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Field · Social Sciences

Arts and Humanities research

Arts and Humanities is a field of the Social Sciences. Science Explorer counts 3.2M research works in it since 1950. 16.1% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

In short: examination of human culture, including art, literature, philosophy, history, and artifacts.

Research works
3.2M
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
516k
per year above
Top-10% rate
16.1%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Topics
266
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+29%
the tick is no change

What is Arts and Humanities research about, and what is growing?

By the world's output in 2019–23, its most used keywords are History, Identity, Globalization, Literature, Philosophy, Cultural Studies. Gaining share since 2009–13: Language Education, Ethnography, Student Perceptions, Cultural Heritage, Linguistics. Losing share: Corpus Linguistics, Religion, Lexicography, Theology.

▲ gaining share of this field◆ holding its share▼ losing share

Size is the world's fractional works in 2019–23 in the topics tagged with each word; colour compares the word's share of this field with 2009–13. Each links to the topic it comes from most.

All 40 words, with their numbers
  1. History95k◆ 0.90×38 topics
  2. Identity87k◆ 1.04×38 topics
  3. Globalization85k◆ 0.92×23 topics
  4. Literature79k◆ 0.91×47 topics
  5. Philosophy62k◆ 0.94×37 topics
  6. Cultural Studies60k◆ 1.08×21 topics
  7. Cultural Heritage56k▲ 1.68×17 topics
  8. Colonialism54k◆ 1.00×20 topics
  9. Culture52k◆ 0.93×20 topics
  10. Education49k◆ 1.14×30 topics
  11. Discourse Analysis49k▲ 1.27×5 topics
  12. Gender48k◆ 0.91×24 topics
  13. Religion41k▼ 0.83×19 topics
  14. Pragmatics40k◆ 1.09×5 topics
  15. Ethics40k◆ 0.89×26 topics
  16. Cultural Identity38k◆ 0.90×14 topics
  17. Narrative34k◆ 1.14×11 topics
  18. Linguistics32k▲ 1.55×6 topics
  19. Sociolinguistics30k◆ 0.99×4 topics
  20. Innovation29k◆ 1.06×7 topics
  21. Urban Development29k◆ 1.15×6 topics
  22. Society27k◆ 0.90×14 topics
  23. Rhetoric27k◆ 0.99×3 topics
  24. Cultural Exchange26k◆ 0.91×8 topics
  25. Student Perceptions25k▲ 1.75×2 topics
  26. Corpus Linguistics25k▼ 0.77×3 topics
  27. Cultural History25k◆ 0.90×14 topics
  28. Language Teaching24k◆ 0.92×3 topics
  29. Anthropology24k◆ 1.12×6 topics
  30. Theology24k▼ 0.86×5 topics
  31. Memory23k◆ 0.98×11 topics
  32. Language Education23k▲ 2.2×2 topics
  33. Language Contact23k▲ 1.29×4 topics
  34. Lexicography22k▼ 0.84×4 topics
  35. Ethnography22k▲ 1.91×10 topics
  36. Art21k◆ 1.13×17 topics
  37. Multilingualism21k▲ 1.25×2 topics
  38. Feminism21k◆ 0.88×10 topics
  39. Language Policy20k◆ 1.12×2 topics
  40. Media Studies20k◆ 1.15×3 topics

Which countries lead Arts and Humanities research?

On research quality in 2022–2025, the United States, the United Kingdom and Indonesia rank highest in Arts and Humanities. By volume, the United States and France publish the most (85k and 43k works in 2022–2025).

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States · #1 all time 15.3% top 10% · 85k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom · #2 all time 18.3% top 10% · 36k works
  3. 3 Indonesia · #9 all time 13.1% top 10% · 36k works
  4. 4 Germany · #3 all time 12.6% top 10% · 34k works
  5. 5 China · #12 all time 23.0% top 10% · 21k works
  6. 6 Italy · #4 all time 16.1% top 10% · 19k works
  7. 7 Türkiye · #13 all time 16.3% top 10% · 39k works
  8. 8 Spain · #8 all time 15.8% top 10% · 35k works
  9. 9 South Africa · #6 all time 26.6% top 10% · 4.3k works
  10. 10 Australia · #7 all time 21.4% top 10% · 9.7k works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 106 countries ranked in Arts and Humanities. Composite of field-normalised excellence (50%), output (30%) and citations (20%); the bracket is the all-time rank.

