Areas of expertise
Our research aims to make a difference to the world
Collaborative, multi-disciplinary and always relevant, our work seeks answers to big questions shaping the future of the planet and society.
We're already making an impact with several recent major breakthroughs – from the discovery of a new mutant enzyme that could help defeat plastic pollution, to pioneering work exploring the mysteries of the earliest moments of the Universe.
Browse our areas of expertise below and learn more about our research, our publication highlights and our research projects.
Accountability, risk and rights
Our accountability risk & rights research feeds into governmental & parliamentary inquiries, such as employment & data protection.
Accounting education
We're conducting accounting education research, to enhance the quality of accounting education worldwide.
Accounting history
We're exploring the past of accountancy, through archives and historical documentation, to learn about the issues experienced by previous generations.
Acute and emergency care
We're researching how new technologies can help alleviate demands on acute and emergency care.
Advertising and branding
We're researching advertising agency management, creative processes, ethics and sustainability, gender stereotypes, health advertising and more.
African studies
We're researching the pressures of development and security in the West African Sahel, and working on solutions to the problems of development and security in the region.
American studies
We're researching the historical concerns and trajectory of the USA to better understand the pressures facing our own society.
Animation and CGI
We're researching techniques, practices and concepts in CGI film, including motion capture, animation and VFX.
Applied accounting and financial management
We're investigating the behaviours, actions and responses of both providers and users of accounting information.
Applied health informatics
We're working to find new ways to help clinicians and patients find and interpret data, and apply best practice guidelines.
Applied mathematics, nonlinear and complex systems
We're studying how complexity and order arise from the simple underlying rules of physics.
Applied theatre
We're investigating theatre as a tool for community engagement, conflict resolution, and social justice.
Architectural and urban history and theory
We're doing research into the history and theory behind how we conceptualise and produce architecture and urban spaces on different scales.
Astrophysics
We're working to better understand the basic building blocks of our Universe, the origin of stars, the formation and evolution of galaxies, and stellar population models.
Banking and financial markets
Our banking and financial markets research examines the functioning of financial markets and the institutions that operate in those markets.
Behavioural and experimental economics
We're researching how psychological, emotional and social factors affect economic decision making.
Biodiversity and evolution
We're cataloging new species, and creating a basis for assessing and reversing the extinction of species.
Biomedical engineering
We're exploring musculoskeletal biomechanics, cardiovascular engineering and biomedical imaging.
Body politics
We're exploring the role of bodies in shaping concepts such as national identity and political populism.
British social and cultural history
We're exploring the experiences and lives of ordinary people in Britain across the social spectrum.
Building design, construction management and surveying
We're researching areas such as brief management, project organisation, procurement and health and safety.
Business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR)
We're conducting research into corporate responsibility, business ethics, and how we can promote a more responsible business culture.
Citizenship and civil society
We're exploring aspects of citizenship, including identity politics, questions of sovereignty, and how they impact individuals.
Clinical innovation
In this area of research expertise, we're researching advancing dental technology and models of dental care to improve patient outcomes.
Clinical outcome modelling
We're developing and evaluating mathematical and computer models to help make accurate healthcare predictions .
Comparative and evolutionary psychology
We're exploring evolutionary processes underpinning human behaviour and comparing human and animal psychology.
Computational intelligence
We're conducting research into theoretical computational challenges and practical systems development.
Computer games design and technology
We're researching gaming design theory and development to produce relevant and practical outputs for people working in the industry.
Condensed matter physics
We're looking for solutions to issues around energy harvesting, efficiency and storage, medical technologies, security, and the environment.
Conflict and culture
We're doing research into the critical analysis and artistic treatment of social and political crisis, and military conflict.
Corporate finance
We're researching the allocation of capital, and ensuring it's done efficiently and without waste.
Corpus linguistics
We're studying the way that language is used in different regions, genres and situations.
Counter fraud
We're researching the growing scale, impact and cost of economic crime, to help improve detection, prevention and prosecution.
Creative writing
We're exploring the reasons that people write, what they say, and how their meaning is conveyed.
Cross platform storytelling
We're researching storytelling which crosses platforms and mediums, bringing together experts from multiple disciplines.
Cross reality applications
We're researching how cross reality (XR) systems influence human experience & how their design affects perception and behaviour.
Crustal evolution
We're exploring the long-term and large-scale processes that shaped how the Earth developed through time.
