University of Kent ranked higher than Cambridge on research

The University of Kent has been ranked higher than the University of Cambridge in a recent study on law research.

It had been seven years since the Research Assessment Exercise last published university rankings based on research, but the RAE 2008 lists the University of Kent in sixth place in law – higher than the prestigious University of Cambridge.

The University of Kent, whose main campus is in Canterbury, but also includes sites in Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris and the unique campus shared with the University of Greenwich and Canterbury Christ Church University here in Medway, was given an average rating of 2.850 – 0.05 above the University of Cambridge and just 0.15 below the University of Oxford.

Nigel Savage, chief executive of the College of Law, and a former board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which runs the Research Assessment Exercise, told Times Online that ‘the University of Kent should be congratulated on a fantastic performance ? to produce that sort of research output requires real focus and a well-managed approach’.