Research

We have a vibrant research community, made up of staff and students from around the world. Although each discipline has distinct methodological approaches, we share a passion for studying ideas and practices relating to all aspects of human life and experience.

Our mission

Our research aims to contribute to the theoretical advancement of the state of knowledge in the arts, humanities and social sciences, whilst achieving real-world effects by focusing on current global societal challenges and the cultural and socio-economic aspects at the core of large-scale human problems. We engage with a wide range of stakeholders. Interdisciplinarity is at the heart of what we do, and we pride ourselves on conducting collaborative research of the highest quality.

People

Our staff work with external organisations, from the Government to international businesses, ensuring that our research has a real-world impact.

The Faculty produces top-quality research across a wide range of areas. Overall, the University made a strong showing in REF2021, with a substantial improvement on performance in the previous REF. Professor Rachel Brooks, Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean, Research and Innovation (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)

Spotlight on our research

Our Faculty has a very active research community. Our research has great impact, and we are proud to highlight our achievements through a series of short films, told by our research authors.

Precarious Publishing in Latin America

Creating Ethical Standards for Counsel in International Courts and Tribunals

Humanitarian demining - cultural dynamics

Improving policy debate and analysis of the UK early years sector

Languages under threat

Developing policy and practices for risk assessment in criminal justice

Improving labour management in practices in tourism and hospitality

Supporting the emotional wellbeing of hypermobile travellers

International Guitar Research Centre

Regulation of artificial intelligence in the context of intellectual property law

Internationalisation of higher education

Enabling young people to fulfil their potential through vocational education

Themes, groups and centres

Our research groups and centres are investigating six broad and strategically important research themes, as a way to highlight what we do and where we are making a difference.

Themes

Groups and centres

Open Research

In these case studies, researchers explain how they have used open and transparent practices to carry out and communicate their research, and explore the benefits and challenges of being open.

Find out more about Open Research at Surrey.

Rebuilding Surrey: Open research on Covid’s impact on Surrey

Professor Amelia Hadfield, Dean International, Head of Politics, Director of the Centre for Britain and Europe (CBE), and her cross-disciplinary team of researchers embraced the principles of open research in conducting research work alongside local stakeholders.

A corpus approach to Roman law: Legal history meets computational linguistics

Dr Marton Ribary, Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow, focuses on the empirical characteristics of legal texts which are sometimes neglected by traditional research methods.

The benefits and challenges of open access journals for political science

Dr Simona Guerra, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at Surrey and co-editor of Political Research Exchange (PRX), addresses the benefits of open access and the challenges that lie ahead for the field of political science.

Open data and research practices in tourism research

Dr Yoo Ri Kim, Lecturer in Hospitality Management, describes how her research team has been conducting open research to make data and software codes openly accessible to a wide range of audiences.

Open innovation in animal health research: PetHack 2020

Dr Carla Bonina, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, describes how she held the first-ever open data hackathon, PetHack 2020.

Let us FASSinate you

Our cutting-edge research investigates ideas and practices relating to all aspects of human life and experiences.

Brexit: An Uncivil Debate? | University of Surrey

Equal Treatment For Robots | University of Surrey

How Far Would You Go To Save The Planet? | University of Surrey

Tomorrow’s War Machines | University of Surrey

Woman holding mobile phone with tech symbols coming out of it

Impact Acceleration Account

The social science Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The funding will support our researchers and postgraduate research students in developing effective collaborations with businesses, policy-makers, third sector organisations, and other industry sector groups.

Find out more