Culture, community and heritage
We're researching how communities are formed (or destroyed) through the sharing of writing, reading, performance and ideas.
Cyber security
We're researching improving the security of the systems used to access assets, and studying the psychology of users.
Cybercrime
We're researching how crime takes place using technology, and studying the impact such crimes have on society and individuals.
Decision and data analytics
We're doing research into analysing complex data, to help decision makers in sectors such as transport, logistics and healthcare.
Dental education
We're researching the development and evaluation of innovative education for the dental team.
Dental public health
We're researching the monitoring and improvement of oral health, and investigating barriers to dental care.
Design education
We're researching issues related to teaching and learning within creative and design disciplines.
Development theory, policy and practice
We're researching reducing poverty, tackling gender and ethnic inequality and shielding the most vulnerable from the devastation caused by disasters and civil turmoil.
Development, wellbeing and justice
We're exploring the best tools for communities that are evolving fast, and increasingly reliant on technology such as computers and smart phones.
Digital design and new technologies
Take part in our exploration of the best tools for communities that are evolving fast, & reliant on technology such as computers & smart phones. Learn more about digital design & new technologies research with us, today.
Digital heritage
We're researching into helping cultural heritage organisations plan for the implementation of digital technology.
Digital marketing
We're helping businesses improve their digital marketing, online experience and market share.
Digital user experience
We're researching how humans interact with digital technology and improving the way in which such technology is used.
Digital wellbeing
We're researching increasing the wellbeing of elderly and vulnerable people through new digital solutions.
Discourse analysis
We're researching how language is used in real life contexts, such as mental health, as well as gender and sexuality.
Drug delivery
We're investigating bioactive molecules and biocompatible materials for use as drug carriers, bioadhesives, and many other clinical purposes.
Early modern history
We're researching how people in Europe experienced and responded to the disruption and challenge of early modern history.
Early years education
We're exploring the experiences and opportunities that play a role in the development of young people.
Ecotoxicology and environmental monitoring
We're researching how humans impact upon marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems.
Efficiency and productivity
We're investigating efficiency and productivity through quantitative methods, such as regression analysis.
Employment relations
We're exploring how governments, employers and other agencies influence employment relations.
Engineering geology and natural hazards
We're exploring the causes, impacts and management of natural phenomena such as hurricanes, earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes.
Environmental analysis and design
We're doing research into building cities that can better prevent environmental problems.
Environmental change
Our research examines the changing environment and how to avoid crises in the future. Find out more about our physical and human geography research.
Environmental microbiology and biotechnology
We're researching the vast number of unknown microbes in the world to solve issues such as food security and climate change.
Environmental process and impacts
We're exploring the influence of human activity on the Earth's climate and environment, and how to avoid crises in the future.
Environmental technology and management
We're researching how civil engineering and surveying can help solve current environmental problems, and prevent those in the future.
Epigenetics and developmental biology
We're researching changes in how genes are expressed and how cells read them, rather than more traditional methods.
Exact and metaheuristic solution methods
We're using our expertise to help solve real logistical challenges, from creating a train timetable to developing an efficient nursing roster.
Extreme environments
We're simulating extreme environments to investigate physiological and psychological responses to them.
Fashion and textiles
We're working towards positive change and responsible approaches to designing fashion and textiles in the future.
Film studies
We're exploring the relationship between film, screen studies and communities.
Fintech and microfinance
Join us in our work in helping individuals, firms, and governments learn to use FinTech to meet their needs.
Forensic accounting, management control and governance
We're researching issues and challenges around forensic accounting, management control and governance.
Forensic interviewing
We're researching issues affecting how we detect and prevent crime.
Forensic psychology
We're conducting research into the intersection between psychology and the law. Explore our forensic psychology research.
Forensics
We're using science to identify, eliminate, reconstruct and inform how crime is investigated.
Gender, race and education
We're working to identify, explore and engage with subtler forms of discrimination in gender, race and education.
Global governance
We're researching the complex political challenges of a highly-interconnected world.
Graphic and communication design
We're researching the theories, practice and process that relate to solving problems through visual communication.
Gravitational waves
We've been conducting research into developing increasingly sensitive ways to detect gravitational waves, and more.
Green infrastructures
We're researching into the methods needed to plan cities that are better for humans and the environment.
Health, wellbeing and social care
We're researching health and social care interventions, with a particular emphasis on people with complex health and care needs.
