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Student 2021/22 - REF unit of assessment 2021

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Student 2021/22

Fields required from institutions in All fields

REF unit of assessment 2021


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valid entries
Typefield
Short nameUOA2021
Description

This field should record the Unit of Assessment (UOA) to which the student's supervisor was returned in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021).

Applicable toEngland Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Coverage

All REFData records, except where supervision is provided by industrial or overseas partners.

Valid entries and labels
CodeLabel
01AClinical Medicine - A
01BClinical Medicine - B
01CClinical Medicine - C
01ZClinical Medicine - Z
02APublic Health, Health Services and Primary Care - A
02BPublic Health, Health Services and Primary Care - B
02CPublic Health, Health Services and Primary Care - C
02ZPublic Health, Health Services and Primary Care - Z
03AAllied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy - A
03BAllied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy - B
03CAllied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy - C
03ZAllied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy - Z
04APsychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience - A
04BPsychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience - B
04CPsychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience - C
04ZPsychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience - Z
05ABiological Sciences - A
05BBiological Sciences - B
05CBiological Sciences - C
05ZBiological Sciences - Z
06AAgriculture, Veterinary and Food Science - A
06BAgriculture, Veterinary and Food Science - B
06CAgriculture, Veterinary and Food Science - C
06ZAgriculture, Veterinary and Food Science - Z
07AEarth Systems and Environmental Sciences - A
07BEarth Systems and Environmental Sciences - B
07CEarth Systems and Environmental Sciences - C
07ZEarth Systems and Environmental Sciences - Z
08AChemistry - A
08BChemistry - B
08CChemistry - C
08ZChemistry - Z
09APhysics - A
09BPhysics - B
09CPhysics - C
09ZPhysics - Z
10AMathematical Sciences - A
10BMathematical Sciences - B
10CMathematical Sciences - C
10ZMathematical Sciences - Z
11AComputer Science and Informatics - A
11BComputer Science and Informatics - B
11CComputer Science and Informatics - C
11ZComputer Science and Informatics - Z
12AEngineering - A
12BEngineering - B
12CEngineering - C
12ZEngineering - Z
13AArchitecture, Built Environment and Planning - A
13BArchitecture, Built Environment and Planning - B
13CArchitecture, Built Environment and Planning - C
13ZArchitecture, Built Environment and Planning - Z
14AGeography and Environmental Studies - A
14BGeography and Environmental Studies - B
14CGeography and Environmental Studies - C
14ZGeography and Environmental Studies - Z
15AArchaeology - A
15BArchaeology - B
15CArchaeology - C
15ZArchaeology - Z
16AEconomics and Econometrics - A
16BEconomics and Econometrics - B
16CEconomics and Econometrics - C
16ZEconomics and Econometrics - Z
17ABusiness and Management Studies - A
17BBusiness and Management Studies - B
17CBusiness and Management Studies - C
17ZBusiness and Management Studies - Z
18ALaw - A
18BLaw - B
18CLaw - C
18ZLaw - Z
19APolitics and International Studies - A
19BPolitics and International Studies - B
19CPolitics and International Studies - C
19ZPolitics and International Studies - Z
20ASocial Work and Social Policy - A
20BSocial Work and Social Policy - B
20CSocial Work and Social Policy - C
20ZSocial Work and Social Policy - Z
21ASociology - A
21BSociology - B
21CSociology - C
21ZSociology - Z
22AAnthropology and Development Studies - A
22BAnthropology and Development Studies - B
22CAnthropology and Development Studies - C
22ZAnthropology and Development Studies - Z
23AEducation - A
23BEducation - B
23CEducation - C
23ZEducation - Z
24ASport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism - A
24BSport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism - B
24CSport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism - C
24ZSport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism - Z
25AArea Studies - A
25BArea Studies - B
25CArea Studies - C
25ZArea Studies - Z
26AModern Languages and Linguistics - A
26BModern Languages and Linguistics - B
26CModern Languages and Linguistics - C
26ZModern Languages and Linguistics - Z
27AEnglish Language and Literature - A
27BEnglish Language and Literature - B
27CEnglish Language and Literature - C
27ZEnglish Language and Literature - Z
28AHistory - A
28BHistory - B
28CHistory - C
28ZHistory - Z
29AClassics - A
29BClassics - B
29CClassics - C
29ZClassics - Z
30APhilosophy - A
30BPhilosophy - B
30CPhilosophy - C
30ZPhilosophy - Z
31ATheology and Religious Studies - A
31BTheology and Religious Studies - B
31CTheology and Religious Studies - C
31ZTheology and Religious Studies - Z
32AArt and Design: History, Practice and Theory - A
32BArt and Design: History, Practice and Theory - B
32CArt and Design: History, Practice and Theory - C
32ZArt and Design: History, Practice and Theory - Z
33AMusic, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies - A
33BMusic, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies - B
33CMusic, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies - C
33ZMusic, Drama, Dance, Performing Arts, Film and Screen Studies - Z
34ACommunication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management - A
34BCommunication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management - B
34CCommunication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management - C
34ZCommunication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management - Z
Notes

Where a student's supervisor has been allocated to a Unit of Assessment for the 2021 REF, then the student should be allocated to the same UOA.

Where the supervisor has not been explicitly allocated to a UOA because

  • the student's supervisor is not currently employed by, or was not employed at the time of the most recent REF by, the reporting provider, or
  • the student's supervisor was not allocated to a Unit of Assessment as despite being employed by the reporting provider at the time of the most recent REF, they were not eligible for selection

Then the student should be assigned to the Unit of Assessment which is closest in academic content to their subject of study. (The Unit of Assessment chosen should be from the list of subjects defined by the most recent REF, not any future REF).

Where a student was supervised by more than one member of staff and/or these supervisors are returned in more than one UOA, the student may be returned split either according to the agreed division of responsibility, or in proportion to the number of supervisors. Where one or more of these supervisors is not employed by the reporting provider, and the student is not part of a formal collaborative arrangement to provide doctoral research training, their contribution should be ignored when determining the proportional split across UoAs.

Where the student is supervised as part of a formal collaborative arrangement to provide doctoral research training, the most relevant Unit of Assessment should be returned for supervisors at another provider. However, Units of Assessment are not required where supervision is provided by industrial or overseas partners, or any other organisation that is not eligible to submit to the REF.

Where a student is supervised by one member of staff and the staff member changes, for example because the supervisor leaves, the UoA should be updated to reflect the UoA of the student’s new supervisor.

This field occurs as a combination with REFData.UOAPCNT, and where applicable, REFData.COLPROV.

Valid entry patterns are: 01-34 followed by a letter A, B, C or Z.

The first two characters are the UOA assigned to the student's supervisor in the 2021 REF. The final character is the letter denoting the multiple submission the member of staff was associated with or 'Z' where a multiple submission was not made. For example, if the HEP made multiple submissions to sub-panel 14 (Geography and Environmental Studies) - one in Geography (14A) and one in Environmental Studies (14B) - the respective letter should be included for the staff member associated with that submission. If the HEP did not make multiple submissions '14Z' should be used.

Quality rules
Quality rules to follow
Reason required Collection of this information will allow better monitoring of funding allocations by units of assessment.
Part of
Field length3
Minimum occurrences0
Maximum occurrences1
Schema components
Element: UOA2021
Related fields
OwnerOffice for Students
Version1.0

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