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University · Washington · United States

American University

In research, American University stands highest in Social Sciences (#699 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#515 of 6,365 worldwide) and Political Science and International Relations (#128 of 1,201 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Gender Studies, Political Science and International Relations and Communication — Gender Studies is 6.3× its share of world research.

american.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,589
of 28,054 · #1,707 all time
Rank in United States
#383
of 4,192
Research works
18k
▲ 2% vs 2013–17
Citations
294k
16.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
19.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
37%
world 28%

What is American University known for in research?

The fields where it stands highest, 2022–2025, ranked among every institution above the floor in each field.

FieldWorld rankWhere that sitsTop-10% rateWorksAll time
Social SciencesDomain #699 of 10,521 20.0%1,487 #334
Social SciencesField #515 of 6,365 20.5%875 #230
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #128 of 1,201 18.9%202 #105
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #390 of 2,578 22.2%304 #172
Physical SciencesDomain #3,728 of 12,888 19.6%370 #2476
Health SciencesDomain #4,230 of 11,982 13.4%202 #4040
Business, Management and AccountingField #982 of 2,578 22.9%163 #466
MedicineField #4,173 of 10,443 12.2%128 #6326
Economics, Econometrics and FinanceField #729 of 1,775 19.2%169 #299
Life SciencesDomain #3,359 of 7,800 15.0%120 #2578

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where American University sits in it, in the colour of the band that rank falls in. The track under the rate is the rate itself: it carries no world mark, because the world rate differs by field (from about 6% to 21% in this record).

Which of those standings moved

The same fields on both windows: where it stood over the whole record, and where it stands in 2022–2025. The distance is the story, and it is the one thing the two rank columns above cannot show.

  1. Social Sciences#334 #699
  2. Social Sciences#230 #515
  3. Political Science and International Relations#105 #128
  4. Sociology and Political Science#172 #390
  5. Physical Sciences#2,476 #3,728
  6. Health Sciences#4,040 #4,230
  7. Business, Management and Accounting#466 #982
  8. Medicine#6,326 #4,173
  9. Economics, Econometrics and Finance#299 #729
  10. Life Sciences#2,578 #3,359
all time2022–2025, better2022–2025, worse

A dot further right is a better standing. Fields it was not ranked in over the whole record are left out.

What does American University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Gender Studies takes 6.3× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Gender StudiesSubfield · 49.4 works6.3×
  2. Political Science and International RelationsSubfield · 202.4 works6.2×
  3. CommunicationSubfield · 33.8 works5.7×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient, a volume reading rather than an impact one. It surfaces small, lopsided specialities.

Field profile

Location quotient across every field it publishes in: outside the ring is more than an institution of this size would be expected to publish, inside it is less.

Agricultural and Biological Sciences: 0.45× its world share, 46 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.29× its world share, 34 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.18× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.92× its world share, 32 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.43× its world share, 3 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.20× its world share, 2 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.20× its world share, 7 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.86× its world share, 146 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.38× its world share, 13 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.57× its world share, 11 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.20× its world share, 65 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.62× its world share, 67 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.08× its world share, 6 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.66× its world share, 17 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 0.72× its world share, 35 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.46× its world share, 5 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.10× its world share, 63 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.31× its world share, 128 worksMedicineNursing: 0.41× its world share, 4 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.26× its world share, 1 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.99× its world share, 125 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 2.32× its world share, 163 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.84× its world share, 39 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 3.63× its world share, 169 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.74× its world share, 116 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 3.18× its world share, 876 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 3.6×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at American University?

Ranked on the composite score, J. E. Lord, S. E. Rock and Z. M. Szalata lead among researchers whose main affiliation is American University.

  1. 1 J. E. Lord United States · #25,724 worldwide 422 citations · 41 works
  2. 2 S. E. Rock United States · #48,476 worldwide 642 citations · 34 works
  3. 3 Z. M. Szalata United States · #49,487 worldwide 612 citations · 36 works
  4. 4 Paul Williams United States · #53,705 worldwide 304 citations · 103 works
  5. 5 Amitav Acharya United States · #55,404 worldwide 252 citations · 80 works
  6. 6 P. Bosted United States · #57,721 worldwide 583 citations · 46 works
  7. 7 Deborah Bräutigam United States · #67,312 worldwide 450 citations · 26 works
  8. 8 Rita J. Simon United States · #70,792 worldwide 202 citations · 89 works
  9. 9 Barbara R. Bergmann United States · #75,604 worldwide 225 citations · 54 works
  10. 10 Naomi S. Baron United States · #79,934 worldwide 170 citations · 37 works
All ranked researchers at American University

Which keywords describe research at American University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Nationalism, Human Rights, Democracy, Economic Growth, Global Governance, Identity and International Law.

