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City · South Africa

Research in Stellenbosch

Science Explorer records 8 research institutions in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The highest-ranked on research quality in 2022-now are Stellenbosch University, Sustainability Institute and iThemba Laboratory.

Research institutions
8
3 of them ranked worldwide
Research works
46k
▲ 6% vs 2018-21
Citations
805k
17.4 per fractional work, all time
Top-10% rate, 2022-now
19.3%
all institutions 10.0%
Active span
1950-2026
77 years on the record
Stellenbosch

A city carries no overall standing here. The quality score is built for institutions and countries, the units its floors and field normalisation were designed around. An empty rank on this page is a statement about the measure, not about the place.

Which research institutions are in Stellenbosch?

#InstitutionWorksAgainst the largest hereWorld rank
1Stellenbosch UniversityUniversity 44,569 #491
2Sustainability InstituteNonprofit 2,308 #2,143
3iThemba LaboratoryResearch facility 683 #19,807
4ISS International (South Africa)Company 94 not ranked
5Centre for Higher Education TrustNonprofit 86 not ranked
6WAM Technology (South Africa)Company 4 not ranked
7Centre for Rural Legal StudiesNonprofit 3 not ranked
8Physiology Society of Southern AfricaInstitution 1 not ranked

By fractional works over the whole record; world rank on research quality in 2022-now. Bars are scaled to the largest institution in this city, not to anything off the page.

How concentrated the city is

The same institutions as shares of everything the list accounts for. A city that is one university and a city that is twelve read alike as a table and not at all alike here.

Stellenbosch University: 93.3%Sustainability Institute: 4.8%iThemba Laboratory: 1.4%ISS International (South Africa): 0.2%4 others listed: 0.2%93%largest
Stellenbosch University45k · 93.3%Sustainability Institute2,308 · 4.8%iThemba Laboratory683 · 1.4%ISS International (South Africa)94 · 0.2%4 others listed94 · 0.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which fields of science does Stellenbosch work in?

In 2022-now, 34% of research in Stellenbosch is in Physical Sciences, 34% in Social Sciences. Its largest fields are Social Sciences (17%), Medicine (14%), Engineering (13%). It does 1.4× the world's share of Social Sciences.

