Lancaster’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is home to over 20 disciplines, with many placing in the top 10 in major UK league tables and top 100 in world rankings.
The quality of our research in Arts and Social Sciences has been independently assessed as world leading and internationally excellent. It has also been confirmed that we are achieving real-world impact and positive change through our research.
Two departments in the Faculty achieved the highest possible score for impact in the Research Excellence Framework results published on 12th May 2022.
The Research Excellence Framework (REF), carried out approximately every seven years, assesses the quality of research across UK universities and demonstrates its impact on a domestic and global stage. One of Lancaster’s significant strengths is the way that top academics use their world-class research to inform their teaching.
The Department of Educational Research and the Department of Linguistics and English Language are both rated ‘outstanding’ for 100% of their research impact and therefore both are rated joint top in the UK for impact.
Linguistics is also rated ‘world-leading’ for 100% of its research environment and ranked 2nd in the UK for overall research quality.
2nd in the UK for research power, 8th for research environment, 88% of its research ‘world leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.
2nd in the UK for research outputs, 6th for overall research quality, 9th for research power.
6th in the UK for research impact, 88% of its impact ‘outstanding’.
8th in the UK for research impact, 75% of its impact ‘outstanding’.
Almost half (46%) of published research ‘world leading’; nearly all of the remainder ‘internationally excellent’.
Two thirds of research impact ‘outstanding’, 12th in the UK for outstanding impact.
Contributed to several different submissions including Art and Design and English Language and Literature, highlighting the department’s strengths in interdisciplinary and collaborative research.
The global influence of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences is confirmed by the latest QS World University Rankings by Subject. We are considered one of the top three universities in the world for Linguistics, highlighting that Lancaster is a world leader in this field. Also featuring among the top 100 in the world are English Language and Literature, Art and Design, Modern Languages and Sociology.
Read the news story: World top 100 for eleven subjects at Lancaster.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has two subjects in the world top 50 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings by Subject 2024.
The Faculty is ranked joint 43 in the world for Arts and Humanities.
The global reputation of Education at Lancaster is also recognised with ranking of 41 in the world.
Lancaster University is ranked as top in the North West and 12th in the UK out of 131 universities, according to The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Eleven subjects in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences are ranked in the UK top fifteen. They include Social Work at number 1 in the UK and French, Iberian Languages and Linguistics at number 3 in the UK.
Graduate prospects
Several subjects are also highly ranked for Graduate Prospects by the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025, which demonstrates the high level of support that the Faculty provides. They include Art and Design #5, Criminology #12 and Linguistics #4.
Lancaster University remains best university in North West England in the Complete University Guide 2025, and is placed joint 10th out of 130 UK universities.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has many subjects that rank among the best in the UK, and the Complete University Guide recognises our strength in preparing students for successful careers.
Lancaster is again ranked best in the UK for Social Work.
The Faculty provides a high level of support to help our students find rewarding careers after they graduate. Among the subjects placed in the UK top ten for graduate prospects are French, Art and Design, Theatre Studies, English, Media Studies, Film studies, and Creative Writing.
News story: Lancaster remains best university in North West England in complete. university guide
Lancaster University has continued its consistently strong league table performance, ranking 11th in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2025.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has several subjects in the top 20:
Additionally, a number of subjects are highly ranked for satisfaction with teaching, including:
Find out more about Lancaster University’s strength in UK and world league tables.
Rankings and reputation
