Dean of the Faculty of Science
Hanna Zagefka was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science at Royal Holloway in 2025, having joined the institution in 2005. She has previously held a range of academic leadership roles, including Head of the Department of Psychology in which capacity she led the department through a period of significant growth and transformation.
Hanna is committed to fostering excellence in research, education and outreach, and to championing science that delivers purposeful, positive impact. Central to her vision is the development of a strong, collaborative science community – one that brings together colleagues, students, and partners across disciplines to advance innovative research and enrich the educational experience.
In her role as Faculty Dean, she works closely with Heads of Department, Associate Deans and the wider Senior Leadership Team to strengthen performance and impact across education, research, student recruitment, reputation and rankings, and international partnerships. She is committed to building an agile and truly future-facing Faculty through innovation and collaboration.
Trained as a social psychologist, Hanna is internationally recognised for her work on intergroup relations, social identity, acculturation, prejudice and behaviour change - including research on charitable responses to disaster victims. Her projects have received support from major funders such as UKRI (ESRC) and the Leverhulme Trust, enabling empirical studies across Europe, Asia and the Americas. An experienced educator and doctoral supervisor, she has taught across social, applied and organisational psychology.
Hanna is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol). She began her academic career in Germany before completing her PhD at the University of Kent. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Sussex, she joined Royal Holloway and was promoted to Professor in 2017.
Hanna has extensive editorial and advisory experience, having served as Chief Editor and on the Editorial Boards of several leading social psychology journals, and as chair and panel member for national and international funding bodies. She has held roles such as Visiting Professor at the University of Northampton and External Examiner at universities across the UK and in Malaysia.
