The results of the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2014, released on 27 January by the University Grants Committee (UGC), affirm excellence of Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong in world-class research.

Nearly two thirds (60%) of the research activities of the Department of Media and Communication have been judged to meet the standard of world class or international excellent class.

According to Zang Xiaowei, the Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, “Communications and Media Studies is the only subject area in humanities and social sciences at City University of Hong Kong that was ranked the first in Hong Kong based on the percentage of the research activity judged to meet the standard of 4 star and 3 star.” Department of Media and Communication is one of the six departments of City University of Hong Kong ranked at the top in the respective sectors, according to the announcement on the RAE 2014 results by the University.

RAE 2014, conducted by the UGC, assesses the quality of the research conducted at UGC-funded institutions. For each disciplinary area, three distinct elements of assessment covering research output, externally competitive peer-reviewed research grants and esteem measures are used to produce an overall quality profile. International benchmarks are used in the assessment to identify, and encourage, areas of excellence.

The research activities were ranked according to four categories: 4 star means world leading work, 3 star means internationally excellent work, 2 star means international standing work, 1 star means regional standing, and unclassified means below the starred levels above, or not regarded as research outputs in the RAE 2014.