The Faculty of Social Sciences has a thriving research culture and is engaged in world-class, agenda setting research in fields such as human geography, culture, citizenship, identities, governance, criminology and international development and innovation. We are committed to the enhancement and development of this culture as a priority in our mission. Our research is supported by 4 University Research Centres and an ESRC Research Centre and Programme.

• Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance (CCIG)
• International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research (ICCCR)
• IKD: Innovation, Knowledge and Development
  
• OpenSpace Research Centre
• ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-cultural Change (CRESC)

Although our research culture is supported by several world leading centres, we are united in our efforts to explore the frontiers of the social sciences and work across the boundaries of academic disciplines. This has allowed us to develop a unique research signature based on transdisciplinary approaches to timely interdisciplinary areas and is demonstrated through our preparations for the 2008 RAE, where the Faculty is building on the synergistic strengths of our Research Centres to administer submissions to two Units of Assessment: Sociology and Geography. The former includes active researchers drawn from across the Faculty and has established a major grouping of researchers whose combined strengths have advanced an agenda-setting programme. Geography has built upon its success in the 2001 RAE through the development of new research agendas and new modes of research organization.