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

Size is fractional works in 2022–2025 in the topics tagged with each word; colour is the word's share of this institution'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. Globalization192▲ 4.5×95 topics
  2. Human Rights88▲ 3.9×60 topics
  3. Machine Learning85▲ 1.19×69 topics
  4. Social Media77▲ 2.5×31 topics
  5. Nationalism73▲ 7.2×25 topics
  6. Economic Growth71▲ 3.9×27 topics
  7. Sustainability70▲ 1.32×69 topics
  8. Identity64▲ 4.0×41 topics
  9. Mental Health63▲ 1.96×37 topics
  10. Democracy57▲ 7.3×21 topics
  11. Gender56▲ 4.7×36 topics
  12. Education56▲ 1.49×64 topics
  13. Innovation55▲ 2.4×39 topics
  14. Global Governance49▲ 9.8×21 topics
  15. Neoliberalism48▲ 6.2×21 topics
  16. International Law47▲ 7.1×23 topics
  17. Colonialism45▲ 4.4×36 topics
  18. Politics45▲ 7.6×15 topics
  19. Public Opinion44▲ 16×5 topics
  20. Economic Development44▲ 2.5×26 topics
  21. Corporate Governance43▲ 2.7×23 topics
  22. Political Economy41▲ 7.3×16 topics
  23. History40▲ 2.6×28 topics
  24. Ethics36▲ 3.4×28 topics
  25. Social Capital36▲ 3.1×18 topics
  26. Religion35▲ 3.3×23 topics
  27. International Relations34▲ 6.6×22 topics
  28. Governance34▲ 4.8×15 topics
  29. Discrimination33▲ 7.8×8 topics
  30. Feminism31▲ 5.1×18 topics
  31. Labor Market30▲ 4.7×11 topics
  32. Monetary Policy29▲ 5.5×10 topics
  33. NGOs29▲ 13×4 topics
  34. Immigration29▲ 12×6 topics
  35. Firm Performance28▲ 7.0×3 topics
  36. Intersectionality25▲ 6.3×11 topics
  37. Race24▲ 9.9×15 topics
  38. Gender Inequality23▲ 7.6×6 topics
  39. Ethnic Identity22▲ 8.8×5 topics
  40. Genocide22▲ 18×3 topics

Which research topics does American University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: American Constitutional Law and Politics, Big Data and Business Intelligence, Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies and Electoral Systems and Political Participation.

American Constitutional …17American Constitutional Law and Politics: 17 fractional worksBig Data and Business In…17Big Data and Business Intelligence: 17 fractional worksJewish and Middle Eastern Studies: 15 fractional worksElectoral Systems and Political Participation: 14 fractional worksTerrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence: 14 fractional worksMigration and Labor Dynamics: 13 fractional worksGlobal Peace and Security Dynamics: 13 fractional worksSocial Media and Politics12Social Media and Politics: 12 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 11 fractional worksPublic Policy and Administration Research: 11 fractional works
Political Science and International RelationsManagement Information SystemsSociology and Political ScienceCommunication2 others

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

  1. 1 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 17 works
  2. 2 Big Data and Business Intelligence Management Information Systems 17 works
  3. 3 Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies Sociology and Political Science 15 works
  4. 4 Electoral Systems and Political Participation Political Science and International Relations 14 works
  5. 5 Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence Sociology and Political Science 14 works
  6. 6 Migration and Labor Dynamics Sociology and Political Science 13 works
  7. 7 Global Peace and Security Dynamics Political Science and International Relations 13 works
  8. 8 Social Media and Politics Communication 12 works
  9. 9 International Development and Aid Development 11 works
  10. 10 Public Policy and Administration Research Public Administration 11 works

How open and international is its research?

Against the world’s own shares — the tick on each track. Both are shares of its output, so they sit on one scale and can be read against each other as well as against the world.

openly available37.1%not open62.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors8.7%domestic only91.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has American University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 2% higher than in 2013–2017.

1990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

Other research institutions in Washington

All research institutions in Washington

Research measures only: rankings here say nothing about teaching, admissions or student experience. Comparable institutions and collaboration partners are in the interactive view on the map.