Physical Sciences: 3,330 fractional works · 33.8% of its workEngineering: 1,259 fractional works · 12.8% of its workElectrical and Electronic Engineering: 209 fractional works · 2.1% of its workBiomedical Engineering: 185 fractional works · 1.9% of its workMechanical Engineering: 184 fractional works · 1.9% of its workBuilding and Construction: 106 fractional works · 1.1% of its workCivil and Structural Engineering: 90 fractional works · 0.9% of its workControl and Systems Engineering: 88 fractional works · 0.9% of its workAerospace Engineering: 83 fractional works · 0.8% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 79 fractional works · 0.8% of its workAutomotive Engineering: 59 fractional works · 0.6% of its workComputational Mechanics: 50 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOcean Engineering: 38 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMedia Technology: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workMechanics of Materials: 28 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSafety, Risk, Reliability and Quality: 26 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Science: 886 fractional works · 9.0% of its workEcology: 205 fractional works · 2.1% of its workGlobal and Planetary Change: 184 fractional works · 1.9% of its workNature and Landscape Conservation: 92 fractional works · 0.9% of its workManagement, Monitoring, Policy and Law: 74 fractional works · 0.7% of its workEnvironmental Engineering: 73 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPollution: 70 fractional works · 0.7% of its workWater Science and Technology: 46 fractional works · 0.5% of its workIndustrial and Manufacturing Engineering: 45 fractional works · 0.5% of its workHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis: 42 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEcological Modeling: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workEnvironmental Chemistry: 24 fractional works · 0.2% of its workComputer Science: 408 fractional works · 4.1% of its workArtificial Intelligence: 174 fractional works · 1.8% of its workInformation Systems: 77 fractional works · 0.8% of its workComputer Vision and Pattern Recognition: 41 fractional works · 0.4% of its workComputational Theory and Mathematics: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workComputer Networks and Communications: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 61 fractional works · 0.6% of its workEarth and Planetary Sciences: 190 fractional works · 1.9% of its workOceanography: 57 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGeophysics: 38 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPaleontology: 32 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAtmospheric Science: 30 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPhysics and Astronomy: 134 fractional works · 1.4% of its workAstronomy and Astrophysics: 35 fractional works · 0.4% of its workAtomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workStatistical and Nonlinear Physics: 24 fractional works · 0.2% of its workNuclear and High Energy Physics: 22 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMaterials Science: 130 fractional works · 1.3% of its workMaterials Chemistry: 57 fractional works · 0.6% of its workBiomaterials: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPolymers and Plastics: 24 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 18 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEnergy: 104 fractional works · 1.1% of its workRenewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment: 77 fractional works · 0.8% of its workEnergy Engineering and Power Technology: 22 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 4 fractional works · 0.0% of its workChemistry: 100 fractional works · 1.0% of its workOrganic Chemistry: 45 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAnalytical Chemistry: 21 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 35 fractional works · 0.4% of its workMathematics: 85 fractional works · 0.9% of its workChemical Engineering: 32 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSocial Sciences: 3,315 fractional works · 33.7% of its workSocial Sciences: 1,715 fractional works · 17.4% of its workSociology and Political Science: 599 fractional works · 6.1% of its workEducation: 293 fractional works · 3.0% of its workPolitical Science and International Relations: 171 fractional works · 1.7% of its workLaw: 101 fractional works · 1.0% of its workAnthropology: 93 fractional works · 0.9% of its workGender Studies: 80 fractional works · 0.8% of its workSafety Research: 77 fractional works · 0.8% of its workHealth: 39 fractional works · 0.4% of its workDemography: 38 fractional works · 0.4% of its workUrban Studies: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workLinguistics and Language: 27 fractional works · 0.3% of its workCommunication: 25 fractional works · 0.3% of its workTransportation: 25 fractional works · 0.3% of its workGeography, Planning and Development: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workDevelopment: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 70 fractional works · 0.7% of its workArts and Humanities: 438 fractional works · 4.4% of its workReligious studies: 136 fractional works · 1.4% of its workLiterature and Literary Theory: 58 fractional works · 0.6% of its workPhilosophy: 56 fractional works · 0.6% of its workLanguage and Linguistics: 55 fractional works · 0.6% of its workHistory: 44 fractional works · 0.4% of its workArcheology: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workMusic: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 43 fractional works · 0.4% of its workPsychology: 399 fractional works · 4.1% of