Healthcare analytics
We're researching into providing decision makers in the healthcare sector with better treatment strategies.
Higher education
We're researching into issues in higher education, and finding solutions to them.
Historic environments and conservation
We're researching how architecture, community and creative technologies can play a role in enhancing historic environments.
History and theory of art and design
We're researching the historical production and consumption of art and design, and the wider social, cultural, political and economic contexts around it.
Human resource (HR) management and leadership
We're researching the nature of leadership and management, and the cultures and practices which influence how people are led and work.
Identities and inequalities
We're exploring how developing understanding of identities and inequalities can contribute to improving inequality, structural violence and social suffering.
Illustration and art of the book
We're researching into how self-publishing can allow a more diverse range of authors to communicate with an audience.
Industrial mathematics
We're delivering insight into roles of different physical mechanisms within a process to develop practical solutions and guidance in science and industry.
Innovation management
We're looking into how organisations in low technology & process industries can optimise the management of their product & process development.
Interior design theory and practice
We're exploring how buildings are used by people by mapping and documenting their activity as they interact with them.
International and European law
We're investigating transnational laws and examining comparatively foreign national law to better understand them.
Journalism and media writing
We're using analytical, theoretical & methodoligal approaches to research media, politics & its impact on politics & society.
Marine sciences
We're working to improve the marine environment for future generations & make marine activities sustainable.
Marketing and society
We're discovering the macro trends influencing consumer decision making such as sustainability, pollution & health, and the relationship between marketing & society.
Materials engineering
We're exploring how manufacturing could be made more sustainable.
Media cultures
We're exploring new cultures of production and consumption to understand how media audiences are becoming content creators.
Mental health in childhood and education
We're working to eradicate the stigma, bias, labels & misconceptions around mental illness and to shape the policies & practices used to help vulnerable children.
Microbiology
We're working to find solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance & help us in working to save lives in the process.
Missing persons
We're researching patterns of behaviour that may precede a person going missing & working to change the policies & practices that determine how cases are handled.
Modern literature
We're investigating how texts are interpreted in different ways in different contexts & how reading critically is significant to how we think about the world and our place within it.
Molecular biophysics
We're exploring the composition, function & behaviour of biomolecules so they can have societally, industrially and medically useful functions.
Molecular mechanisms of diseases
We're studying the fundamental processes underpinning diseases to explore the normal molecular life processes keeping us healthy.
Monetary policy
We're developing new financial & economic theories to assess the impacts of monetary policy measures on & via the financial markets.
Multiple criteria decision aid
We're using multiple criteria decisions to help people, such as business managers & public administrators, make better-informed decisions.
Music: composition, practices and technology
We're exploring the role of musical creativity across different forms, including musical theatre, western classic music, electroacoustic music, audio software programming & instrument design.
Musical theatre
We're researching the practical and technical concerns of musical theatre, as well as the historical, social, economic and educational contexts.
Neurobiology
We're exploring the structural & molecular makeup of the nervous system & the difference between how health & diseased nervous systems function.
Observational cosmology
We're measuring large-scale structures in the Universe and researching supernovae and the appearance of galaxies to understand the source of gravitational lensing.
Occupational and organisational performance
We're evaluating and enhancing working environments & operational conditions to improve performance and organisational structures.
Optimisation modelling
We use critical analysis & interpretation of potential solutions to model & solve problems for organisations in the public & private sectors.
Palaeontology and stratigraphy
We're exploring how fossil records can help us understand past climates & environments and using this knowledge to effectively predict & model climate change and its impact on the Earth’s ecosystems.
Patient and user experience
We're helping to make a positive impact on patients' and users' lives by studying the experiences, challenges and needs of under-represented, vulnerable or isolated groups in society.
Penology
We're working to better understand the role of punishment & how this links with processes of justice and rehabilitation to promote change.
Performance practices
We're looking for solutions to philosophical & political problems to suggest experiential, knowledge-based & affective alternatives to current issues.
Pharmacy practice
We're working to improve patient-centred healthcare delivery by finding evidence-based solutions to the demands of patients.
Photography
We're using photographic art practice as an investigative tool, to look into the medium of photography & how photographic practices can be formative to individual subjectivity and modernity.
Physical activity, health and rehabilitation
Discover how research into Human Performance from the University of Portsmouth is helping to evaluate and enhance performance, for sport, exercise, work and health.
