.
In the 2008 assessment of the standards of research in UK universities, the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), over 90 per cent of Sussex research activity was rated as world leading, internationally excellent or internationally recognised, confirming Sussex among the leading research universities in the UK. One in six of the research outputs produced by staff was rated as world leading, with over 90 per cent producing work that is internationally recognised or better.
Distinguished faculty
Sussex’s international reputation helps to attract leading researchers. We are proud to have counted three Nobel Prize winners, 15 Fellows of the Royal Society, six Fellows of the British Academy and a winner of the prestigious Crafoord Prize on our faculty.
A pioneering approach to interdisciplinarity
A refusal to be confined by traditional disciplinary boundaries characterises some of the most distinctive research at Sussex. For example, the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) – a partnership between the Universities of Sussex and Brighton – provides fruitful opportunities for biomedical research.
Sussex’s six interdisciplinary research themes mean researchers from across the University can work together to solve the major issues of the day:
Citizenship and Democratisation Freedom, violence and reconciling conflict in an insecure world
Culture and Heritage Constructing identity and culture through notions of memory and place
Digital and Social Media Applying digital media to construct and communicate across space and society
Environment and Health Enhancing health and well-being by promoting illness prevention and disease management
Global Transformations Rethinking social adaptation in the context of changing environments and the global economy
Mind and Brain Unravelling the mind, brain and consciousness: from cell to self and personal identity.
For more information about the exciting and innovative research activity at Sussex, refer to Arts and humanities, Sciences, Social sciences and the individual subject entries in Postgraduate study.
Collaborative partnerships
At Sussex we recognise the importance of supporting research through collaboration. We have important academic partnerships with, among others, American Express, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in the UK; Renmin and Nanjing Universities in China; and Yale University in the US.
We are also part of the South East Physics Network (SEPnet), funded by £12.5 million of Government grants to support vital UK science research, teaching and development (also refer to Physics in Postgraduate study).
Superb resources
From the excellent newly refurbished University Library, which is home to the globally recognised Mass Observation Archive and our Careers and Employability Centre, to cutting-edge medical imaging equipment, the resources available to postgraduate students at Sussex are impressive.
The University has undertaken significant development of buildings on campus in recent years: our major new teaching building, Fulton, is now open, and work has begun on our £30-million innovative academic building. Our £100-million investment in both buildings and infrastructure will continue through to 2015 and beyond.
Investment also includes a new nuclear magnetic resonance facility and purpose-built apparatus in cryogenic research that is among the best in the world. The University has received millions of pounds from the Science Research Investment Fund to support our work in biological sciences, particle physics, and science and technology policy research.
