Research

As one of the world's leading multi-disciplinary universities our central location offers close interaction with Bloomsbury's cultural and intellectual vibrancy, Westminster and Whitehall, the City and our world-class hospital partners.

The most recent REF (2014) found that, across the whole institution, UCL has the greatest impact power of any university in the UK. The case studies below highlight some of the world-class Faculty of Arts & Humanities Research that was recognised and celebrated.

Self-directed Support in Social Care

Research provided the intellectual framework for pioneering work on self-directed support in social care by the national charity In Control. This shaped government policies and improved health and quality of life for disabled citizens and their carers.

Using Corpora for English Language Teaching

The UCL Survey of English Usage developed the Internet Grammar of English (IGE) with 3.7 million users, together with Apple and Android apps, to help students learn from real-life examples of spoken and written English.

Lisbon and its Jewish Refugees

Through an important exhibition in Lisbon and a bestselling publication, Professor Neill Lochery's research shone new light on the role played during World War II by this so-called 'open city', particularly as an exit point for refugees escaping to North America or Palestine.

Histories of the Italian mafias

Professor John Dickie's histories of Italian organised crime have become bestsellers, inspired television documentaries, and educated Italian crime fighters on their adversaries. This led, for example, to the recognition that the brutal Calabrian 'ndrangheta was not a loose collection of gangs but a mafia coordinated by a central committee.

Transcribe Bentham

UCL's world renowned Bentham Project launched an innovative online platform to crowdsource the transcription of the great philosopher Jeremy Bentham's manuscripts, most of which have never been studied. Despite the challenging subject-matter, Transcribe Bentham was a hit, with 11,000 pages of manuscripts, amounting to 5.5 million words, transcribed by a dedicated global community of users.

Moving Images: The legacy of the British Empire

The Colonial Film project produced a major website housing an online catalogue of films showing life in British colonies held by three major archives from 1895 to the separate moments of independence. The project is now an important national and international resource.

You can read more case studies from the Faculty of Arts & Humanities on the UCL Research Impact website.