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University · Northridge · United States

California State University, Northridge

In research, California State University, Northridge stands highest in Physical Sciences (#1,505 of 12,888 worldwide), Social Sciences (#2,722 of 10,521 worldwide) and Computer Science (#1,273 of 4,667 worldwide), 2022–2025.

csun.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#2,237
of 28,054 · #1,868 all time
Rank in United States
#337
of 4,192
Research works
9.5k
▲ 22% vs 2013–17
Citations
178k
18.8 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
15.0%
record average 16.5%
Open access
27%
world 28%

What is California State University, Northridge 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 #1,505 of 12,888 15.0%541 #1387
Social SciencesDomain #2,722 of 10,521 16.4%454 #819
Computer ScienceField #1,273 of 4,667 14.4%105 #1175
Social SciencesField #2,069 of 6,365 19.1%219 #697
EngineeringField #2,759 of 6,636 13.0%185 #2142
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #1,431 of 2,578 22.5%76 #694
Life SciencesDomain #4,609 of 7,800 11.3%99 #4199
Health SciencesDomain #7,152 of 11,982 13.1%126 #5900
Environmental ScienceField #2,723 of 3,551 15.9%62 #1698
MedicineField #8,280 of 10,443 11.3%84 #8765

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where California State University, Northridge 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#1,387 #1,505
  2. Social Sciences#819 #2,722
  3. Computer Science#1,175 #1,273
  4. Social Sciences#697 #2,069
  5. Engineering#2,142 #2,759
  6. Sociology and Political Science#694 #1,431
  7. Life Sciences#4,199 #4,609
  8. Health Sciences#5,900 #7,152
  9. Environmental Science#1,698 #2,723
  10. Medicine#8,765 #8,280
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: 0.38× its world share, 22 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.77× its world share, 50 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.35× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.06× its world share, 21 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.44× its world share, 2 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.91× its world share, 4 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.86× its world share, 16 worksChemistryComputer Science: 1.10× its world share, 105 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 2.78× its world share, 53 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.61× its world share, 7 worksEnergyEngineering: 1.01× its world share, 185 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 1.01× its world share, 62 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.78× its world share, 33 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 2.06× its world share, 30 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.71× its world share, 46 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.02× its world share, 0 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.23× its world share, 40 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.36× its world share, 84 worksMedicineNursing: 0.37× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.05× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.48× its world share, 52 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.35× its world share, 53 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.54× its world share, 18 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 0.92× its world share, 24 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.37× its world share, 88 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.41× its world share, 219 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

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

Who are the top researchers at California State University, Northridge?

Ranked on the composite score, Vern L. Bullough, Gang Lü and David Salomon lead among researchers whose main affiliation is California State University, Northridge.

  1. 1 Vern L. Bullough United States · #12,351 worldwide 396 citations · 114 works
  2. 2 Gang Lü United States · #38,344 worldwide 526 citations · 64 works
  3. 3 David Salomon United States · #52,708 worldwide 261 citations · 50 works
  4. 4 Xu Zhang United States · #71,543 worldwide 608 citations · 53 works
  5. 5 Gary M. Anderson United States · #113,302 worldwide 191 citations · 23 works
  6. 6 James E. Tomberlin United States · #147,716 worldwide 125 citations · 27 works
  7. 7 James S. Fleming United States · #149,568 worldwide 239 citations · 24 works
  8. 8 Patricia Keith‐Spiegel United States · #149,832 worldwide 109 citations · 23 works
  9. 9 Adele Eskeles Gottfried United States · #212,813 worldwide 328 citations · 19 works
  10. 10 B. A. Sethuraman United States · #251,508 worldwide 177 citations · 17 works
All ranked researchers at California State University, Northridge

Which keywords describe research at California State University, Northridge?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Mental Health, Machine Learning, Climate Change, Ocean Acidification, Globalization, Deep Learning, Gender and Intersectionality.

