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University · Cambridge · United States

Harvard University

In research, Harvard University stands highest in Health Sciences (#1 of 11,982 worldwide), Medicine (#1 of 10,443 worldwide) and Life Sciences (#1 of 7,800 worldwide), 2022–2025. Relative to its size it is most specialised in Aging, Endocrine and Autonomic Systems and Family Practice — Aging is 4.9× its share of world research.

harvard.eduROR OpenAlex
World rank, 2022–2025
#4
of 28,054 · #1 all time
Rank in United States
#1
of 4,192
Research works
222k
▲ 11% vs 2013–17
Citations
15.8M
71.2 per fractional work
Top-10% rate
28.6%
record average 16.5%
Open access
42%
world 28%

What is Harvard 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
Health SciencesDomain #1 of 11,982 25.9%12,491 #1
MedicineField #1 of 10,443 25.2%11,036 #1
Life SciencesDomain #1 of 7,800 31.1%5,036 #1
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyField #1 of 3,579 31.5%2,831 #1
PsychologyField #1 of 2,181 32.8%1,327 —
Molecular BiologySubfield #1 of 2,175 32.0%1,630 #1
Health ProfessionsField #1 of 1,928 32.4%1,114 #1
SurgerySubfield #1 of 1,816 23.3%1,173 #1
Social SciencesDomain #8 of 10,521 32.3%3,893 #6
NeuroscienceField #1 of 1,168 29.0%1,254 #1

Each strip is that field’s whole ranked pool, with the notch where Harvard 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. Health Sciences#1 #1
  2. Medicine#1 #1
  3. Life Sciences#1 #1
  4. Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology#1 #1
  5. Molecular Biology#1 #1
  6. Health Professions#1 #1
  7. Surgery#1 #1
  8. Social Sciences#6 #8
  9. Neuroscience#1 #1
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 Harvard University specialise in?

Where its research is concentrated relative to its size: Aging takes 4.9× the share of its output that it takes of world research.

  1. AgingSubfield · 30.0 works4.9×
  2. Endocrine and Autonomic SystemsSubfield · 90.9 works4.2×
  3. Family PracticeSubfield · 49.5 works4.1×
  4. Behavioral NeuroscienceSubfield · 40.1 works4.0×
  5. Psychiatry and Mental healthSubfield · 433.4 works3.4×
  6. Statistics and ProbabilitySubfield · 180.4 works3.3×
  7. TransplantationSubfield · 35.6 works3.1×
← 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: 0.22× its world share, 265 worksAgricultural and Bio…Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology: 2.08× its world share, 2,831 worksBiochemistry, Geneti…Immunology and Microbiology: 2.35× its world share, 603 worksImmunology and Micro…Neuroscience: 3.03× its world share, 1,254 worksNeurosciencePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics: 0.93× its world share, 84 worksPharmacology, Toxico…Chemical Engineering: 0.21× its world share, 19 worksChemical EngineeringChemistry: 0.41× its world share, 164 worksChemistryComputer Science: 0.35× its world share, 694 worksComputer ScienceEarth and Planetary Sciences: 0.41× its world share, 165 worksEarth and Planetary …Energy: 0.21× its world share, 49 worksEnergyEngineering: 0.26× its world share, 997 worksEngineeringEnvironmental Science: 0.57× its world share, 724 worksEnvironmental ScienceMaterials Science: 0.31× its world share, 278 worksMaterials ScienceMathematics: 1.22× its world share, 365 worksMathematicsPhysics and Astronomy: 1.09× its world share, 617 worksPhysics and AstronomyDentistry: 1.30× its world share, 161 worksDentistryHealth Professions: 1.66× its world share, 1,114 worksHealth ProfessionsMedicine: 2.25× its world share, 11k worksMedicineNursing: 1.30× its world share, 163 worksNursingVeterinary: 0.50× its world share, 17 worksVeterinaryArts and Humanities: 0.35× its world share, 260 worksArts and HumanitiesBusiness, Management and Accounting: 0.25× its world share, 209 worksBusiness, Management…Decision Sciences: 0.61× its world share, 151 worksDecision SciencesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance: 1.08× its world share, 590 worksEconomics, Econometr…Psychology: 1.71× its world share, 1,327 worksPsychologySocial Sciences: 0.42× its world share, 1,357 worksSocial Sciences1×world share
more than its size predictsabout as predictedless

Rings at 0.5×, 1× and 2×. Widest outward: Neuroscience, 3.0×. Every wedge is a field page.

Who are the top researchers at Harvard University?

Ranked on the composite score, Ronald C. Kessler, Michael E. Porter and Robert J. Barro lead among researchers whose main affiliation is Harvard University.

