Birkbeck, University of London, is a world-class research and teaching institution, a vibrant centre of academic excellence and London's only specialist provider of evening higher education.

Our cutting-edge scholarship informs public policy, achieves scientific advances, supports the economy, promotes culture and the arts, and makes a positive difference to society.

Birkbeck’s five academic Schools (Arts; Business, Economics and Informatics; Law; Social Sciences, History and Philosophy; and Science) and more than 40 specialist research centres work with government, business and educational and scientific institutions globally to extend the boundaries of knowledge.

Birkbeck has consistently ranked number one in the National Student Survey, and this year topped the poll for overall student satisfaction among multi-faculty higher education institutions in London. 18,000 students study at Birkbeck every year. They join a community that is as diverse and cosmopolitan as London’s population. For more information visit www.bbk.ac.uk or contact communications@bbk.ac.uk or call 020 7380 3108.

Contact Birkbeck, University of London

Research Institutes and Centres at Birkbeck

Our interdisciplinary centres and institutes encourage collaboration within and across our schools and departments, by bringing together researchers from different subjects and disciplines. They are more formal than academic research networks, groups and societies, but there are many areas of overlap and collaboration between them.

Our interdisciplinary centres and institutes encourage collaboration within and across Birkbeck's schools and departments, by bringing together researchers from different subjects and disciplines. They are more formal than our academic research networks, groups and societies, but there are many areas of overlap and collaboration between them.

View the research institutes and centres at Birkbeck here.

Internationally renowned for our creative and innovative approach to teaching and research, at Goldsmiths we offer undergraduate, postgraduate, teacher training and return-to-study opportunities in subjects covering the arts and humanities, social sciences, cultural studies, computing, and entrepreneurial business and management.

We're in the world's top 100 universities for the arts and humanities (QS World University Rankings 2012), have been recognised as one of the UK's top creative universities by students (Which? University 2012), and are in the UK's top 10 universities for two subject areas (The Complete University Guide). We're also ranked ninth in the UK for world-leading 4* research (Research Assessment Exercise 2008).

Our academic excellence is illustrated in our having been part of the University of London for over 100 years. Our unique academic approach comes from the interaction of 15 academic departments, together with a number of smaller centres and units.

Contact Goldsmiths, University of London

Research Centres and Units at Goldsmiths

Research at Goldsmiths is organised in many different ways. One of the most common is to bring colleagues from across campus together in a number of interdisciplinary research centres and units.

These are physical spaces where colleagues located in a range of different departments can come together to work in a collaborative manner. The great majority of research at Goldsmiths is carried out in such research centres and units.

In general, research units tend to be embedded within a single department whilst research centres tend to be collaborations between two or more different departments.

View the research centres and units here

The Courtauld Institute of Art is one of the world’s leading centres for the study of the history and conservation of art and architecture, and its Gallery houses one of Britain’s best-loved collections. Based at Somerset House, The Courtauld is an independent college of the University of London. The Director of the Institute is Professor Deborah Swallow who reports to the Governing Board. The Chairman is James Hughes-Hallett.

Degree programmes on offer include a BA, Graduate Diploma and MA in the History of Art; a Postgraduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings; an MA in Painting Conservation (Wall Painting); an MA in Curating the Art Museum; and MPhil and PhD research degrees.

Facilities for students are exceptional, including outstanding libraries and The Courtauld Gallery collection of paintings, drawings and prints, and sculpture and decorative arts. Courtauld staff supervise research from Antiquity to the present, and the Research Forum offers access to visiting speakers from around the world.

Contact The Courtauld Institute of Art

Research Series Groups & Projects 

Groups are our community of scholars working on thematic disciplines, encouraging the exchange of research and ideas on subjects and themes amongst scholars, curators, and conservators, both nationally and internationally. They host discussions, seminars, handling sessions and site visits.

The Courtauld Early Career Researcher Network provides mutual support for academics at the beginning of their careers. We aim to foster social and academic links and to support career development.

Workshops and talks will be held throughout the academic year as well as opportunities to meet other Early Career Researchers, socialise, share research ideas and practical advice. The group is led by a steering committee that guides the programme based on the interests of the members of the network.

View list of groups and projects here.

SOAS, University of London is the only higher education institution in the UK to specialise in the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East. We are renowned for our unique combination of language scholarship, disciplinary expertise and regional focus.

We are a self-governing college of the University of London, with over 5,800 students from 133 countries studying arts, languages, humanities and social sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Our academic excellence means our experts are in demand as advisors, commentators and consultants to government departments and non-governmental organisations, the private sector and multinational companies and the world’s media.

SOAS is renowned for its Library, one of just five National Research Libraries in the country, housing the world’s largest concentration of scholarly works on Asia, Africa and the Middle East. We are 26th in the world for arts and humanities (THE World University Rankings 2013). Students rate us first in the UK for political scene (Which? University 2013).