its workClinical Psychology: 163 fractional works · 1.7% of its workSocial Psychology: 118 fractional works · 1.2% of its workDevelopmental and Educational Psychology: 56 fractional works · 0.6% of its workExperimental and Cognitive Psychology: 38 fractional works · 0.4% of its workApplied Psychology: 21 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 3 fractional works · 0.0% of its workBusiness, Management and Accounting: 399 fractional works · 4.0% of its workStrategy and Management: 110 fractional works · 1.1% of its workAccounting: 68 fractional works · 0.7% of its workManagement of Technology and Innovation: 53 fractional works · 0.5% of its workManagement Information Systems: 53 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOrganizational Behavior and Human Resource Management: 47 fractional works · 0.5% of its workMarketing: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBusiness and International Management: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 11 fractional works · 0.1% of its workEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 240 fractional works · 2.4% of its workEconomics and Econometrics: 161 fractional works · 1.6% of its workFinance: 54 fractional works · 0.6% of its workGeneral Economics, Econometrics and Finance: 25 fractional works · 0.3% of its workDecision Sciences: 124 fractional works · 1.3% of its workManagement Science and Operations Research: 67 fractional works · 0.7% of its workInformation Systems and Management: 34 fractional works · 0.3% of its workStatistics, Probability and Uncertainty: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workHealth Sciences: 1,852 fractional works · 18.8% of its workMedicine: 1,417 fractional works · 14.4% of its workPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health: 197 fractional works · 2.0% of its workInfectious Diseases: 145 fractional works · 1.5% of its workEpidemiology: 143 fractional works · 1.5% of its workSurgery: 124 fractional works · 1.3% of its workPediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health: 82 fractional works · 0.8% of its workPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine: 71 fractional works · 0.7% of its workPsychiatry and Mental health: 52 fractional works · 0.5% of its workPhysiology: 47 fractional works · 0.5% of its workCardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine: 47 fractional works · 0.5% of its workOncology: 45 fractional works · 0.5% of its workEmergency Medicine: 44 fractional works · 0.4% of its workRadiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging: 38 fractional works · 0.4% of its workEndocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism: 34 fractional works · 0.4% of its workObstetrics and Gynecology: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPathology and Forensic Medicine: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology: 28 fractional works · 0.3% of its workNeurology: 26 fractional works · 0.3% of its workOrthopedics and Sports Medicine: 26 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRehabilitation: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry: 21 fractional works · 0.2% of its workReproductive Medicine: 21 fractional works · 0.2% of its workRheumatology: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 121 fractional works · 1.2% of its workHealth Professions: 345 fractional works · 3.5% of its workGeneral Health Professions: 213 fractional works · 2.2% of its workOccupational Therapy: 27 fractional works · 0.3% of its workRadiological and Ultrasound Technology: 23 fractional works · 0.2% of its workEmergency Medical Services: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 62 fractional works · 0.6% of its workNursing: 69 fractional works · 0.7% of its workNutrition and Dietetics: 57 fractional works · 0.6% of its workSmaller subfields together: 12 fractional works · 0.1% of its workVeterinary: 13 fractional works · 0.1% of its workDentistry: 8 fractional works · 0.1% of its workLife Sciences: 1,348 fractional works · 13.7% of its workAgricultural and Biological Sciences: 765 fractional works · 7.8% of its workPlant Science: 268 fractional works · 2.7% of its workEcology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics: 111 fractional works · 1.1% of its workFood Science: 109 fractional works · 1.1% of its workInsect Science: 87 fractional works · 0.9% of its workSoil Science: 53 fractional works · 0.5% of its workAgronomy and Crop Science: 35 fractional works · 0.4% of its workGeneral Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 33 fractional works · 0.3% of its workAnimal Science and Zoology: 32 fractional works · 0.3% of its workForestry: 20 fractional works · 0.2% of its workSmaller subfields together: 19 fractional works · 0.2% of its workBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 423 fractional works · 4.3% of its workMolecular Biology: 199 fractional works · 2.0% of its workGenetics: 103 fractional works · 1.0% of its workCell Biology: 30 fractional works · 0.3% of its workBiotechnology: 30 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 61 fractional works · 0.6% of its workImmunology and Microbiology: 77 fractional works · 0.8% of its workImmunology: 30 fractional works · 0.3% of its workSmaller subfields together: 47 fractional works · 0.5% of its workNeuroscience: 72 fractional works · 0.7% of its workCognitive Neuroscience: 41 fractional works · 0.4% of its workSmaller subfields together: 31 fractional works · 0.3% of its workPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 12 fractional works · 0.1% of its workALL ITS WORKStellenbosch9,845fractional works, 2022-now
Life Sciences14%Physical Sciences34%Health Sciences19%Social Sciences34%

