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University · Washington D.C. · United States

Catholic University of America

In research, Catholic University of America stands highest in Social Sciences (#1,512 of 10,521 worldwide), Psychology (#346 of 2,181 worldwide) and Physical Sciences (#4,114 of 12,888 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Religious studies and History — Astronomy and Astrophysics is 15.7× its share of world research.

cua.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#4,358
of 28,054 · #1,660 all time
Rank in United States
#611
of 4,192
Research works
14k
▼ 32% vs 2013–17
Citations
290k
21.3 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
12.5%
record average 16.5%
Open access
27%
world 28%

What is Catholic University of America 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 #1,512 of 10,521 11.5%485 #771
PsychologyField #346 of 2,181 15.5%70 #575
Physical SciencesDomain #4,114 of 12,888 14.3%253 #1759
MedicineField #3,709 of 10,443 13.8%102 #1065
Health SciencesDomain #4,322 of 11,982 13.0%133 #952
Arts and HumanitiesField #813 of 1,998 11.8%135 #287
Social SciencesField #2,727 of 6,365 9.9%209 #804
Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield #364 of 443 16.4%75 #462
Sociology and Political ScienceSubfield #2,272 of 2,578 8.6%67 #1057
Physics and AstronomyField #1,537 of 1,646 16.2%100 #1610

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Catholic University of America 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#771 #1,512
  2. Psychology#575 #346
  3. Physical Sciences#1,759 #4,114
  4. Medicine#1,065 #3,709
  5. Health Sciences#952 #4,322
  6. Arts and Humanities#287 #813
  7. Social Sciences#804 #2,727
  8. Astronomy and Astrophysics#462 #364
  9. Sociology and Political Science#1,057 #2,272
  10. Physics and Astronomy#1,610 #1,537
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 Catholic University of America specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Astronomy and Astrophysics takes 15.7× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. Astronomy and AstrophysicsSubfield · 74.7 works16×
  2. Religious studiesSubfield · 22.8 works15×
  3. HistorySubfield · 27.1 works9.2×
← 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: 0.16× its world share, 7 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 0.52× its world share, 26 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 0.45× its world share, 4 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 0.73× its world share, 11 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.21× its world share, 1 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.12× its world share, 0 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.25× its world share, 4 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.50× its world share, 36 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 1.55× its world share, 22 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.26× its world share, 2 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.37× its world share, 52 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.39× its world share, 18 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.33× its world share, 10 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 0.79× its world share, 8 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 4.90× its world share, 100 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 0.43× its world share, 2 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.11× its world share, 27 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 0.58× its world share, 102 worksMedicineNursing: 0.46× its world share, 2 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.29× its world share, 0 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 5.09× its world share, 135 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 1.18× its world share, 35 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.90× its world share, 8 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.42× its world share, 28 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 2.50× its world share, 70 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 1.80× its world share, 209 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Arts and Humanities, 5.1×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Catholic University of America?

Ranked on the composite score, James Youniss, George P. Smith and Joseph A. Fitzmyer lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Catholic University of America.

  1. 1 James Youniss United States · #9,525 worldwide 600 citations · 61 works
  2. 2 George P. Smith United States · #33,993 worldwide 211 citations · 53 works
  3. 3 Joseph A. Fitzmyer United States · #38,378 worldwide 81 citations · 72 works
  4. 4 Willi Apel United States · #54,639 worldwide 82 citations · 44 works
  5. 5 John M. Cooper United States · #54,664 worldwide 222 citations · 82 works
  6. 6 Vladimir A. Krasnopolsky United States · #58,158 worldwide 444 citations · 70 works
  7. 7 H. Crannell United States · #69,493 worldwide 288 citations · 37 works
  8. 8 Helmut Hatzfeld United States · #69,796 worldwide 59 citations · 42 works
  9. 9 D. I. Sober United States · #71,805 worldwide 359 citations · 49 works
  10. 10 K. E. Malten United States · #74,638 worldwide 130 citations · 32 works
All ranked researchers at Catholic University of America

Which keywords describe research at Catholic University of America?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Solar Wind, Religion, Ethics, History, Nationalism, Theology, Coronal Mass Ejections and Solar Dynamics Observatory.

