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University · Cardiff · United Kingdom

Cardiff University

In research, Cardiff University stands highest in Social Sciences (#199 of 10,521 worldwide), Social Sciences (#192 of 6,365 worldwide) and Health Sciences (#371 of 11,982 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Public Administration, Classics and History — Public Administration is 6.9× its share of world research.

cardiff.ac.ukROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#327
of 28,054 · #294 all time
Rank in United Kingdom
#20
of 1,094
Research works
53k
▲ 7% vs 2013–17
Citations
1.6M
30.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
23.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
41%
world 28%

What is Cardiff 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 SciencesDomain #199 of 10,521 26.4%2,989 #123
Social SciencesField #192 of 6,365 27.2%1,476 #109
Health SciencesDomain #371 of 11,982 20.6%1,571 #227
Physical SciencesDomain #405 of 12,888 21.7%2,859 #388
Life SciencesDomain #333 of 7,800 24.1%912 #238
MedicineField #488 of 10,443 19.2%1,190 #331
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #126 of 2,578 27.0%532 #61
Urban StudiesSubfield #5 of 102 44.8%68 #16
Computer ScienceField #234 of 4,667 25.1%514 #251
EngineeringField #378 of 6,636 20.8%1,050 #422

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Cardiff 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#123 #199
  2. Social Sciences#109 #192
  3. Health Sciences#227 #371
  4. Physical Sciences#388 #405
  5. Life Sciences#238 #333
  6. Medicine#331 #488
  7. Sociology and Political Science#61 #126
  8. Urban Studies#16 #5
  9. Computer Science#251 #234
  10. Engineering#422 #378
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 Cardiff University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Public Administration takes 6.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Public AdministrationSubfield · 31.1 works6.9×
  2. ClassicsSubfield · 30.2 works6.1×
  3. HistorySubfield · 112.2 works4.2×
  4. AnthropologySubfield · 69.7 works3.0×
  5. Urban StudiesSubfield · 67.8 works3.0×
← 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: 0.33× its world share, 132 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.92× its world share, 407 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 1.02× its world share, 86 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 1.97× its world share, 266 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.71× its world share, 21 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 1.62× its world share, 47 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 1.16× its world share, 151 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.79× its world share, 514 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.26× its world share, 165 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 1.02× its world share, 78 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.84× its world share, 1,050 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.85× its world share, 353 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.68× its world share, 199 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.82× its world share, 80 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.19× its world share, 220 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.04× its world share, 42 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.43× its world share, 314 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.74× its world share, 1,190 worksMedicineNursing: 0.46× its world share, 19 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.47× its world share, 5 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 1.93× its world share, 464 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.97× its world share, 260 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 1.10× its world share, 89 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.47× its world share, 262 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.72× its world share, 438 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.40× its world share, 1,476 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 2.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Cardiff University?

Ranked on the composite score, Michael O’Donovan, Peter Holmans and George Kirov lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Cardiff University.

  1. 1 Michael O’Donovan · #1,458 worldwide 2.5k citations · 167 works
  2. 2 Peter Holmans · #1,616 worldwide 2.2k citations · 95 works
  3. 3 George Kirov · #1,936 worldwide 2.5k citations · 78 works
  4. 4 James Walters · #2,245 worldwide 1.6k citations · 103 works
  5. 5 Nigel Williams · #3,487 worldwide 1.3k citations · 80 works
  6. 6 Terry Marsden · #3,768 worldwide 811 citations · 81 works
  7. 7 A.Y. Finlay · #4,718 worldwide 761 citations · 74 works
  8. 8 B. S. Sathyaprakash · #6,955 worldwide 2k citations · 131 works
  9. 9 Valentina Escott‐Price · #8,786 worldwide 1.4k citations · 52 works
  10. 10 A. Zonca · #10,041 worldwide 1.5k citations · 57 works
All ranked researchers at Cardiff University