All countries ranked in Arts and Humanities

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 85k works
  2. 2 France 43k works
  3. 3 Brazil 40k works
  4. 4 Türkiye 39k works
  5. 5 United Kingdom 36k works
  6. 6 Indonesia 36k works
  7. 7 Spain 35k works
  8. 8 Germany 34k works
  9. 9 China 21k works
  10. 10 Italy 19k works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 22.0%France: 11.0%Brazil: 10.2%Türkiye: 10.0%6 others listed: 46.8%22%largest
United States85k · 22.0%France43k · 11.0%Brazil40k · 10.2%Türkiye39k · 10.0%6 others listed182k · 46.8%

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

Which institutions lead Arts and Humanities research?

Institut Sains dan Teknologi Terpadu Surabaya (Indonesia) ranks first in Arts and Humanities on research quality in 2022–2025, followed by Jakarta Theological Seminary and University of South Africa.

By research quality, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Institut Sains dan Teknologi Terpadu Surabaya Indonesia · Surabaya · #4 all time 25.1% top 10% · 746 works
  2. 2 Jakarta Theological Seminary Indonesia · Jakarta · #5 all time 23.0% top 10% · 796 works
  3. 3 University of South Africa South Africa · Pretoria · #7 all time 29.6% top 10% · 577 works
  4. 4 Institut Agama Kristen Negeri Palangka Raya ?? · Palangkaraya 40.9% top 10% · 78 works
  5. 5 University of Oxford United Kingdom · Oxford · #3 all time 17.0% top 10% · 2.4k works
  6. 6 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Bengkulu Indonesia · Bengkulu · #47 all time 17.4% top 10% · 990 works
  7. 7 North-West University South Africa · Potchefstroom · #6 all time 32.0% top 10% · 357 works
  8. 8 University of Cambridge United Kingdom · Cambridge · #2 all time 16.1% top 10% · 2.2k works
  9. 9 Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta Indonesia · Sleman 19.6% top 10% · 265 works
  10. 10 University of Pretoria South Africa · Pretoria · #1 all time 23.0% top 10% · 539 works

The track on each row is that row’s top-10% rate. The ranking itself is the composite score, which the rate is only one part of.

Of 1,998 institutions above the floor of 40 fractional works in Arts and Humanities.

Top 100 Arts and Humanities institutions

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid Spain 2.9k works
  2. 2 University of Oxford United Kingdom 2.4k works
  3. 3 University of Cambridge United Kingdom 2.2k works
  4. 4 Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 2k works
  5. 5 Weatherford College United States 1.8k works
  6. 6 Film Independent United States 1.7k works
  7. 7 Universidad de Sevilla Spain 1.6k works
  8. 8 Ca' Foscari University of Venice Italy 1.5k works
  9. 9 Universidad de Granada Spain 1.5k works
  10. 10 Jagiellonian University Poland 1.5k works

Who are the leading researchers in Arts and Humanities?

Among the most productive authors in Arts and Humanities, Michel Foucault, Noam Chomsky and Charles Tilly rank highest on the composite score.

  1. 1 Michel Foucault Poland · #5 worldwide 4.6k citations · 194 works
  2. 2 Noam Chomsky United States · #7 worldwide 3.7k citations · 239 works
  3. 3 Charles Tilly United States · #8 worldwide 3.7k citations · 238 works
  4. 4 Stanley Hoffmann United States · #21 worldwide 2.3k citations · 197 works
  5. 5 Sigmund Freud United States · #25 worldwide 2.7k citations · 174 works
  6. 6 Sander L. Gilman United States · #37 worldwide 4.2k citations · 154 works
  7. 7 Jacques Derrida France · #82 worldwide 1.3k citations · 192 works
  8. 8 Stuart Hall United Kingdom · #115 worldwide 1.9k citations · 137 works
  9. 9 Fritz Stern United States · #126 worldwide 1.2k citations · 183 works
  10. 10 Peter Burke United States · #136 worldwide 997 citations · 191 works

Re-ranked on the composite score from the 4,424 highest-output authors in Arts and Humanities. Identities come from OpenAlex author disambiguation, which occasionally merges or splits people.