Policing
We're looking into the policing environment & organisations, & the social, economic and political context in which policing operates.
Politics of states and regions
We're working to foster citizen engagement in politics, improve the effectiveness & responsiveness of public institutions as well as the educational experience of students.
Professional communication
We're exploring how spoken & written language is used in workplaces with the aim to develop relationships & achieve institutional objectives.
Quality of life, health and wellbeing
We're working to understand psychological & behavioural processes involved in health & wellbeing to produce practical solutions such as lifestyle changes.
Quantum information and sensing technologies
We're developing new technologies using quantum information including applications for high-precision measurements, exponential computational speed-up, & secure communication.
Quantum optics and quantum foundations
We're researching how photons interact with each other & other particles to test phenomena at the foundation of quantum mechanics.
Renewable energy and sustainability analytics
We're exploring how operational research & analytical modelling can help deliver renewable energy & sustainability solutions for the long term.
Resource economics and environmental policy
In this area of research expertise, we're identifying the economic, social & legal factors influencing the preservation & sustainability of aquatic ecosystems & natural resources.
Risk and security analytics
We're analysing risks and major disasters to learn how to cope faster and make failures rarer and at less cost.
Risk and security management
We're helping organisations and individuals think of alternative ways of identifying, understanding & overcoming risk & security challenges.
Russian studies
We're investigating the nature of the current Russian political system, how Russia sees itself on the world stage & problems in relations with the EU to understand current difficulties in relation to Russia.
Security and defence
We're exploring how we can reduce the impact of war, encourage peace, improve the lives of citizens around the world & create a safer, more peaceful world.
Services marketing and tourism
We're conducting research that addresses current challenges in businesses that provides a service such as tourism, hospitality, car rental and restaurants.
Situated action and communication
We're researching development psychology, autism, disabilities & empowerment, language & communication, & human movement in relation to their context.
Small business and entrepreneurship
We're looking into how entrepreneurial behaviours, capabilities, strategies & public policies affect the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Social research methods
We're investigating different methods, tools & techniques for studying social phenomena & for generating information & data about all aspects of social life.
Social theory
We're analysing social processes, issues & concerns at group, institutional, societal, system, & global levels.
Sociolinguistics
We're exploring the relationship between language and power, the role language ideology plays in social identity, or how language varies according to class, region or ethnicity.
Sociology of culture
We're exploring the symbolic boundaries, identities, conflicts, and modes of being and belonging among dominant and dominated groups.
Sustainability and business
In this area of research expertise, we're integrating sustainability principles with business to achieve sustainable development.
Sustainable urbanism
In this area of research expertise, we're exploring ways for people, businesses, communities & systems in a city to adapt to global challenges including environmental degradation. Explore our sustainable urbanism research.
Systems and information systems
We're exploring how information systems (IS) can help organisations address complex problems & move their organisational practices towards business excellence.
Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL)
We're researching how people learn languages (particularly English) & how classroom practices as well as learner & practitioner beliefs affect how people learn.
Theoretical cosmology
We're exploring the inflation of the very early Universe, monitor the expansion of the Universe, and investigate the impact of dark energy on its geometry.
Time, space and environment
We're exploring the representations of time, space & the environment in literature & culture from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Translation
We're analysing written translations & studing the translation industry to show the continued need for professional linguists and their role in new technologies.
Transportation and maritime systems
We're developing new optimisation models & decision support systems to improve the mobility of people, goods and services.
Urban cultures
We're exploring the relationship between the urban environment, individual and collective agency, and the rich and complex cultures that develop within cities.
Visual and material culture
We're exploring how images, visualisations & objects mediate between historical, social and political issues.
Visual computing
We're researching technology which improves the efficiency & reduces the cost of generating facial images to help monitor treatment of Parkinson's and autism patients.
Well-being, legal education and the legal profession
We're investigating ways to engage students in the learning journey to promote their success & contribute to the literature on sustainable graduate employability.
Women and development, women and war
We're exploring how the Cold War and migration in East Asia may be experienced differently by women and men.
Workplace learning and development
We're developing productive ways of learning-in-action and researching how adults learn best in workplace settings.
Youth and digital networking
We're exploring the factors behind cyberbullying, young people's perceptions of it and the issues caused by the breakdown of relationships online.
Research themes, centres and culture
Find out more about research at the University of Portsmouth.
