Research centres

In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), Birmingham Newman University entered more than twice the number of staff than in 2014, when it made its REF debut.

All subject areas submitted were assessed as including a high percentage of ‘internationally significant’ work, while five subject areas were also assessed to produce work of ‘world-leading’ quality – the highest possible grade: Education, History, Sport, Social Work and Social Policy, Working with Children Young People and Families (Social Studies) and English.

Whether foundational, applied or user-defined, our research is underpinned by a common aim to make an impact in society, contributing to social justice and well-being, to scientific, human, and cultural understanding, and to the sum of knowledge.

Our research also encompasses community engagement, knowledge transfer and professional practice alongside discipline-based and pedagogic research.

Explore our Research Centres

Applied Humanities Research Centre

The Applied Humanities Research Centre seeks to promote the practical application of humanistic values and ethics.

In alignment with the broader mission of Birmingham Newman University, we are dedicated to equipping individuals and communities with the tools and perspectives necessary to foster positive change, enhance social equity, and enrich the human experience.

Our mission is to engage, educate, and empower individuals, communities, and organisations by applying the approaches and insights of the humanities to a range of contemporary issues.

We are committed to promoting high-quality collaborative and innovative research enabling us to explore, understand, and offer solutions to the complex problems facing our world today.

We believe that the humanities provide essential perspectives for navigating the ethical, social, and cultural dimensions of our global society.

Our core aims are:

Research and Scholarship: We advance rigorous research and scholarship in the humanities, promoting critical thinking and intellectual curiosity.
Education: We are committed to developing new pedagogical approaches within the Humanities which focus on lifelong and lifewide learning.
Engagement: We actively seek partnerships with communities and organisations to address challenges through the lens of the humanities.
Inclusivity: We celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusivity, ensuring that the benefits of the humanities are accessible to all.

For more information please contact Dr Emma Folwell e.folwell@newman.ac.uk.

The Centre for Community and Social Justice

The core purpose of this interdisciplinary Centre for Community and Social Justice is to bring together diverse communities to think critically about relations of power and social injustices to create a more inclusive, equal and democratic society. The Centre encourages external communities and organisations to join academic staff and students to research collaboratively and to disseminate knowledge for the wider social good.

For more information, please contact Dr Claire Monk c.monk@newman.ac.uk.

Education and Childhood Research Centre

The Education and Childhood Research Centre brings together academic staff with students, members of the community and other relevant stakeholders to produce and exchange knowledge, explore common issues, conduct educational research and disseminate knowledge.

The Research Centre encourages practitioner research to both inform and impact practice, and works closely with communities to think critically about educational issues, including policy.

Acting as both an umbrella and conduit for the wide range of educational research conducted at Birmingham Newman University, the Education and Childhood Research Centre:

Supports research and other scholarly activity that can inform teaching and learning across the University and wider educational community
Provides support for staff who want to write and publish and disseminate research projects via seminar series and symposiums
Develops doctoral supervisory capacity in the Faculty
Develops and shares research and practice skills through programmes of training
Offers a support framework for staff carrying out research, consultancy and partnership working with external bodies

For more information, please contact Dr Stephen Dixon s.dixon@newman.ac.uk