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University · Canberra · Australia

Australian National University

In research, Australian National University stands highest in Social Sciences (#33 of 6,365 worldwide), Social Sciences (#66 of 10,521 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#203 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Public Administration, Anthropology and Geography, Planning and Development — Public Administration is 6.1× its share of world research.

anu.edu.auROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#226
of 28,054 · #95 all time
Rank in Australia
#7
of 391
Research works
93k
▼ 4% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.1M
32.6 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
33%
world 28%

What is Australian National 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 SciencesField #33 of 6,365 24.5%2,661 #34
Social SciencesDomain #66 of 10,521 24.1%4,557 #52
Physical SciencesDomain #203 of 12,888 22.8%3,698 #80
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #43 of 2,578 22.5%910 #37
Political Science and International RelationsSubfield #24 of 1,201 23.8%557 #17
Arts and HumanitiesField #50 of 1,998 21.3%441 #63
DemographySubfield #12 of 413 26.2%177 #16
Geography, Planning and DevelopmentSubfield #3 of 99 32.1%96 #1
Computer ScienceField #172 of 4,667 22.3%766 #183
Environmental ScienceField #149 of 3,551 28.6%660 #39

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Australian National 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#34 #33
  2. Social Sciences#52 #66
  3. Physical Sciences#80 #203
  4. Sociology and Political Science#37 #43
  5. Political Science and International Relations#17 #24
  6. Arts and Humanities#63 #50
  7. Demography#16 #12
  8. Geography, Planning and Development#1 #3
  9. Computer Science#183 #172
  10. Environmental Science#39 #149
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 Australian National University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Public Administration takes 6.1× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Public AdministrationSubfield · 33.1 works6.1×
  2. AnthropologySubfield · 139.2 works4.9×
  3. Geography, Planning and DevelopmentSubfield · 96.1 works4.7×
  4. InstrumentationSubfield · 23.3 works4.7×
  5. PaleontologySubfield · 54.5 works4.5×
  6. DevelopmentSubfield · 43.0 works4.2×
← 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: 0.56× its world share, 268 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.58× its world share, 312 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.45× its world share, 46 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.91× its world share, 148 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.33× its world share, 12 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.53× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.01× its world share, 160 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.98× its world share, 766 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.20× its world share, 346 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.24× its world share, 114 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.55× its world share, 836 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.32× its world share, 660 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.63× its world share, 221 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.95× its world share, 112 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.07× its world share, 463 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.08× its world share, 4 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.09× its world share, 288 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.35× its world share, 682 worksMedicineNursing: 0.57× its world share, 28 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.60× its world share, 8 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.52× its world share, 441 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.12× its world share, 362 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.42× its world share, 138 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.53× its world share, 544 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.34× its world share, 411 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.09× its world share, 2,661 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Economics, Econometrics and Finance, 2.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Australian National University?

Ranked on the composite score, Robert Costanza, Geoffrey Brennan and B. A. Peterson lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Australian National University.

  1. 1 Robert Costanza Australia · #1,631 worldwide 3.2k citations · 158 works
  2. 2 Geoffrey Brennan Australia · #2,219 worldwide 993 citations · 81 works
  3. 3 B. A. Peterson Australia · #4,981 worldwide 1.9k citations · 140 works
  4. 4 Ian McAllister Australia · #5,245 worldwide 985 citations · 132 works
  5. 5 Will Steffen Australia · #5,420 worldwide 1.2k citations · 78 works
  6. 6 Bryan Rodgers Australia · #6,042 worldwide 756 citations · 74 works
  7. 7 Kurt Lambeck Australia · #6,363 worldwide 1.6k citations · 110 works
  8. 8 Hedley Bull Australia · #6,659 worldwide 745 citations · 57 works
  9. 9 Xuemei Bai Australia · #7,378 worldwide 1.4k citations · 56 works
  10. 10 J.B. Moore Australia · #7,436 worldwide 1.4k citations · 109 works
All ranked researchers at Australian National University

Which keywords describe research at Australian National University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Climate Change, Economic Development, Vulnerability, Colonialism, Governance, Economic Growth and Sustainability.