Which keywords describe research at Cardiff University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Globalization, Nationalism, Epidemiology, Mental Health, Deep Learning, History, Neoliberalism 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. Epidemiology291◆ 0.88×126 topics
  2. Globalization285▲ 1.74×105 topics
  3. Deep Learning267◆ 0.94×80 topics
  4. Machine Learning221▼ 0.81×83 topics
  5. Sustainability217◆ 1.07×88 topics
  6. Climate Change212◆ 0.95×90 topics
  7. Mental Health192▲ 1.57×39 topics
  8. Public Health165▲ 1.36×58 topics
  9. Renewable Energy161▲ 1.34×41 topics
  10. History138▲ 2.4×39 topics
  11. Social Media136◆ 1.14×33 topics
  12. Inflammation134▼ 0.78×79 topics
  13. Quality of Life133◆ 1.11×52 topics
  14. Nationalism127▲ 3.3×27 topics
  15. Human Rights118▲ 1.37×52 topics
  16. Neural Networks118◆ 0.92×36 topics
  17. Identity116▲ 1.91×57 topics
  18. Gender110▲ 2.4×46 topics
  19. Economic Growth108▲ 1.53×25 topics
  20. Depression107▲ 1.47×23 topics
  21. Colonialism107▲ 2.7×37 topics
  22. Neoliberalism105▲ 3.5×24 topics
  23. Religion105▲ 2.7×31 topics
  24. Ethics103▲ 2.5×38 topics
  25. Literature97▲ 2.1×43 topics
  26. Catalysis95▲ 1.71×27 topics
  27. Genetics94▲ 1.62×23 topics
  28. Culture87▲ 1.98×27 topics
  29. Resilience83▲ 2.1×16 topics
  30. Health74▲ 2.2×17 topics
  31. Philosophy73▲ 1.98×30 topics
  32. Ethical Considerations68▲ 2.4×17 topics
  33. Feminism62▲ 2.6×21 topics
  34. Monetary Policy60▲ 3.0×11 topics
  35. National Identity57▲ 6.0×9 topics
  36. Society56▲ 3.5×13 topics
  37. Public Opinion55▲ 5.3×7 topics
  38. Emotion55▲ 3.2×12 topics
  39. Income Inequality48▲ 4.0×7 topics
  40. Devolution36▲ 30×2 topics

Which research topics does Cardiff University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Catalytic Processes in Materials Science, Building Energy and Comfort Optimization, Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases and Historical Economic and Social Studies.

Catalytic Processes in M…31Catalytic Processes in Materials Science: 31 fractional worksBuilding Energy and Comf…30Building Energy and Comfort Optimization: 30 fractional worksGenetic Neurodegenerative Diseases: 27 fractional worksHistorical Economic and Social Studies: 26 fractional worksAutism Spectrum Disorder Research: 23 fractional worksSmart Grid Energy Management: 23 fractional worksHomelessness and Social Issues: 23 fractional worksMedia Studies and Commun…22Media Studies and Communication: 22 fractional worksIrish and British Studies: 22 fractional worksScottish History and National Identity: 22 fractional works
Materials ChemistryBuilding and ConstructionCellular and Molecular NeuroscienceEconomics and Econometrics6 others

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

  1. 1 Catalytic Processes in Materials Science Materials Chemistry 31 works
  2. 2 Building Energy and Comfort Optimization Building and Construction 30 works
  3. 3 Genetic Neurodegenerative Diseases Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience 27 works
  4. 4 Historical Economic and Social Studies Economics and Econometrics 26 works
  5. 5 Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Cognitive Neuroscience 23 works
  6. 6 Smart Grid Energy Management Electrical and Electronic Engineering 23 works
  7. 7 Homelessness and Social Issues General Health Professions 23 works
  8. 8 Media Studies and Communication Communication 22 works
  9. 9 Irish and British Studies Sociology and Political Science 22 works
  10. 10 Scottish History and National Identity History 22 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 available40.9%not open59.1%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors24.1%domestic only75.9%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Cardiff University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 7% 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 Cardiff

All research institutions in Cardiff

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.