Science Explorer Interactive view Map
University · San Luis Obispo · United States

California Polytechnic State University

In research, California Polytechnic State University stands highest in Physical Sciences (#3,608 of 12,888 worldwide), Social Sciences (#3,651 of 10,521 worldwide) and Social Sciences (#2,828 of 6,365 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Media Technology — Media Technology is 7.5× its share of world research.

calpoly.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#5,074
of 28,054 · #2,976 all time
Rank in United States
#701
of 4,192
Research works
8.9k
▲ 28% vs 2013–17
Citations
144k
16.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
14.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
37%
world 28%

What is California Polytechnic State 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
Physical SciencesDomain #3,608 of 12,888 11.8%638 #2770
Social SciencesDomain #3,651 of 10,521 17.0%471 #1052
Social SciencesField #2,828 of 6,365 17.0%248 #821
Computer ScienceField #2,120 of 4,667 11.9%108 #1368
EngineeringField #3,046 of 6,636 7.8%256 #1756
Life SciencesDomain #4,608 of 7,800 17.7%182 #3469
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,634 of 2,578 23.8%70 #979
Environmental ScienceField #2,304 of 3,551 15.6%124 #1429
Agricultural and Biological SciencesField #2,283 of 3,409 19.1%104 #2408
Health SciencesDomain #8,140 of 11,982 14.1%142 #8587

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where California Polytechnic State 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. Physical Sciences#2,770 #3,608
  2. Social Sciences#1,052 #3,651
  3. Social Sciences#821 #2,828
  4. Computer Science#1,368 #2,120
  5. Engineering#1,756 #3,046
  6. Life Sciences#3,469 #4,608
  7. Sociology and Political Science#979 #1,634
  8. Environmental Science#1,429 #2,304
  9. Agricultural and Biological Sciences#2,408 #2,283
  10. Health Sciences#8,587 #8,140
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 California Polytechnic State University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Media Technology takes 7.5× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Media TechnologySubfield · 33.9 works7.5×
← 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: 1.53× its world share, 104 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.69× its world share, 53 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.23× its world share, 3 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.86× its world share, 20 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.24× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.91× its world share, 5 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.57× its world share, 13 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.97× its world share, 108 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.44× its world share, 32 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.87× its world share, 12 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.19× its world share, 256 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.74× its world share, 124 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.46× its world share, 23 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.79× its world share, 30 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.13× its world share, 36 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 0.86× its world share, 32 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.37× its world share, 101 worksMedicineNursing: 0.85× its world share, 6 worksNursingVeterinary: 1.28× its world share, 2 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.14× its world share, 47 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.17× its world share, 54 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.38× its world share, 19 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.03× its world share, 32 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.64× its world share, 71 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.37× its world share, 248 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Mathematics, 1.8×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at California Polytechnic State University?

Ranked on the composite score, Allan Bird, Jay L. Devore and Allen Estes lead among researchers whose main affiliation is California Polytechnic State University.

  1. 1 Allan Bird United States · #68,346 worldwide 182 citations · 36 works
  2. 2 Jay L. Devore United States · #85,354 worldwide 591 citations · 24 works
  3. 3 Allen Estes United States · #97,120 worldwide 145 citations · 30 works
  4. 4 Eldon Y. Li United States · #126,436 worldwide 151 citations · 35 works
  5. 5 Bing Qu United States · #190,458 worldwide 182 citations · 32 works
  6. 6 Suzanne Phelan United States · #215,941 worldwide 112 citations · 27 works
  7. 7 Patrick Lin United States · #243,691 worldwide 120 citations · 19 works
  8. 8 Stephen F. Hamilton United States · #279,726 worldwide 135 citations · 58 works
  9. 9 Jean Lee United States · #327,863 worldwide 118 citations · 34 works
  10. 10 Abraham B. Shani United States · #347,369 worldwide 107 citations · 25 works
All ranked researchers at California Polytechnic State University

Which keywords describe research at California Polytechnic State University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Climate Change, Engineering Education, STEM Education, Assessment Methods, Lifelong Learning, Globalization, Student Engagement and Innovation.