Top 100 Arts and Humanities researchers

Where is Arts and Humanities research done?

The largest centres of Arts and Humanities research in 2022–2025 are Paris (France), Madrid (Spain), London (United Kingdom) and Ankara (Türkiye). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Guyancourt, Sulzbach-Rosenberg and Pápa.

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Paris France 14k works
  2. 2 Madrid Spain 8.8k works
  3. 3 London United Kingdom 7.4k works
  4. 4 Ankara Türkiye 6.7k works
  5. 5 São Paulo Brazil 6.5k works
  6. 6 Moscow Russia 5.9k works
  7. 7 Istanbul Türkiye 5.6k works
  8. 8 New York United States 4.8k works
  9. 9 Warsaw Poland 4.3k works
  10. 10 Jakarta Indonesia 4.1k works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. Guyancourt24.1 works22×
  2. Sulzbach-RosenbergDE · 152.2 works20×
  3. PápaHU · 24.3 works20×
  4. MundeleinUS · 25.9 works19×
  5. WilmoreUS · 98.5 works19×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Arts and Humanities than the world average.

See Arts and Humanities on the map

Arts and Humanities research by country

The best places for Arts and Humanities research inside each country, with that country's researchers and world standing.

Where is the best place to study Arts and Humanities?

Among universities, judged by research, Jakarta Theological Seminary, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Ankara Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%30%mean 17.25%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Jakarta Theological Seminary: 796, 23.0%Ca' Foscari University of Venice: 1,495, 10.4%Ankara Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi: 965, 13.1%Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University: 792, 14.8%John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin: 887, 13.6%Universidad Complutense de Madrid: 2,931, 14.5%Institut Sains dan Teknologi Terpadu Surabaya: 746, 25.1%Mardin Artuklu University: 409, 17.6%University of Vienna: 1,323, 18.6%Anadolu University: 456, 21.8%Jakarta Theological …Ankara Hacı Bayram V…Ankara Sosyal Biliml…Ca' Foscari Universi…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Jakarta Theological Seminary Indonesia 63.923.0%11.9×796 +313.9%
2Ca' Foscari University of Venice Italy 62.610.4%10.5×1,495 +357.3%
3Ankara Sosyal Bilimler Üniversitesi Türkiye 59.013.1%9.8×965 +476.3%
4Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Türkiye 56.814.8%9.3×792 +5254.8%
5John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin Poland 55.813.6%8.9×887 +194.0%
6Universidad Complutense de Madrid Spain 51.314.5%6.6×2,931 +34.6%
7Institut Sains dan Teknologi Terpadu Surabaya Indonesia 50.425.1%4.5×746 +1241.7%
8Mardin Artuklu University Türkiye 49.417.6%7.9×409 +409.0%
9University of Vienna Austria 48.718.6%4.6×1,323 +106.4%
10Anadolu University Türkiye 48.321.8%6.0×456 +253.1%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Arts and Humanities research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 29% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Linguistics and Education Research, Cultural, Media, and Literary Studies and Literature, Culture, and Criticism.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

  1. Linguistics and Education Research+403%
  2. Cultural, Media, and Literary Studies+312%
  3. Literature, Culture, and Criticism+258%
  4. Second Language Learning and Teaching+152%
  5. History of Science and Medicine+150%
  6. Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis+141%
  7. Translation Studies and Practices-3%
← shrinkingno changegrowing →

Growth in output from 2005–09 to 2015–19. Every topic is a page of its own.

What does Arts and Humanities include?

EFL/ESL Teaching and Lea…64kEFL/ESL Teaching and Learning: 64k fractional worksHistorical Studies and S…56kHistorical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 56k fractional worksSecond Language Learning and Teaching: 52k fractional worksTranslation Studies and Practices: 50k fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 46k fractional worksLinguistics and Discours…44kLinguistics and Discourse Analysis: 44k fractional worksReformation and Early Modern Christianity: 43k fractional worksCultural, Media, and Literary Studies: 42k fractional worksMental Health and Psychi…41kMental Health and Psychiatry: 41k fractional worksLinguistics and Education Research: 39k fractional worksHermeneutics and Narrative Identity: 38k fractional worksLanguage, Discourse, Communication Strategies: 34k fractional works

Area is fractional works in that topic. Every name below is a page of its own.