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University · Boston · United States

Boston University

In research, Boston University stands highest in Health Sciences (#119 of 11,982 worldwide), Social Sciences (#111 of 10,521 worldwide) and Medicine (#132 of 10,443 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Biophysics, Cognitive Neuroscience and Health — Biophysics is 4.7× its share of world research.

bu.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#201
of 28,054 · #105 all time
Rank in United States
#55
of 4,192
Research works
78k
▲ 5% vs 2013–17
Citations
3.4M
43.4 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
22.9%
record average 16.5%
Open access
38%
world 28%

What is Boston 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
Health SciencesDomain #119 of 11,982 20.6%3,563 #61
Social SciencesDomain #111 of 10,521 27.8%2,629 #87
MedicineField #132 of 10,443 19.8%2,989 #63
Life SciencesDomain #141 of 7,800 22.3%1,436 #74
PsychologyField #46 of 2,181 27.0%631 #58
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #108 of 3,579 21.9%759 #78
Physical SciencesDomain #413 of 12,888 21.1%2,252 #181
Health ProfessionsField #62 of 1,928 25.2%453 #33
Social SciencesField #214 of 6,365 28.5%1,124 #171
General Health ProfessionsSubfield #35 of 916 27.8%290 #30

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Boston 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. Health Sciences#61 #119
  2. Social Sciences#87 #111
  3. Medicine#63 #132
  4. Life Sciences#74 #141
  5. Psychology#58 #46
  6. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#78 #108
  7. Physical Sciences#181 #413
  8. Health Professions#33 #62
  9. Social Sciences#171 #214
  10. General Health Professions#30 #35
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 Boston University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Biophysics takes 4.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. BiophysicsSubfield · 53.1 works4.7×
  2. Cognitive NeuroscienceSubfield · 258.1 works3.6×
  3. HealthSubfield · 101.0 works3.4×
  4. MusicSubfield · 25.1 works3.1×
  5. NeuroscienceField · 444.9 works2.8×
← 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: 0.19× its world share, 88 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 1.44× its world share, 759 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.28× its world share, 127 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.77× its world share, 445 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.50× its world share, 17 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.27× its world share, 9 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.44× its world share, 69 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.68× its world share, 526 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.57× its world share, 89 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.24× its world share, 22 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.42× its world share, 616 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.72× its world share, 353 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.33× its world share, 112 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.12× its world share, 130 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.49× its world share, 328 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.43× its world share, 69 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.74× its world share, 453 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 1.57× its world share, 2,989 worksMedicineNursing: 1.01× its world share, 49 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.31× its world share, 4 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.78× its world share, 223 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.72× its world share, 229 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.03× its world share, 98 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.53× its world share, 324 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.10× its world share, 631 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.90× its world share, 1,124 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Boston University?

Ranked on the composite score, Emelia J. Benjamin, Howard Gardner and Michael F. Holick lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Boston University.

  1. 1 Emelia J. Benjamin United States · #54 worldwide 6k citations · 166 works
  2. 2 Howard Gardner United States · #205 worldwide 3.7k citations · 123 works
  3. 3 Michael F. Holick United States · #647 worldwide 2.8k citations · 167 works
  4. 4 David P. Faxon United States · #1,253 worldwide 3k citations · 88 works
  5. 5 Ralph B. D’Agostino United States · #1,370 worldwide 3.8k citations · 256 works
  6. 6 Stephen Grossberg United States · #1,406 worldwide 2.9k citations · 146 works
  7. 7 C. W. Walter United States · #1,712 worldwide 2.3k citations · 96 works
  8. 8 Curtis E. Woodcock United States · #1,962 worldwide 2.8k citations · 90 works
  9. 9 S. P. Ahlen United States · #2,208 worldwide 6.6k citations · 366 works
  10. 10 Philip A. Wolf United States · #2,452 worldwide 1.6k citations · 76 works
All ranked researchers at Boston University

Which keywords describe research at Boston University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Mental Health, Public Health, Inflammation, Health Disparities, Risk Factors, Cardiovascular Disease and Quality of Life.