▲ 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. Machine Learning50▲ 1.26×63 topics
  2. Mental Health45▲ 2.5×32 topics
  3. Deep Learning44◆ 1.07×61 topics
  4. Climate Change43▲ 1.31×58 topics
  5. Globalization36▲ 1.49×55 topics
  6. Sustainability31◆ 1.04×52 topics
  7. Education23◆ 1.09×34 topics
  8. Gender20▲ 3.0×22 topics
  9. Identity20▲ 2.2×25 topics
  10. Big Data17▲ 1.53×14 topics
  11. Social Justice16▲ 2.3×19 topics
  12. Social Support16▲ 2.4×14 topics
  13. Resilience16▲ 2.7×11 topics
  14. Literature16▲ 2.3×19 topics
  15. Ocean Acidification15▲ 17×3 topics
  16. Student Engagement15▲ 3.0×13 topics
  17. Neoliberalism14▲ 3.3×17 topics
  18. Religion14▲ 2.4×14 topics
  19. Ethics13▲ 2.3×18 topics
  20. Intersectionality13▲ 5.7×10 topics
  21. Health Disparities11▲ 3.5×7 topics
  22. Diversity11▲ 5.1×9 topics
  23. Tectonics11▲ 7.5×3 topics
  24. Plate Tectonics10▲ 5.3×3 topics
  25. Career Development10▲ 6.8×6 topics
  26. Marine Ecosystems9▲ 14×2 topics
  27. Thermodynamic Modeling9▲ 6.8×3 topics
  28. Acculturation9▲ 9.9×2 topics
  29. Ecosystem Resilience9▲ 4.8×3 topics
  30. Bleaching9▲ 21×1 topic
  31. Coral Reefs9▲ 21×1 topic
  32. Psychiatric Disorders8▲ 5.3×4 topics
  33. Benthic Communities8▲ 12×2 topics
  34. Marine Biodiversity8▲ 12×2 topics
  35. Race8▲ 6.1×8 topics
  36. Subduction8▲ 9.2×3 topics
  37. Coastal Protection8▲ 10×2 topics
  38. Geochronology8▲ 9.4×1 topic
  39. Zircon8▲ 9.4×1 topic
  40. Implicit Bias8▲ 14×2 topics

Which research topics does California State University, Northridge publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, Geological and Geochemical Analysis, Marine and coastal plant biology and Geological and Tectonic Studies in Latin America.

Coral and Marine Ecosyst…9Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies: 9 fractional worksGeological and Geochemic…8Geological and Geochemical Analysis: 8 fractional worksMarine and coastal plant…6Marine and coastal plant biology: 6 fractional worksGeological and Tectonic …6Geological and Tectonic Studies in Latin America: 6 fractional worksGeochemistry and Geologic Mapping: 5 fractional worksRacial and Ethnic Identity Research: 5 fractional worksGeology and Paleoclimato…5Geology and Paleoclimatology Research: 5 fractional works2D Materials and Applications: 5 fractional worksHigher Education Research Studies: 4 fractional worksMigration, Health and Tr…4Migration, Health and Trauma: 4 fractional works
EcologyGeophysicsOceanographyArtificial Intelligence5 others

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

  1. 1 Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies Ecology 9 works
  2. 2 Geological and Geochemical Analysis Geophysics 8 works
  3. 3 Marine and coastal plant biology Oceanography 6 works
  4. 4 Geological and Tectonic Studies in Latin America Geophysics 6 works
  5. 5 Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping Artificial Intelligence 5 works
  6. 6 Racial and Ethnic Identity Research Sociology and Political Science 5 works
  7. 7 Geology and Paleoclimatology Research Atmospheric Science 5 works
  8. 8 2D Materials and Applications Materials Chemistry 5 works
  9. 9 Higher Education Research Studies Education 4 works
  10. 10 Migration, Health and Trauma Clinical Psychology 4 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 available27.2%not open72.8%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

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

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has California State University, Northridge's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 22% 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 Northridge

All research institutions in Northridge

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.