Each ring splits the one inside it: the four domains of science, their fields, their subfields. Size is fractional works in 2022-now. Every slice is a page; the interactive view zooms down to single topics and colours each by how much more of it this city does than the world.

Its 4 domains and 26 fields, with their numbers
    1. Engineering1,25912.8%
    2. Environmental Science8869.0%
    3. Computer Science4084.1%
    4. Earth and Planetary Sciences1901.9%
    5. Physics and Astronomy1341.4%
    6. Materials Science1301.3%
    7. Energy1041.1%
    8. Chemistry1001.0%
    9. Mathematics850.9%
    10. Chemical Engineering320.3%
  2. Social Sciences3,31533.7%
    1. Social Sciences1,71517.4%
    2. Arts and Humanities4384.4%
    3. Psychology3994.1%
    4. Business, Management and Accounting3994.0%
    5. Economics, Econometrics and Finance2402.4%
    6. Decision Sciences1241.3%
  3. Health Sciences1,85218.8%
    1. Medicine1,41714.4%
    2. Health Professions3453.5%
    3. Nursing690.7%
    4. Veterinary130.1%
    5. Dentistry80.1%
  4. Life Sciences1,34813.7%
    1. Agricultural and Biological Sciences7657.8%
    2. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4234.3%
    3. Immunology and Microbiology770.8%
    4. Neuroscience720.7%
    5. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics120.1%
All of science, and how each field's share has moved since 1950: the Science domain explorer

What is Stellenbosch strongest at in research?

Relative to its size, research in Stellenbosch is most concentrated in Religious studies, Ecological Modeling and Nature and Landscape Conservation (8.8× the world share in Religious studies).

  1. Religious studiesSubfield · 126.8 works8.8×
  2. Ecological ModelingSubfield · 26.3 works4.0×
  3. Nature and Landscape ConservationSubfield · 80.9 works3.9×
  4. AnthropologySubfield · 84.0 works3.5×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient against the world baseline. Inside a single field a city is a meaningful unit, which is why this is where a city is measured at all.

The whole field profile

All 26 fields at once: above the ring is more than a place this size would be expected to do. A specialist and a generalist produce the same ranked list and a completely different shape.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 1.63× its world share, 669 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.80× its world share, 371 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.76× its world share, 67 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.41× its world share, 58 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.35× its world share, 11 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.87× its world share, 26 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.66× its world share, 90 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.53× its world share, 359 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.14× its world share, 155 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.06× its world share, 84 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.89× its world share, 1,150 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.70× its world share, 731 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.37× its world share, 111 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.72× its world share, 74 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.62× its world share, 120 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.17× its world share, 7 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.34× its world share, 307 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.74× its world share, 1,238 worksMedicineNursing: 1.32× its world share, 56 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.02× its world share, 12 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.59× its world share, 398 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.30× its world share, 362 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.28× its world share, 107 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.19× its world share, 220 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.33× its world share, 350 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.39× its world share, 1,528 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Environmental Science, 1.7×. Every wedge is a field page.

All 26 fields, with their numbers
  1. Environmental Science1.70×731 works
  2. Agricultural and Biological Sciences1.63×669 works
  3. Arts and Humanities1.59×398 works
  4. Social Sciences1.39×1,528 works
  5. Health Professions1.34×307 works
  6. Psychology1.33×350 works
  7. Nursing1.32×56 works
  8. Business, Management and Accounting1.30×362 works
  9. Decision Sciences1.28×107 works
  10. Economics, Econometrics and Finance1.19×220 works
  11. Earth and Planetary Sciences1.14×155 works
  12. Energy1.06×84 works
  13. Veterinary1.02×12 works
  14. Engineering0.89×1,150 works
  15. Chemical Engineering0.87×26 works
  16. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology0.80×371 works
  17. Immunology and Microbiology0.76×67 works
  18. Medicine0.74×1,238 works
  19. Mathematics0.72×74 works
  20. Chemistry0.66×90 works
  21. Physics and Astronomy0.62×120 works
  22. Computer Science0.53×359 works
  23. Neuroscience0.41×58 works
  24. Materials Science0.37×111 works
  25. Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics0.35×11 works
  26. Dentistry0.17×7 works

Which keywords describe research in Stellenbosch?

By fractional works in 2022-now, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Sustainability, Biodiversity, Colonialism, Globalization, Invasive Species, Epidemiology and Human Rights.