Contact SOAS University of London

Research centres

Discover the range and scope of research centres across SOAS.

View SOAS research centres here.

Our Faculty of Arts and Humanities offers a unique, research-led student experience across a broad range of courses. Our departments cover art history, history, creative writing, film, literature, journalism, theatre, philosophy, interdisciplinary studies, as well as law and human rights, and we are dedicated to encouraging interdisciplinary approaches so that our students see how subjects interconnect. We have an excellent reputation for the quality of the student experience and are committed to helping our students develop the skills they need for the future.

Our academics are leading major research projects ranging from the art of Latin America through to the English Civil War and the issues surrounding mental capacity. Our Faculty's outstanding reputation for research was confirmed by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework, with Essex ranked in the top 20 for research excellence in art history, law and philosophy (Grade Point Average, REF2021).

Contact University of Essex

Research centres & research groups and areas of study

Our institutes and centres are a meeting place for ideas. A focus for our world-leading academics to share their expertise, to break through disciplinary boundaries and provoke new debates.

We’re recognised internationally for our globally important research with peaks of excellence in social sciences, human rights and data analytics. We were awarded the UK’s first Regius Professorship of Political Science, Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for Human Rights and Social Sciences, and the world’s first UNESCO Chair in Analytics and Data Science.

Our flagship institutes bring together academics from across disciplines and departments to deliver research which offers significant practical insights and impact. They engage with a wide range of external partners at a national and international level from NGOs and national governments through to the European Union and United Nations.

At the University of Essex, we pride ourselves on the breadth of research areas that we focus on. As a dual-intensive University, our research tackles a range of subjects and areas across multiple disciplines and breaks the boundaries of what we currently know. We impact globally the way people think and behave and pride ourselves on interdisciplinary study and activism.

View the full list of centres & institutes, research groups and areas of study

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the University of East Anglia has a strong tradition of producing creative and innovative research both within and across disciplines. We believe that developing relevant and engaged humanities involves an active community of scholars and writers: our postgraduate students are at the centre of that community.

The Faculty is organised around a School system that encourages both disciplinary strength and collaborative research and supervision. The Faculty includes: the School of Art, Media and American Studies, the School of History, the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing and the School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies. Our research centres include: the Sainsbury Institute for Art housed in the striking Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, the Centre for East Anglian Studies, the Centre for Japanese Studies, the British Centre for Literary Translation and the Centre for Research in European Studies.

Contact University of East Anglia

Research groups & centres

UEA research groups and centres

Let the people who drive our world-leading research tell you about their unique groups and centres. 

Partners and participants can also access key resources in the relevant sections here.

We also have a section for individual research projects on a smaller scale.

Kent offers an inspiring and challenging student experience that prepares its arts and humanities graduates for the future. We provide world-leading research, a stimulating and effective learning community across our campuses, excellent research-led teaching and outstanding opportunities for postgraduate studies (both taught and research) across all our academic schools which are further enhanced by the supportive framework provided by our Graduate and Researcher College. 

The Division of Arts and Humanities is a thriving academic community which strives in innovative research and enriching student experiences across disciplines. Our work spans architecture and design, the creative arts, music and audio technology, languages and linguistics, history and archaeology, literature, philosophy and religion.

Contact University of Kent

Research centres

The University’s Research Centres are hubs for collaborative and interdisciplinary research and innovation. They play an important role in supporting our researchers through the organisation of research events, collaborative funding bids, public engagement and knowledge exchange activities, and the provision of skills training and seminar series for our postgraduate community.

The University’s Institutes provide leadership and resource in areas of strategic priority across the institution’s three primary portfolios, Education and student experience, Research and innovation, Civic engagement.

Our Institutes coordinate and support multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary work of the highest quality in their fields. They also play a major role in the University’s engagement with external partners and business, as well as supporting student recruitment, research and innovation funding, and philanthropic donations.  

View the full list of research centres and our institutes.

An internationally recognised research institution with award-winning faculty, the University of Sussex provides post graduate research students a supportive environment in which to receive externsive research training. From the excellent newly refurbished University Library to the globally recognised Mass Observation Archive, the resources available to postgraduate research students are impressive.

Sussex has always moved beyond the boundaries of single disciplines, questioning and challenging received ideas. In the arts and humanities, Sussex has pioneered interdisciplinary studies, unifying a strong focus on historical study with the exploration of modern and postmodern theory.

Contact University of Sussex

Research centres

At Sussex, we support a diverse and multidisciplinary research environment where researchers can truly believe a challenge is only impossible until it’s done. Browse our Centres of Excellence, research centres and groups.

Our Centres of Excellence are drawing together world-leading experts and innovative approaches, creating a critical mass of knowledge, skills and training.

Our research centres and groups are interdisciplinary groups, working on collaborative, world-leading research in new or emerging areas of opportunity.

List of research centres here