▲ 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. Epidemiology702▲ 1.80×131 topics
  2. Mental Health351▲ 2.4×42 topics
  3. Public Health344▲ 2.4×58 topics
  4. Inflammation342▲ 1.66×80 topics
  5. Machine Learning268▼ 0.83×87 topics
  6. Deep Learning262▼ 0.78×82 topics
  7. Quality of Life228▲ 1.60×56 topics
  8. Risk Factors226▲ 2.1×37 topics
  9. Cardiovascular Disease221▲ 2.0×38 topics
  10. Oxidative Stress219▲ 1.35×58 topics
  11. Climate Change199▼ 0.75×92 topics
  12. Treatment182▲ 1.52×51 topics
  13. Cancer169▲ 1.27×52 topics
  14. Depression167▲ 1.92×22 topics
  15. Health Disparities148▲ 5.7×9 topics
  16. Metabolic Syndrome145▲ 1.80×22 topics
  17. Mortality142▲ 2.5×13 topics
  18. Biomarkers132▲ 1.95×17 topics
  19. Social Support127▲ 2.3×18 topics
  20. Diagnosis127▲ 1.38×40 topics
  21. Global Burden125▲ 2.4×12 topics
  22. Aging124▲ 2.3×17 topics
  23. Genetics122▲ 1.77×24 topics
  24. Neurological Disorders118▲ 2.1×20 topics
  25. Resilience110▲ 2.3×15 topics
  26. Primary Care102▲ 2.7×15 topics
  27. Mortality Risk101▲ 4.3×6 topics
  28. Global Burden of Disease100▲ 4.1×4 topics
  29. Anxiety98▲ 2.1×11 topics
  30. Neuroinflammation96▲ 3.4×6 topics
  31. Neuroimaging94▲ 3.5×11 topics
  32. Health Equity88▲ 3.2×6 topics
  33. Health Outcomes81▲ 3.0×8 topics
  34. Antiretroviral Therapy73▲ 4.5×6 topics
  35. Substance Use Disorders72▲ 10×2 topics
  36. Psychiatric Disorders69▲ 5.3×4 topics
  37. Health Care Utilization68▲ 6.0×3 topics
  38. Cognitive Decline67▲ 5.6×2 topics
  39. Mortality Rates57▲ 6.1×2 topics
  40. Substance Abuse56▲ 7.8×2 topics

Which research topics does Boston University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research, Neural dynamics and brain function, Health disparities and outcomes and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.

Dementia and Cognitive I…52Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 52 fractional worksNeural dynamics and brai…39Neural dynamics and brain function: 39 fractional worksHealth disparities and outcomes: 39 fractional worksOpioid Use Disorder Treatment: 39 fractional worksAlzheimer's disease research and treatments: 35 fractional worksOsteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms: 35 fractional worksHIV/AIDS Research and Interventions: 34 fractional worksSubstance Abuse Treatmen…33Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes: 33 fractional worksClimate Change and Health Impacts: 33 fractional worksLGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy: 32 fractional works
Psychiatry and Mental healthCognitive NeuroscienceHealthPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health6 others

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

  1. 1 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research Psychiatry and Mental health 52 works
  2. 2 Neural dynamics and brain function Cognitive Neuroscience 39 works
  3. 3 Health disparities and outcomes Health 39 works
  4. 4 Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 39 works
  5. 5 Alzheimer's disease research and treatments Physiology 35 works
  6. 6 Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms Rheumatology 35 works
  7. 7 HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Infectious Diseases 34 works
  8. 8 Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes Epidemiology 33 works
  9. 9 Climate Change and Health Impacts Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis 33 works
  10. 10 LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Social Psychology 32 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 available37.6%not open62.4%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors16.8%domestic only83.2%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Boston University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 5% 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 Boston

All research institutions in Boston

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.