Research
The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences holds to the University's original mission to be a pioneer in challenging established thinking and championing new ideas through high-quality research.
'Remarkable results' for Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Science in the Research Excellence Framework (REF2021)
Two departments in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Lancaster University achieved the highest possible score for impact in the Research Excellence Framework results published on 12 May 2022. The Department of Educational Research and the Department of Linguistics and English Language are both rated ‘outstanding’ for 100% of their research impact and both are rated joint top in the UK for impact. Read more about the notable successes in our other departments.
Read moreFeatured research
Faculty Research Ethics Committee
The Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and Lancaster University Management School have a joint Research Ethics Committee (FHASS-LUMS REC) that oversees ethical review of proposed research in all Departments of both Faculties.
Research Ethics Committee
Specialist Research Centres
The Faculty is home to a diverse range of research centres. You can find out about some of them here.
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CeMore initiated the new mobilities paradigm in the social sciences, arts, humanities and sciences. It was the first such centre (founded in 2003 by John Urry and Mimi Sheller) and continues to be at the heart of this burgeoning global field.
CeMoRE (the Centre for Mobilities Research)
CASS is a Centre designed to bring a new method in the study of language – the corpus approach – to a range of social sciences.
CASS (the ESRC Centre for Corpus Approaches to Social Science)
The Centre for Alternatives to Social and Economic Inequalities (CASEI) is based in the Sociology Department at Lancaster University and thinks globally and acts locally in researching the causes of, and offering solutions to, a range of inequalities. There are alternatives to these challenges and we are committed to producing and practicing them.
CASEI is an inter-disciplinary venture across Lancaster University which connects with collaborators in Lancaster and across Morecambe Bay.
The Centre for Child and Family Justice Research is co-hosted by the Department of Sociology and the Lancaster Law School and works in close collaboration with the Data Science Institute. Critical to our work is collaboration with a range of national and international policy and practice organisations.
As one of the oldest centres in the world conducting higher education research, we are committed to enhancing and transforming the higher education sector and its role in society, economy and culture.
The Centre for Social Justice and Wellbeing in Education is a vibrant network of active researchers engaged in exploring questions about equity, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing in education. Our research spans a wide range of formal and informal education environments including schools, higher education, home and the workplace.
The Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning focuses on theoretical and practical challenges related to educational uses of technologies for teaching and learning in formal and informal educational settings.
The Centre for War and Diplomacy provides the historical context and strategic analysis to inform understanding of today's geopolitical challenges. Based in the Department of History at Lancaster University, it promotes discussion across disciplines through research, teaching, consultancy and public events.
We are a globally recognised open and exploratory design-led research lab at Lancaster University, one of the top ten universities in the UK. Founded in 2006, we apply our exploratory research to address the complex challenges identified by industry, public and private sectors, national and international governments.
Established in 2014, the Regional Heritage Centre promotes and celebrates the rich social and cultural heritage of North West England by engaging with the regional community.
The Richardson Institute is the oldest peace and conflict research centre in the UK, based in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University.
The Ruskin is home to the leading collection of works by the epoch-defining writer, artist and social thinker John Ruskin (1819-1900) and his circle.
The Wordsworth Centre was established in 1987 by Professor Keith Hanley. It is currently co-directed by Sally Bushell and Simon Bainbridge. Its primary aim is to promote interest in Wordsworth and the Lake District at an undergraduate, postgraduate and wider level. It is also interested in exploring wider questions about poetry and landscape, poetry and conservation, and in looking ahead from Romantic poetry to the present day.
Lancaster University is widely recognised for new research and developments in social practice theory. The Centre for Practice Theory at Lancaster – a joint venture between the Faculty of Arts and Social Science and Lancaster University Management School – brings some of this work together and fosters international, interdisciplinary networks of people working in this area.
Lancaster’s Digital Humanities Centre brings together internationally recognised centres of excellence in the spatial humanities, corpus linguistics and natural language processing (NLP), and combines these with broad expertise across the digital humanities as a whole.
The Centre for International Law and Human Rights (CILHR) builds on the established reputation of the Law School in the areas of international law and human rights, and its strong taught and research postgraduate programmes.
The Centre for Law and Society encourages innovative, critical, policy-engaged scholarship, grounded in socio-legal, empirical, theoretical and inter-disciplinary methodologies, dealing with local, national, and global challenges at the intersection of law and society.
The principal aim of the Centre for Crime Law and Justice is to facilitate and enhance the overlapping research interests of the Law School with regard to criminology, criminal justice and criminal law, as well as to engage both internationally and nationally in research connections and collaborations.
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China's Belt and Road Initiative aims to improve regional connectivity via land and maritime networks through Aisa, Europe and Africa along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes.
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Health Hub provide a space for cross-disciplinary collaboration between arts, humanities and social science researchers based in Lancaster working on themes related to health and wellbeing.
The Health Hub runs a monthly seminar series with internal and external speakers, as well as other one-off events throughout the year. For the latest updates on events organised by the Health Hub website.
Disciplinary research expertise
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Our research centres act as focal points to exchange, support and develop research but also enhance cross-departmental synergies in methodological approaches.
Our research is uniquely shaped by the juxtaposition of the critical and the creative and by our location in the historic city of Lancaster, with its medieval castle and the nearby Lake District, home of Romanticism. We enjoy strong links with the Ruskin Library, the Wordsworth Centre, Lancaster Literature Festival and are home to the Centre for Transcultural Writing and Research.
Research in the department covers a broad chronological span, geographic scope, and methodological diversity.
LICA is committed to leading interdisciplinary and international research in contemporary arts and rigorous enquiry into the relationship between creative practice, theory and criticism.
Researchers in the School of Global Affairs are exploring global challenges and social transformations by innovating new forms of interdisciplinary research.
We bridge expertise and use collaborative methods across the arts, humanities and social sciences to analyse how global changes impact local communities around the world.
We are one of the leading law schools in the United Kingdom, with over 80% of our research rated as internationally excellent or world-leading.
For the last forty years, we have been known for cutting-edge empirically-based theoretical and applied research in a wide range of research areas.
Our interdisciplinary research brings together scholars who work within and across the subject areas of Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Politics and International Relations.
We seek to develop and sustain research that is original, significant and rigorous, while also fostering interdisciplinary, supportive research communities from which this work can grow.
Postgraduate Community
Lancaster University is home to a dynamic postgraduate community. All departments, institutes and centres in the Faculty have a lively, collaborative culture. Find out more about our postgraduate community and the specialist short courses we provide to support your studies.
Faculty postgraduate community