▲ more of its work than of the world's◆ about the world's share▼ less than the world's

Size is fractional works in 2022-now in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this city's work against its share of the world's. The 40 words are chosen for being large and distinctive. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. Climate Change547▲ 2.0×108 topics
  2. Epidemiology404◆ 1.03×134 topics
  3. Sustainability396▲ 1.65×106 topics
  4. Globalization320▲ 1.66×115 topics
  5. Environmental Impact263▲ 1.57×59 topics
  6. Renewable Energy254▲ 1.78×52 topics
  7. Biodiversity233▲ 3.1×36 topics
  8. Human Rights228▲ 2.3×64 topics
  9. Mental Health209▲ 1.49×40 topics
  10. Colonialism193▲ 4.1×30 topics
  11. Invasive Species182▲ 4.4×21 topics
  12. Social Justice177▲ 3.0×39 topics
  13. Conservation141▲ 3.3×23 topics
  14. Higher Education139▲ 2.6×27 topics
  15. Nationalism122▲ 2.8×26 topics
  16. South Africa113▲ 42×4 topics
  17. Race109▲ 9.3×15 topics
  18. Development108▲ 3.1×17 topics
  19. Inequality107▲ 4.8×13 topics
  20. Social Movements102▲ 3.5×14 topics
  21. Global Change101▲ 3.9×7 topics
  22. Neoliberalism99▲ 2.8×21 topics
  23. Gender-based Violence99▲ 18×3 topics
  24. Population Dynamics98▲ 3.9×13 topics
  25. Habitat Fragmentation94▲ 4.4×5 topics
  26. Antiretroviral Therapy93▲ 5.8×6 topics
  27. Intersectionality84▲ 4.5×12 topics
  28. economic empowerment81▲ 52×1 topic
  29. protests81▲ 105×1 topic
  30. Ecosystem Functioning81▲ 4.0×7 topics
  31. Biological Invasions76▲ 8.5×3 topics
  32. African Christianity75▲ 33×2 topics
  33. Equality70▲ 12×7 topics
  34. Gender Dynamics68▲ 6.6×6 topics
  35. Environmental Governance67▲ 10.0×5 topics
  36. Judicial Review63▲ 7.5×4 topics
  37. Public Participation62▲ 29×2 topics
  38. Constitutionalism61▲ 7.1×4 topics
  39. Consumer Protection60▲ 14×2 topics
  40. Developmental Local Government58▲ 57×1 topic

What research is done in Stellenbosch?

South African History an…72South African History and Culture: 72 fractional worksLegal Issues in South Af…55Legal Issues in South Africa: 55 fractional worksChristian Theology and Mission: 48 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 44 fractional worksAfrican history and culture studies: 43 fractional worksEcology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies: 42 fractional worksTuberculosis Research and Epidemiology: 39 fractional worksAfrican cultural and phi…37African cultural and philosophical studies: 37 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 34 fractional worksEnergy and Environment Impacts: 32 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceLawReligious studiesAnthropology4 others

Area is fractional works; colour is the subfield each topic belongs to.

  1. 1 South African History and Culture Sociology and Political Science 72 works
  2. 2 Legal Issues in South Africa Law 55 works
  3. 3 Christian Theology and Mission Religious studies 48 works
  4. 4 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 44 works
  5. 5 African history and culture studies Anthropology 43 works
  6. 6 Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies Nature and Landscape Conservation 42 works
  7. 7 Tuberculosis Research and Epidemiology Infectious Diseases 39 works
  8. 8 African cultural and philosophical studies Education 37 works
  9. 9 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 34 works
  10. 10 Energy and Environment Impacts Pollution 32 works

Research output over time

still counting1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year, against all institutions in the same year.

still counting10%20%30%Stellenbosch18.7% in 2025all institutions10.0% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's output, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for its field and year. Peak 29.6% in 2016.

Discussion

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