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University · Brunswick · United States

Bowdoin College

In research, Bowdoin College stands highest in Social Sciences (#3,300 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,640 of 6,365 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#9,199 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025.

bowdoin.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#8,610
of 28,054 · #4,689 all time
Rank in United States
#1,145
of 4,192
Research works
3.4k
▼ 9% vs 2013–17
Citations
61k
17.7 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
14.2%
record average 16.5%
Open access
27%
world 28%

What is Bowdoin College 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 #3,300 of 10,521 15.9%252 #1182
Social SciencesField #2,640 of 6,365 19.6%141 #1342
Physical SciencesDomain #9,199 of 12,888 10.9%102 #4798
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,928 of 2,578 17.7%61 #1570
Arts and HumanitiesField #1,920 of 1,998 11.0%65 #854

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Bowdoin College 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#1,182 #3,300
  2. Social Sciences#1,342 #2,640
  3. Physical Sciences#4,798 #9,199
  4. Sociology and Political Science#1,570 #1,928
  5. Arts and Humanities#854 #1,920
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.

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: 0.47× its world share, 9 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.45× its world share, 10 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.25× its world share, 1 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 2.77× its world share, 18 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.15× its world share, 0 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.35× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.70× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.72× its world share, 23 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.08× its world share, 7 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.22× its world share, 14 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.96× its world share, 20 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.10× its world share, 2 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.34× its world share, 11 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 2.23× its world share, 20 worksPhysics and AstronomyHealth Professions: 0.57× its world share, 6 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.14× its world share, 11 worksMedicineNursing: 0.10× its world share, 0 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.07× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 5.52× its world share, 65 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.48× its world share, 6 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.10× its world share, 4 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 2.03× its world share, 18 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.36× its world share, 17 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 2.72× its world share, 141 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 5.5×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Bowdoin College?

Ranked on the composite score, Edward C. Kirkland, Thomas W. Baumgarte and E. C. Helmreich lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Bowdoin College.

  1. 1 Edward C. Kirkland United States · #40,173 worldwide 178 citations · 46 works
  2. 2 Thomas W. Baumgarte United States · #50,459 worldwide 680 citations · 51 works
  3. 3 E. C. Helmreich United States · #61,350 worldwide 86 citations · 41 works
  4. 4 A. E. Bence United States · #120,665 worldwide 207 citations · 35 works
  5. 5 A. Myrick Freeman United States · #140,241 worldwide 157 citations · 32 works
  6. 6 Barry A. Logan United States · #141,943 worldwide 338 citations · 41 works
  7. 7 Nathaniel T. Wheelwright United States · #147,931 worldwide 186 citations · 26 works
  8. 8 Kristen Ghodsee United States · #150,428 worldwide 76 citations · 31 works
  9. 9 Arthur Hussey United States · #159,393 worldwide 54 citations · 54 works
  10. 10 B. Zorina Khan United States · #214,316 worldwide 170 citations · 31 works
All ranked researchers at Bowdoin College

Which keywords describe research at Bowdoin College?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Gender, Identity, Colonialism, History, Literature, Nationalism, Culture and Globalization.

▲ 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. Gender31▲ 14×31 topics
  2. Identity30▲ 10×32 topics
  3. Colonialism28▲ 14×25 topics
  4. Globalization26▲ 3.2×43 topics
  5. History25▲ 8.8×32 topics
  6. Literature24▲ 11×25 topics
  7. Nationalism22▲ 11×21 topics
  8. Culture20▲ 9.4×19 topics
  9. Climate Change18▲ 1.66×39 topics
  10. Human Rights14▲ 3.2×20 topics
  11. Feminism14▲ 12×11 topics
  12. Religion14▲ 6.9×16 topics
  13. Social Movements13▲ 11×7 topics
  14. Politics13▲ 11×12 topics
  15. Cultural Studies12▲ 8.0×13 topics
  16. Society12▲ 16×12 topics
  17. Ethics12▲ 6.2×16 topics
  18. Neoliberalism12▲ 8.2×13 topics
  19. Race11▲ 24×11 topics
  20. Postcolonialism9▲ 17×8 topics
  21. Cold War9▲ 33×5 topics
  22. Migration9▲ 6.2×12 topics
  23. Imperialism8▲ 24×5 topics
  24. Democracy8▲ 5.3×11 topics
  25. Decolonization7▲ 22×3 topics
  26. Philosophy7▲ 4.0×13 topics
  27. Cosmopolitanism7▲ 16×5 topics
  28. Memory7▲ 6.9×8 topics
  29. Black Studies7▲ 72×1 topic
  30. Civil Rights Movement7▲ 72×1 topic
  31. Community7▲ 14×6 topics
  32. Economy6▲ 20×4 topics
  33. Political Economy6▲ 5.2×8 topics
  34. Gender Dynamics5▲ 12×5 topics
  35. Narrative5▲ 7.9×7 topics
  36. Media5▲ 8.0×5 topics
  37. Anthropocene5▲ 21×2 topics
  38. Public Opinion5▲ 9.4×4 topics
  39. Ethnic Identity5▲ 10×4 topics
  40. Youth5▲ 8.2×4 topics

Which research topics does Bowdoin College publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Race, History, and American Society, Vietnamese History and Culture Studies, African history and culture studies and Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis.

Race, History, and American Society: 7 fractional worksVietnamese History and Culture Studies: 4 fractional worksAfrican history and cult…4African history and culture studies: 4 fractional worksHistorical Studies and S…4Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis: 4 fractional worksCommunism, Protests, Social Movements: 3 fractional worksEducator Training and Historical Pedagogy: 3 fractional worksNorth African History an…3North African History and Literature: 3 fractional worksPolitical Philosophy and Ethics: 3 fractional worksGeographies of human-animal interactions: 2 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional …2American Constitutional Law and Politics: 2 fractional works
Sociology and Political ScienceAnthropologyHistory and Philosophy of ScienceHistory2 others

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

  1. 1 Race, History, and American Society Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  2. 2 Vietnamese History and Culture Studies Sociology and Political Science 4 works
  3. 3 African history and culture studies Anthropology 4 works
  4. 4 Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis History and Philosophy of Science 4 works
  5. 5 Communism, Protests, Social Movements Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  6. 6 Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy Sociology and Political Science 3 works
  7. 7 North African History and Literature History 3 works
  8. 8 Political Philosophy and Ethics Political Science and International Relations 3 works
  9. 9 Geographies of human-animal interactions Geography, Planning and Development 2 works
  10. 10 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 2 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 available27.3%not open72.7%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors7.4%domestic only92.6%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Bowdoin College's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 9% 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 Brunswick

All research institutions in Brunswick

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.