▲ 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 Change96▲ 2.5×71 topics
  2. Machine Learning50◆ 1.07×61 topics
  3. Sustainability47▲ 1.35×56 topics
  4. Globalization47▲ 1.67×50 topics
  5. Engineering Education44▲ 35×4 topics
  6. Deep Learning38▼ 0.78×52 topics
  7. Education38▲ 1.52×35 topics
  8. Innovation35▲ 2.3×29 topics
  9. STEM Education34▲ 5.2×8 topics
  10. Curriculum Development30▲ 3.0×4 topics
  11. Biodiversity28▲ 2.7×21 topics
  12. Mental Health27▲ 1.29×28 topics
  13. Student Engagement26▲ 4.6×12 topics
  14. Remote Sensing25▲ 1.44×21 topics
  15. Invasive Species24▲ 3.9×14 topics
  16. Higher Education23▲ 3.0×18 topics
  17. Assessment Methods22▲ 14×3 topics
  18. Lifelong Learning22▲ 7.5×8 topics
  19. Conservation22▲ 3.5×17 topics
  20. Professional Skills18▲ 39×2 topics
  21. Accreditation18▲ 47×1 topic
  22. Outcome-Based Education18▲ 47×1 topic
  23. Distance Learning16▲ 3.3×3 topics
  24. Entrepreneurship16▲ 2.9×10 topics
  25. Control System16▲ 20×3 topics
  26. Remote Laboratories15▲ 37×1 topic
  27. Virtual Labs15▲ 37×1 topic
  28. Habitat Fragmentation15▲ 4.6×4 topics
  29. Project-Based Learning14▲ 26×3 topics
  30. Population Dynamics14▲ 3.8×10 topics
  31. Global Change13▲ 3.6×5 topics
  32. Ecosystem Resilience12▲ 5.9×5 topics
  33. Biomedical Engineering11▲ 5.2×2 topics
  34. Career Development11▲ 6.7×5 topics
  35. Grapevine11▲ 19×2 topics
  36. Ecosystem10▲ 6.7×2 topics
  37. Transcriptome Analysis10▲ 11×2 topics
  38. Social Cognitive Theory10▲ 16×2 topics
  39. Anthocyanins9▲ 9.3×2 topics
  40. Water Deficit9▲ 18×1 topic

Which research topics does California Polytechnic State University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Engineering Education and Curriculum Development, Experimental Learning in Engineering, Horticultural and Viticultural Research and Engineering Education and Pedagogy.

Engineering Education and Curriculum Development: 18 fractional worksExperimental Learning in Engineering: 15 fractional worksHorticultural and Viticultural Research: 9 fractional worksEngineering Education and Pedagogy: 9 fractional worksBiomedical and Engineering Education: 8 fractional worksFire effects on ecosystems: 8 fractional worksCareer Development and D…8Career Development and Diversity: 8 fractional worksStatistics Education and…7Statistics Education and Methodologies: 7 fractional worksHigher Education Researc…6Higher Education Research Studies: 6 fractional worksSpecies Distribution and…6Species Distribution and Climate Change: 6 fractional works
Media TechnologyPlant ScienceArchitectureBiomedical Engineering5 others

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

  1. 1 Engineering Education and Curriculum Development Media Technology 18 works
  2. 2 Experimental Learning in Engineering Media Technology 15 works
  3. 3 Horticultural and Viticultural Research Plant Science 9 works
  4. 4 Engineering Education and Pedagogy Architecture 9 works
  5. 5 Biomedical and Engineering Education Biomedical Engineering 8 works
  6. 6 Fire effects on ecosystems Global and Planetary Change 8 works
  7. 7 Career Development and Diversity Safety Research 8 works
  8. 8 Statistics Education and Methodologies Statistics and Probability 7 works
  9. 9 Higher Education Research Studies Education 6 works
  10. 10 Species Distribution and Climate Change Ecological Modeling 6 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 available37.0%not open63.0%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors11.7%domestic only88.3%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has California Polytechnic State University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 28% 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 San Luis Obispo

All research institutions in San Luis Obispo

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.