▲ 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. Solar Wind40▲ 47×2 topics
  2. Religion39▲ 8.9×28 topics
  3. Globalization34▲ 1.87×58 topics
  4. History32▲ 4.9×27 topics
  5. Ethics31▲ 6.9×28 topics
  6. Mental Health31▲ 2.3×29 topics
  7. Nationalism27▲ 6.3×15 topics
  8. Identity25▲ 3.8×31 topics
  9. Theology24▲ 27×6 topics
  10. Human Rights22▲ 2.3×35 topics
  11. Coronal Mass Ejections20▲ 60×1 topic
  12. Solar Dynamics Observatory20▲ 60×1 topic
  13. Electron Acceleration20▲ 32×2 topics
  14. Ionosphere20▲ 38×1 topic
  15. Magnetosphere20▲ 38×1 topic
  16. Public Opinion18▲ 16×5 topics
  17. Feminism17▲ 6.6×13 topics
  18. Cultural Identity17▲ 3.5×14 topics
  19. Literature16▲ 3.2×22 topics
  20. Health16▲ 4.3×11 topics
  21. Church History15▲ 38×3 topics
  22. Culture15▲ 3.1×16 topics
  23. Gender15▲ 3.1×29 topics
  24. Philosophy14▲ 3.6×14 topics
  25. Political Philosophy14▲ 26×4 topics
  26. Neoliberalism13▲ 4.1×12 topics
  27. Secularism13▲ 13×5 topics
  28. European Union13▲ 6.0×12 topics
  29. Reformation12▲ 46×2 topics
  30. Psychology12▲ 10×7 topics
  31. American founding12▲ 42×1 topic
  32. Constitutional government12▲ 42×1 topic
  33. Social History11▲ 15×3 topics
  34. Society11▲ 6.3×12 topics
  35. Calvinism11▲ 48×1 topic
  36. Religious Controversy11▲ 48×1 topic
  37. Biblical Monotheism10▲ 43×1 topic
  38. Cultural Transmission10▲ 14×3 topics
  39. Jewish Society10▲ 43×1 topic
  40. Semitic Languages10▲ 25×2 topics

Which research topics does Catholic University of America publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics, Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics, American Constitutional Law and Politics and Reformation and Early Modern Christianity.

Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics: 20 fractional worksIonosphere and magnetosphere dynamics: 20 fractional worksAmerican Constitutional Law and Politics: 12 fractional worksReformation and Early Modern Christianity: 11 fractional worksBiblical Studies and Interpretation: 10 fractional worksAstro and Planetary Science: 10 fractional worksAcademic and Historical …8Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology: 8 fractional worksHistorical and Linguistic Studies: 8 fractional worksReligion, Society, and Development: 7 fractional worksGeomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies: 6 fractional works
Astronomy and AstrophysicsPolitical Science and International RelationsHistoryReligious studies3 others

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

  1. 1 Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 20 works
  2. 2 Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics Astronomy and Astrophysics 20 works
  3. 3 American Constitutional Law and Politics Political Science and International Relations 12 works
  4. 4 Reformation and Early Modern Christianity History 11 works
  5. 5 Biblical Studies and Interpretation Religious studies 10 works
  6. 6 Astro and Planetary Science Astronomy and Astrophysics 10 works
  7. 7 Academic and Historical Perspectives in Psychology General Psychology 8 works
  8. 8 Historical and Linguistic Studies Sociology and Political Science 8 works
  9. 9 Religion, Society, and Development Sociology and Political Science 7 works
  10. 10 Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies Molecular Biology 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 available27.1%not open72.9%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors28.6%domestic only71.4%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Catholic University of America's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 32% 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 Washington D.C.

All research institutions in Washington D.C.

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.