  1. 1 Ronald C. Kessler · #14 worldwide 9.8k citations · 232 works
  2. 2 Michael E. Porter · #19 worldwide 4.7k citations · 226 works
  3. 3 Robert J. Barro · #36 worldwide 7.9k citations · 165 works
  4. 4 Walter C. Willett · #154 worldwide 6.8k citations · 360 works
  5. 5 Rosabeth Moss Kanter · #169 worldwide 2.6k citations · 132 works
  6. 6 Lawrence H. Summers · #195 worldwide 3.9k citations · 125 works
  7. 7 Jeffrey A. Frankel · #341 worldwide 3.3k citations · 181 works
  8. 8 Reisa A. Sperling · #416 worldwide 2.1k citations · 153 works
  9. 9 N. Gregory Mankiw · #484 worldwide 2.2k citations · 153 works
  10. 10 Alberto Alesina · #549 worldwide 2.6k citations · 133 works
All ranked researchers at Harvard University

Which keywords describe research at Harvard University?

By fractional works in 2022–2025, weighted toward what it does more of than the world: Epidemiology, Inflammation, Cardiovascular Disease, Oxidative Stress, Public Health, Quality of Life, Metabolic Syndrome and Risk Factors.

▲ 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. Epidemiology2,122▲ 2.1×137 topics
  2. Inflammation1,245▲ 2.4×83 topics
  3. Oxidative Stress796▲ 1.91×62 topics
  4. Cardiovascular Disease768▲ 2.7×39 topics
  5. Public Health754▲ 2.0×65 topics
  6. Quality of Life706▲ 1.92×55 topics
  7. Mental Health643▲ 1.72×47 topics
  8. Treatment631▲ 2.0×52 topics
  9. Cancer620▲ 1.81×58 topics
  10. Risk Factors617▲ 2.2×37 topics
  11. Metabolic Syndrome570▲ 2.8×24 topics
  12. Depression555▲ 2.5×26 topics
  13. Neurological Disorders478▲ 3.3×20 topics
  14. Mortality464▲ 3.1×13 topics
  15. Biomarkers456▲ 2.6×18 topics
  16. Immunotherapy450▲ 2.5×19 topics
  17. Genetics449▲ 2.5×27 topics
  18. Diagnosis443▲ 1.87×41 topics
  19. Clinical Trials425▲ 2.5×19 topics
  20. Obesity420▲ 2.2×27 topics
  21. Chemotherapy355▲ 1.99×25 topics
  22. Gene Expression354▲ 2.3×20 topics
  23. Aging354▲ 2.6×19 topics
  24. Precision Medicine320▲ 2.7×8 topics
  25. Anxiety318▲ 2.6×12 topics
  26. Health Effects314▲ 2.0×24 topics
  27. Global Burden313▲ 2.3×12 topics
  28. Primary Care308▲ 3.2×15 topics
  29. Guidelines293▲ 2.5×13 topics
  30. Neuroimaging293▲ 4.2×11 topics
  31. Genetic Mutations291▲ 2.6×23 topics
  32. Prevalence289▲ 2.8×15 topics
  33. Adolescents273▲ 2.9×9 topics
  34. Heart Failure267▲ 2.4×14 topics
  35. Neuroinflammation259▲ 3.6×6 topics
  36. Health Disparities246▲ 3.7×9 topics
  37. Mortality Risk241▲ 4.0×6 topics
  38. Neurodegeneration240▲ 3.1×11 topics
  39. Neurobiology236▲ 3.6×10 topics
  40. Global Burden of Disease224▲ 3.6×4 topics

Which research topics does Harvard University publish most on?

By volume in 2022–2025: Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life, Healthcare Policy and Management, Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research and Functional Brain Connectivity Studies.

Health Systems, Economic…118Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life: 118 fractional worksHealthcare Policy and Ma…109Healthcare Policy and Management: 109 fractional worksDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research: 108 fractional worksFunctional Brain Connect…106Functional Brain Connectivity Studies: 106 fractional worksAir Quality and Health I…94Air Quality and Health Impacts: 94 fractional worksArtificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education: 88 fractional worksNutritional Studies and Diet: 86 fractional worksCancer Immunotherapy and…85Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers: 85 fractional worksClimate Change and Health Impacts: 84 fractional worksCAR-T cell therapy research: 84 fractional works
Economics and EconometricsPsychiatry and Mental healthCognitive NeuroscienceHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis3 others

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

  1. 1 Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics and Econometrics 118 works
  2. 2 Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics and Econometrics 109 works
  3. 3 Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchPsychiatry and Mental health 108 works
  4. 4 Functional Brain Connectivity StudiesCognitive Neuroscience 106 works
  5. 5 Air Quality and Health ImpactsHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis 94 works
  6. 6 Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and EducationHealth Informatics 88 works
  7. 7 Nutritional Studies and DietPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health 86 works
  8. 8 Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersOncology 85 works
  9. 9 Climate Change and Health ImpactsHealth, Toxicology and Mutagenesis 84 works
  10. 10 CAR-T cell therapy researchOncology 84 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 available42.4%not open57.6%

World: 28% of research is openly available.

with international co-authors21.0%domestic only79.0%

World: 19% is written across borders.

How has Harvard University's research output changed?

Output in 2018–2022 was 11% 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 Cambridge

All research institutions in Cambridge

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.