Research in Schools
The majority of the research at St Andrews takes place within the Academic Schools and Research Centres. This page indicates some of the range of research areas covered, and the high ratings for individual Schools may be seen from the Research Assessment Exercise 2008.
Art History
The School has an international reputation for excellence in research. Teaching and research interests of the School extend from the Mediaeval to the Modern periods, with particular areas of concentration being the art of Renaissance Italy, British architecture, furniture history, photography, and nineteenth and twentieth-century art in Britain, France and Russia. Research Pages.
Biology
- Biomolecular Sciences
- Cell and Systems Biology
- Evolutionary Biology and Animal Behaviour
- Marine Biology
Bute Medical School
The Bute Medical School has active research programmes covering a variety of areas of biomedical science.
Chemistry
Chemical research at St Andrews and Edinburgh has recently combined to form EaStCHEM, which is a world-class research grouping based at both St Andrews and Edinburgh. EaStCHEM's eight research themes cover a wide range of areas. The themes build on the existing strengths of the parent Universities and will help to improve upon all areas of research by providing a focus for staff. The themes are: Biophysical Chemistry, Catalysis, Chemical Biology, Chemical Physics, Inorganic Chemistry, Materials, Structural Chemistry, Synthesis.
Classics
The University of St Andrews has been a centre for Classical studies since its foundation in 1413, and the School of Classics continues to build on its reputation for both teaching and research. Academic staff and their research interests.
Computer Science
Computer Science has a top-class group of researchers with interests in a wide range of areas of theoretical and practical computer science:
- Artificial intelligence and symbolic computation including constraint programming, computational algebra and computational logic and natural language processing, image processing and robotics.
- Networked and distributed systems including distributed and autonomic systems, middleware, network design and architecture, wireless and sensor networks, performance measurement and distributed learning environments.
- Systems engineering including software engineering, system dependability and social informatics.
Divinity
The School of Divinity has an internationally renowned staff and a reputation for high quality in both teaching and research. Academic staff and their research interests.
Economics and Finance
English
The School has a very high reputation in research, ranked second in Scotland and 8th in the UK in RAE2008. Our research interests cover a wide range, and we have specific strengths in Creative Writing, Feminism, Mediaeval language and literature, Poetry, the Renaissance, the Romantic and Modern periods, and Scottish literature.
Geography and Geosciences
The three main research areas are in Physical Geography, Human Geography & Geosciences. Staff are organised into three main groups, Environmental Change & Population, Health & Welfare and Crustal Geodynamics.
History
The School of History has particular research strengths in a variety of areas, including: the Middle Ages and the Reformation; the mediaeval and early modern English and Scottish parliaments; Scottish and Mediterranean history; Environmental history; the history of modern identity, including gender, ethnicity and nationalism.
International Relations
Management
Mathematics and Statistics
The School has research strengths across Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Statistics. All the research groups are internationally-leading, and attract researchers, postgraduate students and collaborators from across the world. The School is also well-known for its research in the History of Mathematics.
Modern Languages
Academic staff and their research interests:
Philosophical, Anthropological and Film Studies
Academic staff and their research interests:
Physics and Astronomy
The School is highly rated for its range of pure and applied research in Astronomy and Physics. The 26 academic staff are joined by around 40 contract research staff and a similar number of PhD students. Many of the research groups also provide their own web pages.
Psychology
Psychology at St. Andrews is one of the top rated research departments in the UK. There is a thriving research culture involving all the academic staff, some 40 postgraduates and a dozen staff employed on research grants. External grant income covers a rich and diverse variety of work. There is currently research of international renown being carried out in the areas of Perception and Cognition, Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Health Psychology, and Evolutionary studies.
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
The University of St Andrews is proud to validate the higher degrees (MPhil. and PhD) of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The mission of the RSAMD is to provide musicians, actors and other professionals in music and drama well-equipped to pursue a diversity of careers at a national and international level.