▲ 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. Climate Change613▲ 2.3×104 topics
  2. Globalization591▲ 3.0×122 topics
  3. Sustainability358▲ 1.46×91 topics
  4. Deep Learning298▼ 0.86×81 topics
  5. Economic Development296▲ 3.6×32 topics
  6. Machine Learning280▼ 0.85×88 topics
  7. Economic Growth256▲ 3.0×28 topics
  8. Human Rights253▲ 2.5×62 topics
  9. Colonialism231▲ 4.8×41 topics
  10. Public Health214▲ 1.47×62 topics
  11. Environmental Impact202▲ 1.19×57 topics
  12. Vulnerability201▲ 8.9×9 topics
  13. Mental Health199▲ 1.35×45 topics
  14. Governance197▲ 6.0×14 topics
  15. Resilience182▲ 3.8×17 topics
  16. History164▲ 2.3×39 topics
  17. Identity162▲ 2.2×56 topics
  18. International Law150▲ 4.9×24 topics
  19. Neoliberalism150▲ 4.2×24 topics
  20. Nationalism146▲ 3.1×29 topics
  21. Political Economy144▲ 5.5×17 topics
  22. Ethics142▲ 2.9×35 topics
  23. Decolonization139▲ 17×7 topics
  24. Global Governance128▲ 5.6×19 topics
  25. National Identity118▲ 10×6 topics
  26. Global Warming116▲ 2.8×14 topics
  27. Democracy110▲ 3.1×20 topics
  28. Monetary Policy104▲ 4.3×11 topics
  29. Public Opinion100▲ 8.0×6 topics
  30. Corruption97▲ 6.1×6 topics
  31. Pacific91▲ 48×2 topics
  32. Archaeology86▲ 6.4×11 topics
  33. Islands85▲ 72×1 topic
  34. Small States85▲ 72×1 topic
  35. Cultural History83▲ 6.8×14 topics
  36. Cultural Turn78▲ 35×2 topics
  37. Transnational History77▲ 55×2 topics
  38. Australian history76▲ 73×1 topic
  39. British imperialism76▲ 73×1 topic
  40. Island Ecosystems71▲ 22×2 topics

Which research topics does Australian National University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Island Studies and Pacific Affairs, Australian History and Society, Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies and Asian Studies and History.

Island Studies and Pacific Affairs: 85 fractional worksAustralian History and Society: 76 fractional worksPacific and Southeast As…66Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies: 66 fractional worksAsian Studies and History50Asian Studies and History: 50 fractional worksInternational Development and Aid: 40 fractional worksGeological and Geochemical Analysis: 38 fractional worksIndigenous Health, Educa…37Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights: 37 fractional worksClimate Change, Adaptation, Migration: 36 fractional worksWildlife Ecology and Conservation: 36 fractional worksCommonwealth, Australian…35Commonwealth, Australian Politics and Federalism: 35 fractional works
DemographySociology and Political ScienceGeography, Planning and DevelopmentDevelopment4 others

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

  1. 1 Island Studies and Pacific Affairs Demography 85 works
  2. 2 Australian History and Society Sociology and Political Science 76 works
  3. 3 Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies Geography, Planning and Development 66 works
  4. 4 Asian Studies and History Sociology and Political Science 50 works
  5. 5 International Development and Aid Development 40 works
  6. 6 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 38 works
  7. 7 Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights Health 37 works
  8. 8 Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration Sociology and Political Science 36 works
  9. 9 Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Ecology 36 works
  10. 10 Commonwealth, Australian Politics and Federalism Political Science and International Relations 35 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 available32.6%not open67.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors22.2%domestic only77.8%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Australian National University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 4% lower 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 Canberra

All research institutions in Canberra

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.